The Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida could have been called as forgettable as all other Presidential nominating processes are. Does anyone really remember the speeches in the Democrat National Convention from four years ago? Probably not. Is anyone really going to remember exactly what the President said three days after the Democratic National Convention? Probably not. Sure, it will get some press play for about a day and a half which is about as long as it will take for a new scandal to pop up. But no one is going to forget Clint Eastwood’s brilliant speech anytime soon.
While the left has gone so far as to call it bizarre, the real brilliance lies in the deviation from the normal run of the mill, hype up the crowd type of speeches that will be completely forgotten by next week. In fact, it was so brilliant that it started a new internet craze called Eastwooding. The DNC can only hope that one of its speeches might get that kind of viral recognition. Of course, without Clint Eastwood gracing the stage, they really don’t stand a chance. Perhaps, there is a little jealousy on the left.
Actually, talking to a chair isn’t that new. It is a technique used quite frequently in acting classes. It isn’t new to television either as an empty chair has sometimes replaced guests that haven’t shown up when they were supposed to. Perhaps, what is really bizarre about the whole matter is that the big Hollywood types have forgotten that they probably at some point have talked to an empty chair or something very close to it. Judging by the quality of movies being put out lately, some of them could obviously use a refresher course on chair talking.
So, as Eastwooding is sweeping the net, the DNC is slated to hold its convention. Not that there will be any real surprises there. After the rather boring political speeches attempting to generate an enthusiasm that is probably more faked than real, and listening to another Presidential speech that will promise the world and deliver nothing, they just don’t have a guest to match up to Eastwood’s style and charisma. Frankly, any attempt to recreate the empty chair speech by their guests will likely fall flat.
The real brilliance behind Eastwood’s speech is not that he talked to an empty chair but that he made the RNC rather entertaining for those who wouldn’t normally listen to a bunch of political speeches. He reached out beyond the confines of the party and got other people to listen to him. That was the real brilliance behind the speech. That is truly the mark of a great speech and a great actor.
