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Photography, Video and Text by Brent Taylor
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Making the Campaign Profitable
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A successful political rally can be measured in many ways. For the candidate the immediate goal is to drum up support for their own campaign. However, for the thousands of people attending and living in the area of the rally success takes on a very different meaning. For the purpose of this article I wanted to focus on people using the recent Bernie Sanders rally as a means to either express themselves or to make money. The quickest money made was from the Bernie pins and T-shirts being sold outside the rally.
As the weary Sanders supporters shivered in line for multiple hours on end, the cozy looking $20 shirts could only become more and more appealing.
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The campaign is being used to promote more than just memorabilia however. Arguably radical elements such as the two men holding the pizza boxes are using the campaign fervor to rile up the crowd (and hopefully get a buck or two in the process!). The man with the “meme” sign is using the popularity of the candidate on social media in hopes of going viral. The Sanders mural however is the pinnacle of using of the campaign for free expression and of questionable behavior being justified by the circumstances. No matter how beautiful it is, the huge mural is still technically graffiti. This has caused a small uproar in the community as to whether or not it should be removed. The takeaway message is that the presidential election is inspiring many people to new forms of expression, in addition to new moneymaking opportunities. However, some of these ventures involve actions that would normally be seen as either disingenuous or highly questionable.
Photography, Video and Text by Brent Taylor, Copyright 2016.
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About The Author: Brent Taylor is a History major enrolled in the College of the University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2017. To read additional articles by Brent Taylor, go here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/brent-taylor-capturing-a-location-in-time/