If it seems like pop culture took a more prominent role in Campaign than ever before it s largely because of technology that makes pop culture now such a participatory experience. More related photos By Jocelyn Noveck ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press Posted Nov PM Given the historic election we ve all just experienced it s hard to remember back to last week let alone June when Barack Obama was a true underdog polling way behind front runner Hillary Rodham Clinton. That s when a year old ad executive came up with an idea for a new Web video. Seeking something catchy to launch a new site barelypolitical.com he sensed that Obama though well behind Clinton had a huge following online because of his youthful appeal. And so Ben Relles made the Obama Girl video a racy paean to the candidate that s been seen millions of times on YouTube and other sites spawned sequels was picked up by mainstream media across the globe and made bikini clad model Amber Lee Ettinger a unique kind of p! olitical Web celebrity. Pop culture in political campaigns is nothing new. But it s easy to forget that in when George W. Bush ran against John Kerry there was no YouTube. If it seems like pop culture took a more prominent role in this election than ever before it s largely due to technology that now makes pop culture such a participatory experience. People aren t just receiving pop culture from mass media anymore says Montana Miller professor at Bowling Green State University. They re agents themselves producing mashups videos making T shirts. It s difficult to tell anymore what s amateur and what s not. So everyone was producing pop culture this election season The media the candidates themselves their supporters or just people with a computer and a little time. Here s a chronological look at some of the top pop culture moments of Election THE POWER OF O In May Oprah Winfrey endorses Barack Obama on Larry King Live the first time the talk show queen has ever endorsed a po! litical candidate. What he stands for what he has proven that he can stand for . was worth me going out on a limb she says. Oprah s endorsement still viewable on YouTube of course leads to a media discussion of how valuable such endorsements are. Most experts say not so much. But this is Oprah and two economists later claim they ve calculated that Winfrey s endorsement gave Obama about a million votes. I GOTTA CRUSH The above mentioned Obama Girl video comes out the next month with catchy lyrics along the lines of You re into border security let s break this border between you and me Obama himself indicates he s not pleased. In any case Relles estimates the video has been seen about million times million on YouTube alone. The Web especially online video has given us a way to participate in this election says Relles. Something that s created in an afternoon can be seen millions of times across the globe. See the video here http www.youtube.com watch v wKsoXHYICqU YES WE CAN This one Obama likes. In February rapper songwriter and producer will.i! .am brings together a star studded cast for his own viral video the song Yes We Can based on the candidate s acclaimed speech after a second place finish in the New Hampshire primary. It was as if he was talking to me will.i.am says of that speech. The song features Obama s voice set to will.i.am s music and melody plus vocalizations from Scarlet Johansson John Legend Kate Walsh Herbie Hancock and others. DIRT OFF YOUR SHOULDER When was the last time you saw a presidential candidate proudly displaying his hip hop knowledge In April at a rally in Raleigh N.C. Obama is bemoaning political attacks from the Clinton camp. You just gotta kinda let it . the candidate says. And then he brushes the dirt off his shoulders. It s a Jay Z move and Obama does it once twice three times then brushes some off his leg too. That s what you gotta do he tells the crowd. They roar back their approval. Immediately there are mashups galore. AN ARTFUL ENDORSEMENT Los Angeles street artist Shepard F! airey creates in May what will become a wildly popular poster of Obama.. Getting permission from the campaign first he chooses a photo of the candidate gazing ahead then uses colors of red white and blue to create his image underlined by the word HOPE. The posters sell like hotcakes. THE ANTI CELEBRITY MOVEMENT He s the biggest celebrity in the world. But is he ready to lead The words of John McCain s anti Obama campaign ad are provocative but the images really get the attention Obama speaking to an adoring crowd in Berlin interspersed with footage of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Does it work Some pop culture analysts and humorists say the attack ad is silly and even passe given that Spears and Hilton are hardly in the news anymore. But it certainly gets attention. Then to surprise us all Hilton pipes up with her own video riposte actually wittier than the original. SARAH TINA PALIN FEY It s Sarah Palin time Some have called this THE pop culture moment of the campaign certainly it s one of them. In September Tina Fey who looks uncannily lik! e the Alaska governor launches her much admired impersonation on Saturday Night Live getting the look and the accent and the wink just right. The first sketch with Amy Poehler as Clinton comes after Palin s shaky TV interview with Charles Gibson on ABC and includes the iconic line I can see Russia from my house KATIE S COMEBACK Katie Couric scores a viral video hit and unfortunately for Palin it s not a song but an actual news interview with the VP candidate and one in which she stumbles badly wrapping herself in tongue twisters over foreign policy unable to give details on running mate McCain s record and in one segment unable or unwilling to tell Couric what newspapers she reads. For the anchor though it s a major coup after two years of low ratings and negative stories about her tenure at CBS. SNL SUMMIT A great season for SNL gets even better the show earns its best ratings in years when Palin herself appears on the show appearing on the same screen as Fey for only a sp! lit second but then bopping along during a Weekend Update segment as Poehler raps All the mavericks in the house put your hands up McCAIN HUMOR Not to be upstaged by his running mate well not this time John McCain makes his own appearance on SNL just two days before the election. The GOP candidate shows he has a sense of humor announcing he ll pursue a new campaign strategy The reverse maverick. That s where I d do whatever anybody tells me. McCain is a hit unfortunately for him the ratings don t translate directly to votes. Loading commenting interface. Comments Thank you for the abuse report. We will review the report and take appropriate action. Loading comments. Loading content. Top Ads Homes Cars More Top Ads More Homes More Cars Loading content. Extras Wicked Local Homes Back to School Home and Garden Auto Insurance Coupons Wicked Local Parents Arts Entertainment GOODlife Readers Choice DMC Dynamic Rotating Banner Requires JavaScript and Flash Loading content. Recent Stories Michelle Obama s Inaugural Ball gown should be bold New home ke! eps family and dogs happy How to save money at Thanksgiving Dog park exile is extreme Shopping with Oprah Pop culture moments that defined Election Ensure success with fall clearance plants takes a Quantum leap Hovey gives a first string production of second. Spamalot fills in for doomed Brigadoon Site Map Homepage News Obituaries Sports Opinions Entertainment Lifestyle Business Multimedia Blogs Original content available for non commercial use under a Creative Commons license except where noted . The MetroWest Daily News New York Ave. Framingham MA Contact Us Subscriber Services Copyright GateHouse Media Inc. Some Rights Reserved
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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand and stocks clawed back some of the week’s heavy losses on Friday, bolstered by firmer U.S. stocks that gained on hopes a bank rescue plan will be approved and another banking tie-up.
The rand had firmed 0.9 percent to 8.4420 against the dollar at 1535 GMT, also boosted by a recovery in the gold price, after slipping to a 5-1/2 year low of 8.5745 earlier in the day.
Analysts said a higher start on Wall Street, which rose despite a report showing that that economy shed the most jobs in more than 5 years may have tamed some of the risk aversion that has weighed on emerging markets this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2 percent in early trade as investors hoped U.S. lawmakers will approve a $700 billion package to rescue troubled banks, and after Wells Fargo agreed to buy embattled bank Wachovia Corp.
“It looks very much like it (the rand) is taking its cue from what is happening in the U.S. equity markets,†George Glynos, managing director of market analysts ETM, said.
“This week the rand has correlated quite well with Wall Street.â€
The rand has lost almost 5 percent of its value against a rallying dollar this week, but has strengthened slightly against the euro.
The dollar continued its run against the European currency to a 13-month high, partly on expectations Euro interest rates will fall, although it later pared gains.
“POSITIVE NOTEâ€
Gold bounced off a two-week low, which together with the higher U.S. stocks helped lift Johannesburg’s blue-chip index off a two-year low.
The Top-40 index gained 0.59 percent to 20,523.64 points and the All-Share index was up 0.52 percent at 22,678.25 points.
Read full article: S.Africa rand, stocks boosted
