Guide
This is the cover page of the infomercial video.
Here’s the link to the actual video: https://vimeo.com/758390110/9bc6404165
Research
I started up my research really focusing on the actual history of puppetry, and then I went into puppet usage and its importance in child development and psychology research. However, I landed on focusing on the political ideology aspect of Puppets, specifically the puppet rulers, puppet leaders, and puppet governments. I was curious if there are specific rules on what qualified a ruler as a puppet, and was surprised to see the variety of explanations and debates on this topic, especially in the realm of international relations. I then dig into historical leaders that are considered classic examples of puppets, such as Pu-Yi and Philippe Pétain. I also found some interesting case studies with controversial debates, such as whether Hitler should be considered as a dictator or a puppet. Later on, I got into the larger issue of what puppet politics might look like in practice, as well as the danger of it. I specifically focused on post-colonial Africa and post-Soviet Eurasia and the crisis caused by puppet leadership. I got more in-depth with reading on the “indirect rule” in African countries under European control, and how those resulted in tragic events such as the Rwandan genocide.
When I got to the Rwandan genocide, I realized I’ve gotten too deep into a specific dark area, and while I have a strong passion to discuss such issues, I need to learn to separate the research and the experiment, hence this project itself. I cut back and tried to find the main takeaway point I wish to deliver through a short infomercial I plan to make. Instead of information dumping, I wish to at least help make aware of the serious danger that puppet leadership might cause. However, I also want to convey the difficulty in the reality of identifying a puppet politician. While the infomercial itself promises an easy solution to identify a puppet leader, the real intention is to show how impossible it is.
Bibliography
Berkeley Puppet Interview.
https://vimeo.com/243454256.
De Heusch, Luc. “Rwanda: Responsibilities for a Genocide.”
Anthropology Today 11, no. 4 (1995): 3–7.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2783105.
Drewes, Athena A., and Charles E. Schaefer.
Puppet Play Therapy: A Practical Guidebook. Milton, UNITED KINGDOM: Taylor & Francis Group, 2017.
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5148621.
First Glimpse of Spitting Image Pits Johnson and Trump against Putin… in the Sauna, 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry-3uatYDJk.
Gross, Joan.
Speaking in Other Voices: An Ethnography of Walloon Puppet Theaters. Philadelphia, NETHERLANDS, THE: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2001.
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=623135.
Limited, Alamy. “Coloured Illustration of a Punch and Judy Show with Puppet Heads of Politicians Entitled ‘The Opinion of the Population’. Illustrated by Chanteclair. Dated 6 July 1895 Stock Photo – Alamy.”
https://www.alamy.com/coloured-illustration-of-a-punch-and-judy-show-with-puppet-heads-of-politicians-entitled-the-opinion-of-the-population-illustrated-by-chanteclair-dated-6-july-1895-image481875914.html.
“London Covent Gardens Plaque or Inscription Commemorating Memorial to the 1st Punch & Judy Puppet Puppets Show as Recorded by Samuel Pepys in 1662 Stock Photo – Alamy.”
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-london-covent-gardens-plaque-or-inscription-commemorating-memorial-35709019.html.
Lutmar, Carmela. “Winners, Losers, and Puppets: Deposed Leaders and Foreign Policy Compliance.” Ph.D., New York University.
https://www.proquest.com/pqdtglobal/docview/305167019/abstract/416C09CA56DE4449PQ/3.
Norman, Andrew.
Hitler: Dictator or Puppet? Havertown, UNITED STATES: Pen & Sword Books Limited, 2020.
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3007493.
Victoria and Albert Museum. “V&A · A History of Puppets in Britain.”
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/a-history-of-puppets-in-britain.
Wurth, Kiene. “Spitting Image and Pre-Televisual Political Satire: Graphics and Puppets to Screens.” Image and Narrative : Online Magazine of the Visual Narrative 12 (August 1, 2011).
I love the sense of taking an impossible thing seriously comes out from the video! It makes your point less heavy but also lets me start thinking, “what if it comes true?” I am wondering, is Dr.Johnson A puppet?
I like that you got into the more than the physical mean puppet and ventured into the connotation part of it!
I really like the idea of taking on the angle of political figures as puppets. I think it’s an important topic and a good way of interpreting the word “puppet”. I liked the format of an informational/promotional video because while being satire, it’s a way to imply to the audience to take action.
Also, amazing editing and acting in the video!
Amazing job, Jaye! I love the connection to politics and the upcoming election, I think this was a super smart through-line for your metaphor. Love the cameo by your pup too
Hi Jaye!
I love this project. The infomercial was very immersive and kind of creepy – in a good way! My main critiques would be:
1) The length. It feels very informercial-esque towards the middle, but its a bit tough at the very beginning to understand. Maybe shortening the length with more “Buy now” and “For a limited time, shipping and handling are free” or things like that to get the point across more clearly.
Also, very cool with the ambiguous ending. I also really like that your stance and voice are clear. Really well done!
Hi Jaye,
I love the informercial you made. I’m also a big fan of dragon ball. Below are some of my thoughts.
1. For me, the speed of the video is a little bit too fast. Sometimes I need to look at the subtitle to get what the speaker is saying. Speaking of which, the subtitle is helpful indeed.
2. Some of the information in the video appears too fast. For example the information of Pu-Yi and Hitler, I had to pause the video to read the words. Also when I first watched your video during the presentation, some of the examples confused me, like Hitler. But after reading your post and knowing about your research, I got your idea of showing them in your video. I think add a little more explanations to show your thought might help viewers understand better without background knowledge.
3. I appreciate your focus on puppet leadership. Here are some of my thought I want to share with you. When I was thinking about this idea, I thought about the definition of the definition of capitalism, in which, human leadership are controlled by capital. In this point of view, there might be a lot more puppet leadership than we think of.
In all, your form of guide is very well done. I can see you incorporated many thoughts and research results in your informercial. I personally learned a lot from your project. Well done!