Oh, How America Loves America

In watching the 2013 Presidential Inauguration I couldn't help but think that such an extravagant ceremony should be given a name other than 'Inauguration'. I mean, yes, the very reason for the televised event is to inaugurate the president, however if this was the only real reason for the event there wouldn't necessarily need to be hundreds of camera crews filming hours of live footage. Instead only a few short minutes would need to be filmed as the president is sworn into his position as the leader of our country. It is easy to laugh at such a silly thought though, because there is no way that our American society would allow there to be anything less than hours worth of live footage from the Capitol, live musical performances by Kelly Clarkson, James Taylor and Beyonce, and even a Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball proceeding the ceremony. However, in viewing the inauguration from a Global Feminist perspective I was thinking the women in charge of network coverage for the event would find some humor in how excessive and over the top the Inauguration has become. If they had the choice, these women would probably focus much less of the production on the many white haired men in office sitting in the front row, or excessive images of the American flag, and instead more on the women's point of view (those who work in office, as well as wives, daughters, mothers, nannies, even influential women of our country's history). In watching the live footage I noticed there was a major emphasis put on the large crowd waving hundreds of American flags, which would then lead to an image of a male politician sitting in the front row of the platform. It was as if the implicit message of "America loves America. America is run by men" was being given over and over again throughout the entire production. Very little camera footage was put on the women attending the ceremony, even during Myrlie Ever's speech! It seemed as though the camera footage purposefully showed the wives of the politicians sitting in the background, clapping for their precious husbands looking pretty and poised. If this ceremony was broadcasted by a Global Feminist Network, their would be guest speakers like Mohanty highlighting these women and their roles as wives/ mothers/ daughters/ female politicians, and even everyday women attending the ceremony. They would focus less on the Western culture, and would instead feature stories about influential women around the world. There would be a live twitter feed throughout the ceremony that would create discussion among people around the globe about their thoughts on the ceremony, pictures of people watching/listening to the inauguration and further discussion suggestions throughout the live network coverage. All in all, there would be a lot less 'America loving America' and much more of a global perspective being shown.