Political Realm vs Entertainment Realm

Trump, the raconteur, draws his audience inside the troll, along with him. We’re no longer spectators watching his performance. He brings us into the missile defence control room along with him.

The effect is to remove us from the Political Realm (where in democracies we have THE power), into the Entertainment Realm (where all we can do is watch the players controlling emotional journeys inside our minds - our Mana, our motivations, our intentions, our values are transformed through watching this acting out, this play).

Then, at the end Trump leaves the stage, and we the audience are still inside the troll he has created, or powerless to change our rulers, or both.

Source: What Trump Doing

This is the key distinction. In the Political Realm, we have power — we are citizens. In the Entertainment Realm, we can only watch. Spectacle moves us from one to the other.

← Previous: Politics on the Plane of Spectacle | Back to Spectacle | Next: The Pantomime Villain Strategy →