In a world of turmoil and constant change, there’s a strange comfort in knowing our political ads stay the same:
“The Oldway and the New” is a 1912 campaign film put out by the
Democratic National Committee on behalf of candidate Woodrow Wilson.
Housed at the Library of Congress, it is the earliest known example of a
political party or candidate using the medium of motion picture to
communicate with voters.
And the subject? Massive concentrations of wealth in the private sector:
This film portrays Republican William Howard Taft as a mouthpiece for
special interest groups and Woodrow Wilson as a champion of working
class citizens aspiring to the ranks of business owners. … In 1912, large trusts and
corporations were amassing power and exerting their influence over
Americans’ private lives. This made financial regulation a major
platform issue for the candidate. Likewise, financial regulation remains a topic of political debate to this day.
“The over-the-top comic approach of the film suggests that the
success of those who already have wealth will somehow trickle down
through better wages for workers is a joke,” [Trygve Throntveit, US historian and Wilson scholar] said.
via The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/08/the-first-attack-ad.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+andrewsullivan%2FrApM+%28The+Daily+Dish%29