I can tell it is election time. How? Because nearly overnight, there are posters everywhere of guys in suits with uber serious "Vote for me, I know" faces. Everywhere. Huge billboards, empty walls now plastered with posters. Vans outfitted with advertisement. TV reklame/marketing time now devoted to izbori (sic?) 2009. i had asked a friend about this and he said that it was all for local elections, but that didn't make sense after seeing all the efforts going into these campaigns. I check with the Internet, and I see this is all for president. Well, that makes more sense.
here is my reaction as a passive observer.
Macedonia, unlike Germany, has a thriving pop culture of its own. they have their own tv shows, movies, music etc.
TANGENT: Germany was severely lacking here. some people I had asked about it said that the US influence was so great following WWII that Germany never had the chance to build up its own media culture. meh meh, maybe this is true. hence, when i went to ask for metal music at stores, i was directed to Rammstein or any number of US or scandinavian bands. why all the tv shows were american- exception of Verliebt in Berlin, but even that wasnt original, ive seen that story line in Ugly Betty and now here in a spanish soap opera. movies- ok germans do make movies. and very good ones. but they aren't pumping out a whole lot of em. maybe this is tied in a way to cultural pride. macedonians- very proud of being macedonian. germans- thanks to the Holocaust, not so much.
ANYWAY. where i was going with this is that the quality of tv shows and news here in Macedonia are not what i'm used to as an American. not talking about content here, i dont understand much of what is said. but film quality, camera techniques etc. but now with all these political ads for candidates, I am shocked to see some damn fine commercials. like artistic and really good. this one I saw was really beautiful, panning in and out on older Macedonians watching a candidate give a speech and the lighting was all soft and luscious and it almost brought a tear to me eye.
So now I'm thinking, wow, it is possible to up the quality of film here. But the next thought is, ah right, it probably comes down to money. Now I'm just curious
how much money is going into the elections. I'm letting that question simmer.
It is also interesting that the candidates are assigned numbers. I remember watching this selection happen on the news, not really understanding what was going on. Click, got it. People don't even have to remember the name of the candidate, just the number.
What I do like is that the election stuff hasn't been in your face until now. The elections are on the 22nd of march i think. and its just now ramping up. Lets look at the US election campaign that started well over a year before the actual presidential elections. However, I think Macedonia could benefit from a longer campaign cycle. Now it seems more like a popularity/beauty contest after seeing all the posters.
Remember, just a passive observer.
