Chapter 22: Theater in the Round
While the options to electronically see each other existed Claudia and Austin preferred to talk incognito. Growing up Catholic, Claudia was familiar with the pseudo anonymity of the confessional. Not seeing Austin made it easier for her to speak her mind, to not filter her words because she was reading his body language and facial expressions. Austin, likewise, felt safer talking to Claudia in relative darkness. He welcomed the opportunity to talk things out without having to worry about presentation or falling prey to the temptation of manipulating the situation through visual cues.
Their conversations were stripped bare of all environmental factors. Tacitly they both decided to have their new relationship be founded on logic and ideas, on the unadorned power of their convictions. Each evening the two orators strived to downplay the emotions of their arguments while defending the accuracy of their viewpoints in reflecting their lived experience.
Claudia was no longer willing to accept being labeled the idealist and Austin the realist. In fact, she was beginning to sense that maybe the reverse was true. The more they talked, the more convinced she was that Austin’s faith in the future made him into the true idealist.
“On a number of occasions in the past you pointed out the limits of the recycling industry,” Claudia began to lay down the groundwork for a point she wanted to make. “Your point was that we had to generate increasing amounts of waste to support the recycling industry. Without mounds of waste, there would in fact be no industry.”
“Uh-huh”, Austin slowly acknowledged knowing Claudia was building a case.
“Well, doesn’t the existence of a public relations industry mean we have to have more lies. If people told the truth, there wouldn’t be a need for public relations, would there? So, don’t people in the public relations field have to become better and more diverse liars in order to justify and preserve their field?”
“Whoa!” Austin shot back urgently. “Lies and deception were here long before public relations. We didn’t invent lies, we didn’t even popularize them. In fact, the public relations field has probably prevented more bald faced lies than it has promulgated.”
“Prevented lies!” Claudia said in disbelief. “How in the world have public relations and the advertising industry prevented people from lying?”
“The goal of a businessman is to make money, not necessarily to lie,” Austin said happy to get the floor. “I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve helped a company save face and even improve their image without resorting to all out lies. Lies which they fully intended to unleash on the public before I showed them a more honest alternative.”
“More honest,” snapped Claudia as she leapt on Austin’s last words. “Either you’re honest or you’re not. So you are saying we should thank an industry who assists the business and political community in making their lies more sophisticated and discreet.”
“Let’s not get too carried away with the idea of honesty. An impulsive or blatant presentation of facts is not necessarily more honest than a planned one. One should not have to apologize for wanting to be courteous, sensitive and compassionate. One should not have to apologize for avoiding being cruel or barbaric. One could argue that civilization began with such social graces, and any hope of planetary harmony begins with a certain amount of such calculated deception.”
Austin’s voice rose as he switched directions in his argument. “Is wearing make-up a deception? If that’s the case, should we look at all habits of hygiene as forms of deception? Is bathing and deodorizing the human body a form of being dishonest?”
Claudia struggled for a few moments, but finally found the words to restate her case. She explained to Austin she was not advocating for blatant honesty, but rather expressing a concern for the amount of dishonesty required to sustain the existence of a public relations industry. Claudia believed there was an excess of deception in modern society. Business and government deceived people on a regular basis, not because they wanted to be kind or gentile, but because it was convenient and allowed them to manipulate and control the public.
It was Claudia’s contention the advertising and public relations field lied even when it was totally unnecessary. Lying was a skill to be honed and being honest was a dangerous tool to be avoided. People of power were threatened by honesty, and felt it too dangerous to tell the truth in even the most innocuous of situations. Telling the simple truth, Claudia maintained, would be setting a dangerous precedent, and would stand out like a sore thumb from the world of double speak and exaggeration usually utilized. Just like one would never know it was hot until they experienced a cold day, likewise, the American public couldn’t recognize a lie unless they’ve ever been told the truth.
When Claudia finished making her point she was surprised when Austin, instead of arguing, just laughed. Austin said he had to agree with much of Claudia’s position. Often times people of power do lie because of motives like fear and control. Often times they do not trust the ability of the public to properly handle the truth. Yet, Austin asserted, these fears were usually born from experience and not paranoia.
Austin talked about what he referred to as the “degrees of deception”. In most cases information is just minorly embellished before it is presented to the public. In advertising that means focusing on the positives of a product, in politics it means stressing the benefits to the voter. These slight deviations from the unadorned truth he described as being a mere 5 to 10 degrees from the truth.
Explaining the entire circle of deception Austin gave the following examples. When you attempt to portray something completely negative as positive, or vice versa, or totally fabricate a story one was utilizing 180 degrees of deception. When you end up saying the same thing as was true, but from an entirely different standpoint, you are using 360 degrees of deception. A 90 degree deception is when a story is embellished to the point where it becomes its own distracting subplot, and a 270 degree deception is a subplot off of a bold faced lie.
Since history has proved the public seldom is positively affected or motivated by the truth, those interested in getting the public’s support or inspiring them to action have found it necessary to embellish or sometimes lie. Though he admitted all degrees of deception are commonly used by the molders of public opinion, Austin claimed he personally almost always stayed within a few degrees of the truth.
Whether one’s goal is to sell a car, or muster public support for a war, a good publicist will only use the amount of deception required to achieve his goal. A bad publicist or one working for a paranoid client will often use an excessive amount of deception.
Claudia asked Austin how he could calmly accept the fact that deception was such a pervasive strategy in his field. Austin replied that was the way the world was and he had little choice but to accept it. He felt by his constructing relatively honest campaigns he was doing his best to minimize the amount of deception used by his peers. People adopt strategies which are successful and the more often he created successful ventures minimizing deception the more others would follow his lead.
After admitting she appreciated Austin’s efforts and agreed he had indeed shown positive leadership in his field, she restated her concerns. Claudia felt the perception of the public held by the shapers of public opinion was outdated and grossly underestimated the abilities of most citizens. In her view, the belief in the need to lie to the public was born in the first half of the twentieth century by the founders of public relations. Since then the practices of ad men and politicians have been creating, rather than responding to, the public’s inability to accept the truth.
“I admit many of the practices and attitudes of those in public relations are outdated and inaccurate,” Austin responded to Claudia’s last point. “I also admit business and government strategists seldom even try telling the unembellished truth to the public anymore, but one doesn’t have to look far to see that the average person still prefers fantasy over reality.”
“We live in a society,” Austin continued, “where people crave fantasy and the exaggerated. No matter how much importance we place on science, when it comes down to it, people rely on faith and superstition. People prefer creation over the big bang, astrology and psychic counseling over problem solving, and tabloids are read more religiously than newspapers. When people are sick they complain about the medical field and opt for unproven alternatives ranging from stones and crystals to energy fields and meridians.”
“If reality was preferred, we wouldn’t have so many people addicted to hard core drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. Anything which alters one’s perception of reality stands a good chance of being a commercial success. Whether that be the minor high of caffeine, or the rush of amphetamines. If people craved truth our most popular books, TV shows and movies wouldn’t be so full of fantasy and unrealistic action and violence.”
Austin continued on in this vein for a good five minutes. Claudia said nothing for she couldn’t dispute his point. In almost every area of life, people did seem to prefer exaggeration and embellishment. Though she did feel people were often seduced and brainwashed into a life of hedonistic over-consumption, she could not deny they appeared very eager to be exploited.
While Austin spoke Claudia became increasingly absorbed in thoughts regarding the expanding role of drama and fantasy in people’s lives. When she finally formulated these thoughts into observations she shared them with Austin.
It appeared to Claudia that theatre and fantasy had always played a part in human existence. Throughout history man had found refuge and inspiration in the realm of fantasy. Even primitive man enjoyed song, dance, poetry and storytelling. As time went on people built on these interests with printed books and social activities such as plays, the opera and ballet, and later with radio, newspapers, magazines, movies and television.
Yet, since the end of WWII there has been an explosion of drama into the life of the average individual. Entertainment is now found everyday in the home and out on the streets. Every street is filled with billboards and neon signs designed to grab our attention and affect our hearts and minds. Every day we are bombarded with an endless slew of dramatic stories in the newspaper and newscasts. In our cars and at home we entertain ourselves with dramatic words and pictures on TV, radio, CD’s and computer screens.
“When we work,” Claudia pointed out to Austin, “we are all on-line and networked together. We have to deal with the real life dramas of everyone we work with, and with whom we are electronically networked. When not at work, many of us are still tied to cell phones and electronic devices which keep us involved with the real life dramas and crises of hundreds of people.”
“Almost all of our waking hours are spent being wooed by salesman telling us we need their products while exaggerating their benefits and importance. We are convinced our careers depend on being on-line every second of every day while needing to use the latest technology.”
“Our leisure time is pervaded by TV programs and movies, which all emphasize the theatric and dramatic. Whether we are watching sitcoms, the news, or movies, we are bombarded by endless dramas, fictions and fantasies. Even that which is real is condensed to maximize its entertainment value. The competition for our attention causes all forms of entertainment to become more intense and concise, which results in our being exposed to more stories, which are presented in increased intensity.”
Claudia paused for a moment and then asked, “With our lives being pervaded with so much drama and crises, how can one expect the public to seek honesty? Aren’t people being trained to over react, to live in fantasy, to see things dramatically?”
“God, you really are amazing,” Austin said in earnest. “I have to agree with almost everything you said. You’re right, our lives are surrounded and inundated by theater. Yet, once again I think you’re focusing on the negative.
“Our lives are made more intense by the endless barrage of technology and entertainment,” Austin voice began to quicken as he began his counter argument. “Yet, these endless stories, crises, and advertisements have a positive value. They are training and encouraging us on how to intensify the experience of our lives. They are raising our expectations and stimulating our bodies. We are being told life is exciting and challenging and anything but boring. We are being sold on pushing our experiences and abilities to their very limit.”
“I’ll admit I’m being overly negative, if you’ll admit your being overly positive,” Claudia sarcastically interjected. “Now, modern technology may inspire a few people to seize the day, but for the most part it creates couch potatoes and zombies. You’ve got people who are so wired in with technology that they never get any exercise. You’ve got overweight people taking fat burning pills while they sit in their recliner. You’ve got people addicted to the information highway and virtual reality who never even interact with others. I wouldn’t exactly say they’re pushing human experience to its limit. I wouldn’t describe their lives as robust and intense.”
Austin and Claudia continued their banter over the pros and cons of modern technology and the pervasive role of theater in modern life. Claudia maintained modern society created mindless and very neurotic sheep, while Austin portrayed modern life as rich and filled with endless opportunity.
In the long run they both began to acknowledge the truth in each other’s viewpoints. Their voices softened and their arguments began to contain more warmth and humor. Austin who had always viewed Claudia as being intelligent, was very impressed with the depth of her will and convictions. Claudia who had always admired Austin’s intelligence, was surprised to find herself on equal terms with the master.
Claudia found their arguing on equal terms highly erotic. Austin, too, found his ardor growing each time he found Claudia’s will matching his. The passion of their convictions seemed to be drawing them ever closer. Austin sensed Claudia’s growing passion for him in the quickening of her breathing and the playful tone of her voice.
At one point, after Austin had acceded to the truth of a number of Claudia’s observations Austin smugly asked, “For us to get back together, you’re not expecting us to always agree?”
“No,” Claudia teased, “you just have to admit I’m always right.”
Soon they found themselves talking about how much they missed each other. Claudia admitted that even though there were a number of things which still needed to be resolved, she was ready to start to see each other in person. When Austin invited her over, Claudia declined, saying she wasn’t ready to return home, even if it was just for a few hours.
After discussing a few dating options, Claudia suggested she would prefer his coming over again for dinner and conversation. She said she wasn’t ruling out their going out someplace after dinner, but she wanted to start the evening at her place.
The only thing which mattered to Austin was that he was going to be able to see Claudia. He didn’t care where they met, or what they did, his only thought was that their relationship was moving forward.
The remainder of the conversation Austin was as excited as a schoolboy who got his first date. Claudia swathed herself in Austin’s happiness, and smiled each time Austin’s voice rose with excitement or softened with contentment.
Claudia’s mind drifted each time she sensed Austin’s love coming over the phone. She wondered why a man like Austin ever fell in love with her, and what she ever did to be so lucky. She pictured past moments of their life together, and imagined him in her apartment again.
She surprised herself when she asked him to hang up the phone and come right over. Yet, she was relieved when after a few minutes of discussion he decided he couldn’t.
At the end of the conversation after Austin said he loved her, she heard herself say, “I love you too, hon.” Even though she knew they both still loved each other, it was the first time they said so since she had left. Hanging up the phone she felt both comforted and frightened by their profession of being in love. She wondered what motivated their admission. She wondered if they had said it more as a proclamation, or as a warning.