#phil davison

Epistrophy

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd_JAo5cfdg)

Phil Davison - ((Epic Transformers theme remix))

Cultural Figure of the Day: Phil Davison

  Enjoy this absolutely moving speech from cultural figure, Phil Davison. My favorite parts are 1:40 and 2:50.

“Politics is not touch football, politics is winner take all.”

I’m always going on about how important people watching is, so I figured I’d put some people watching stuff into this thing. First up: Phil Davidson, who once sought the nomination to be the Republican nominee for the Stark County Treasurer’s office in Ohio.  Here’s his clip:

Stark County, for those of you who don’t already know, is not a major political entity, nor does its treasury hold very much sway over anything. Its the home of the pro football hall of fame and a couple of famous golf courses. Also, it’s where my mother was born and raised. I’ve spent a lot of time in Stark County. It’s not an important place. And yet, for Davidson, the stakes of this appointment could not be higher. It’s a great demonstration of how subjective stakes can be, as well as how a clearly defined goal can motivate a character to do crazy things that still feel fully believable. Here’s my play-by-play breakdown of the clip:

  00:05- You can already tell something is up. This guy is pacing and there’s a weird combination of respect and disgust in the way he says “executive committee.” My guess is that he’s a partisan politician, and wants to stick it to the Democrats while still toadying up to the Republicans in the room.

  00:15- “My name is Phil Davidson and I am seeking our party’s nomination for the position of Stark County Treasurer on November 10th – November of 2010, excuse me.” He’s misreading his audience. He thinks he’s revving up a crowd of 10,000 on national TV, but he’s probably just addressing a room of two dozen in a town hall somewhere. He’s already so flustered and in his head with the import of it all that he conflates the day and the year. So far, he’s off to a great start.

  00:38- He’s holding up fingers to emphasize 13 years of service, completely neglecting that he’s only got 10 fingers. Good work, Phil.

  00:55- There’s a loooong pause before he blurts out “…and a master’s degree in communication,” and his voice sounds like it’s about to crack again when he finally does get it out. My guess is that this guy memorized his speech, practiced it once in the mirror, then decided he didn’t want it to feel stale so he didn’t rehearse it beyond that. It’s obvious from the ways in which he’s flubbed so far (only a minute in!) that the speech has been meticulously scripted. If it weren’t, he’d be able to go with the gist of a statement, rather than tripping himself up because he didn’t get the exact wording right. He’s already idolizing himself.

  01:18- “…and I will not apologize for my tone tonight.” He’s anticipating blowback already, so he’s a little self-aware. However, the egocentrism demonstrated by his reverence for his writing is here underscored by the fact that he is only SELF aware, and is wholly unable to read the room.

  01:28- Here we go! “I have been a republican in times good, and I have been a republican in times bad” is Davidson baring his soul to the room. He’s trying to show vulnerability. This statement is his proof that he’s not some fair-weather party affiliate here for political gain, he’s been here for years. It’s a statement that’s meant to act as a justification for his demeanor. To him, his fervor is earned and justified by his loyalty to the party. Note also the SEVEN SECONDS of silence afterwards where he looks like a frightened child. This is his most honest moment so far- he’s genuinely terrified that he might be losing the room, which means he’ll lose the nomination. So, he’s going to double down.

  01:30- Everything from here on out is him yelling. The crowd’s not responding, so obviously it’s because he’s not impassioned or loud enough.

  01:47- The gasp when he realizes he’s botched the quote is again an incredibly honest, real moment that he’s having in response to the realization that he’s giving a B+ execution of this A+ speech he wrote for the most important political nomination of his career.

  2:05- “The Stark County Treasurer’s office is a MESS.” Here’s the call to action. He’s justified his outrage by invoking the past, now he’s invoking the present, and soon he’ll invoke the future. He’s laying bare the structure of his speech, the direction he hopes his fervor will take him.

  2:21- “…and an even more aggressive campaigner.” He’s pointed out a problem, now he’s offering himself as the solution. He’s going to hit the ground running, come out swinging, and end up winning, after all. However, he’s winded himself from pacing and his voice is cracking almost uncontrollably. I think he’s aware of it, but that he thinks nobody else has noticed.

  2:52- “Drastic times require what?” Listen to how INSANELY pumped he gets when somebody answers this question.  This is the first time since he began that he’s actually felt the connection with the audience he’s been hoping to feel. Gone now is the fear that he might be losing them. The connection is demonstrable now, it’s been verified. Now he’s confident, not only in that his message is being heard, but in that he was able to turn a B+ speech into the A+ speech he had hoped it would be.

  3:03- You can hear the crowd tittering. So can Davidson, but he most likely thinks it’s murmurs of agreement, not “Holy fuck what is Phil doing?”

  3:14- Some good preplanned gesticulation here. It’s meant to look organic and spontaneous, but it’s obviously canned. Also notice that his voice isn’t cracking anymore.

  3:28- “Infest-ation.” Certainly an evocative word, but it’s used wholly without context here. Perhaps he’s referring to what his friend Alex just said, but I doubt it. He just knows that’s a word people normally associate with cockroaches, and he’s trying to make the crowd feel the same disgust he does about the current state of the treasurer’s office.

  3:41- “If nominated tonight…” He’s signaling that his tone was intended for his opponents. This voice, this Phil Davidson, is for the executive committee who’s approval he’s seeking. To them, he’ll be nice, to his enemies, he’ll be unbearable.

  4:02- I love these pauses. He’s planned them out, so that what he’s just said can sink in. However, he’s getting caught up in the moment of letting things sink in, and forgetting what comes next.

  4:36- Good gesticulation for tool here. He’s calmed down now that he’s gotten the crowd’s attention. He’s feeling playful, but all his playful bits have been meticulously scripted.

  4:44- “…but as a weapon.” There’s a glimpse of the old Phil.

  4:58- “If nominated tonight I win! Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell Randy Gonzalez.” His voice is cracking again! Yay! He’s getting back to the fire and brimstone approach he started off with. Also, Randy Gonzalez is quite possibly the funniest name he could have come up with. Great specifics on this guy.

  5:21- “I guarantee what you are seeing from me tonight is what everybody outside those doors is going to get over the next eight weeks.” Perspective’s important. He thinks this is a good thing, but the concerned murmurs of the crowd during his silences are a clear indicator that they think otherwise. However, he’s primed himself to be encouraged by them (it’s a little reminiscent of how Krazy Kat has primed himself to take Ignatz’s bricks as tokens of love, when they are clearly not intended as such).

  5:31- “I used to be an idealistic thinker, I am now a pragmatic thinker. Government may be about service, but politics is about winning.” He’s throwing out soundbytes, hoping that the executive committee will start imagining the Stark County electorate repeating these in their heads like they were pop songs.

  5:45- He stops folding up his sheet of notes to check and make sure he’s getting the wording of his dismount correct. Again, he’s full of himself.

  5:48- He says thank you like he’s dropping a mic, then is SO CONFIDENT that he’s got everybody’s support that he doesn’t make eye contact with a single person on the way to his seat. He’s certain that not only has he reached his target audience, but that he’s turned them to his side after a rocky start. The adrenaline hasn’t worn off yet, and probably won’t for a while.

  For those who are curious, here’s a follow-up interview with Megyn Kelly: 

If you can get past what an awful, grating person Megyn Kelly is, you can see a toned down version of Phil Davison. In terms of character study, this is a good baseline to use as a comparison. Again, he’s kind of tone deaf- he doesn’t seem to pick up on the fact that Megyn Kelly is mocking him to his face, nor does he understand the true reason why his video got so many views. He thinks it’s because of his message, but it’s because he’s a laughingstock. Again, his point of view (I am a radical politician) is coloring his perception of events, and leading him to a different interpretation than one an objective observer would have.

I just remembered this video from tosh.0

this is a speech from Phil Davison who was running for Stark County, Ohio treasurer.  

IF YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS WATCH IT NOW!!! IT IS HILARIOUS!!!

and when you are done watching this original video...  go watch this