Low –ethos talk to erode interest in Ideology; Affordance.

Low –ethos talk to erode interest in Idealogy; Affordance. By Dr. Sohail Ansari

Conceived and worded by DR Sohail Ansari (originality of concepts and originality of words).

He believes that there can never be a zero scope for improvement and appreciates criticism if it is not for the sake of criticism.

·      If monitoring voters’ brains guides to voting tendencies and listening to what they say misguides then all voters are liars.

Low-ethos Talk on Islam: the way to undermine ideology

Islam cannot be challenged head-on in a country like Pakistan; even coded criticism can have the serious implications. Private channels are not even subtle in their condemnation; they simply violate the classical interpretation of ethos. Channels have apparently no vested interest or ulterior motive in the talk shows and debates on the Islam as the ideology; however, almost all speakers or participants have no phronesis (practical skill) and arête (goodness or virtue). Feelings of the audience of such programs are not different from the feeling audience get having listened a lawyer giving a speech on space flight. There has been much ebbing of interest in Islam recently, and credit goes to low-ethos speakers. 

Affordance by Gibson 

‘We relate to our outer selves through our actions. We are invaded with external signals from the events we are confronted with and bombarded with internal signals from the actions we have chosen to grapple with it. To avoid discomfort, we need to find the stable pattern of behavior within that flux the out-and-inner world can afford. Perception is therefore the recognition of invariant repertoires of behavior.’  

Format:         Leader/Party-Information Format

Campaign:    2002

Newspaper: Jung

From:             Muslim League(Q)

Ad:      Value ad

Ad N: 26

Analysis:

Headings and picture sequences allowed, on the one hand, consumers to view MLQ in different ways; and on the other, not only accentuate but also lend credence to the claim of Muslim League (Q) as the prospective ruling party of Pakistan. In generating the overall meanings; different ways of the ad, the statements/predictions of politicians and newspapers are synthesized by logical linkages, and by association; while concluding remarks from Muslim League (Q) sharpens the impression of the ad, which reflects the overall exuberant optimism for victory.

Leaders of (Q) urge the people to echo the belief of them for victory (by voting), as economist of London echoes it through words:

            ‘The commonest forecast is  ...’

Movie-like sequences of images meshing with text would be far more efficacious than by simply placing pictures at corner. Visualization then would speak for itself and demonstrate strongest possibilities of victory by expanding ad’s communicative domains.

NEGATIVES:       

Consumers of ads (especially of print media) are literate enough and therefore, have in most cases set of values or are value conscious.

This ad does not want people to commit mistakes of wasting votes:

         ‘No need to waste vote on losers..’

The word ‘waste’ would sound (to educated consumer) as if mercantile approach is applied to politics. Betting the wrong horse is a mistake in horse-race; but decision to vote cannot be conditioned by the chances of candidate; rather one votes for what candidate stands for. The best party is not, hence, the one with the best chance to win; it is the one that one believes endorses or sides with the best cause.

Parties represent a spectrum of approaches to the problems of country; and this difference distinguishes Republican from Democrat in USA and Tory from Liberal in Britain. This difference is the most cherished thing, and can never be a casualty of election. This choice of party lies with politicians, and this choice is governed by what they perceive to be the right approach. Shift in the party allegiance, regardless of its chances of defeat or victory, is out of the question.

To reader fully conversant with past of the leaders of Muslim League Q; this ad reads like the allegation: the allegation of opportunism leveled against ML (Q) by ML (Q), as it captures it, it also develops an overarching view of Pakistan politics. It showcases the ‘talent’ of Pakistani politicians for not only taking abashed U-turn but also urging people to practice sheer opportunism by going where the wind goes:

                                ‘Support Victory    

The ad grows self-defeating as the few lines of it inadvertently, on the one hand, encourages reader to plumb the depth of greed for landing on the corridors of power by pulling together the art of pulling off a ‘unique feat of adaptation’ in a fashion that exceeds all expectation; and on the other, encourage readers to recognize, layer by layer, in this attitude the opportunism which is by all accounts is egregious if anything by dealing in precisely the disparity between the self they reveal to the outside world: ‘Muslim League (Q) is your own party’ and the one they allow themselves to know: ‘Muslim League Q is of us, by us, and for us.’

The ad seems proud to display statement of Benazir: ‘PPP won’t be allowed to get majority’; when asked Nawaz said that ‘PML (Q) will be the first party.’

The charges of riggings are implicit in the statement of Benazir. Won’t be allowed means that PPP can get majority but it won’t be allowed to get it. The belief of Nawaz cannot be termed as the acknowledgment of the popularity of ML (Q) either. More likely having seen engineered election on the wall, he uttered these words.