I'm Blown Away by Kamala Harris' First Campaign Video
I’m blown away by Kamala Harris’ first campaign video. When I watched it for the first time, I initially thought, “oh shit, that’s GOOD.” Which is high praise coming from me! I have academic degrees in policy and law, I’ve worked on various political campaigns, including President Obama’s reelection, and I’m a former Senate employee. I’ve seen a bit on how the sausage gets made, which always makes it more easily scrutable and much, much less appetizing. I was born at the end of the Carter administration, which means I’ve spent my entire life watching Democrats bend the knee to Ronald Reagan’s legacy. I can be jaded and cynical, for sure.
And yet. I keep watching Harris’ campaign starter. And every time I’m more and more blown away by it. Subsequent viewings have been responsible for gaping jaws, goosebumps, chills, even welling tears a few times. We’re way past GOOD, this thing is masterful, brilliant, genius, compelling, energizing.
So sure, Harris made her stump case, as all campaign videos must, she hit the necessary talking points… but the energy, right? My God. I could unpack the choices all day.
Her background song choice: “Freedom” by Beyonce, from her critically-acclaimed album Lemonade. “Freedom” is not a song, it is an anthem, a powerful, effective musical message of hope, joy, work, and strength. It’s forward-thinking and future-oriented, like Harris’ campaign and all it represents in its specific context. We thought we were dead in the water with a failed reelection campaign meant only to satisfy one old man’s ego, and now we have hope. We have a chance. We are ready to embrace joy again, and thus far Harris’ campaign channels and communicates this so clearly and beautifully. It’s perfect.
“When we fight, WE WIN!”
“Hey! I'ma keep running
‘Cause a winner don’t quit on themselves”
Harris’ video is a perfect, ideal blend of joy and power, part of its effectiveness is her clearly communicated understanding that we have to fight, and Democratic voters are starving for a leader who gets that, finally, finally!! Fresher air has never existed. Fighting is tough work, but it’s invigorating, and honestly, kind of fun, too (what with all the couch-fucking jokes that are definitely not going away for the next four months).
This video was primarily about candidate Harris and her vision for our country; but no introductory campaign ad can omit mention of one’s opponent. While Harris’ acknowledgement of Trump is brief, I was blown away at how powerful those particular aesthetics were. The beginning of the video alternates and juxtaposes shots of Harris at a political rally (cheering, joyful crowds, Harris herself standing at a podium, clearly energized, radiant smile) and television segments of Trump and his current vice-presidential pick, Ohio Senator JD Vance. Yet they are not the plain shots one might expect. The picture quality is blurred and shaky, the colors are unflatteringly distorted. These are artistic choices meant to portray Trump as a dictator. And they succeed.
No politician of any country or ideological stripe is going to choose flattering images of their opponent, that would be stupid and self-defeating; but I was quite struck by the almost Blade Runner aesthetic, the Orwellian speculative quality of it, the clear reference to a future dystopia that catapults us backwards to an earlier era of worse oppression. But simultaneously, the shots conjured poor television quality from a bygone era, almost like referencing outmoded technology as a metaphor for how Trump and the GOP want to repeal so many of our hard-won civil rights and freedoms. “We’re Not Going Back.”
I’m not naive, there’s a big road ahead, and Harris is a politician, which makes her not a savior but a target, to be pushed and pressured and supported and leveraged and shamed as necessary. But joining the excitement of this moment is wholly good, and important to capture. Harris’ future is unknown, and she may not be America’s future, at least not long-term. But her message and energy is the future. This energy can be ours to harness. This can be our future and our children’s future, and our cats’ future, since apparently childless cat women will be playing an outsized role in this election cycle. As well they should!
One of my favorite American history researchers and authors, Jared Yates Sexton, has said many times about America, “This is who we are. But it’s not who we have to be.”
We can move into a new era, unburdened by what has been.
Americans are ready to dream again. Kamala Harris gets that.