Bullshit 1

To think, the whole premise of this article hinges on a simple difference in physical location. John McCain is in the Straight Talk Express and Rolling Stone is in Bullshit 1. John McCain is in the press salon and Rolling Stone is enduring a long DT squished between the techs and the 12M with nothing to do but think. And thinking is what Rolling Stone apparently does best. Thinking and writing. Essentially, that is what constitutes Up, Simba: pages upon pages of Rolling Stone pondering some of the paradox’s that plague modern politics. Trapped in battle “between cynicism and idealism…marketing and leadership,” (130) Rolling Stone, or more specifically David Foster Wallace, is left with nothing but his personal instinct and gut feelings to solve these paradoxes. And that is the point of the article. Rolling Stone is not campaigning for anyone. Rolling Stone is simply fond of the publicly discernable John McCain while also skeptical of the validity of this portrayal. Up, Simba is not arguing that you should or should not vote for John McCain. Up, Simba is making readers aware of how the media portrays John McCain while also questioning the legitimacy of such portrayals, and ultimately forcing readers to decide for themselves where John McCain falls on the scale between “Salesman” and “leader” (131).

David Foster Wallace shows no hesitancy in acknowledging major media’s specific tactics and methodology in dealing with a campaign. He even goes to far as to actively remind readers that he himself is part of that exact media when he decides to refer to himself as Rolling Stone. He is not hiding his agenda or the possible biases that could result from such an affiliation. Instead, most of the article is spent actively informing readers about how the media operate in the context of an election. Wallace is also very aware of the position that he, as a representative of Rolling Stone, takes amongst the hierarchy of media sources, and he never shies away from acknowledging his relative lack of importance. He constantly describes his subordination to the 12M and how, while they are furiously working, he is hanging out with the techs. However, due to his awareness of such things, he knows that he will not be able to provide any new, unique, or utterly valuable insights into the life of John McCain through direct contact with him. Instead, he chose to write about what he did have access to: the media itself.

I should now note that Wallace calling himself Rolling Stone is an important tactic in that it brings to the foreground his membership in the very media that he is writing about, and as such, I will also refer to Wallace as Rolling Stone henceforth.

Up, Simba provides a detailed look into the lives of the press corps that was responsible for the media’s representation of John McCain, covering both how they work and how they live outside of their work. In fact, because Up, Simba is so detailed in every description and also because it uses stereotyping commonplaces so well, readers will undoubtedly find themselves able to easily identify with Rolling Stone, feeling as if they too are riding the Bullshit 1. He uses this created sense of familiarity for a specific reason: Rolling Stone wants readers to know that the press corps are just humans doing their job. By humanizing the press corps, readers are better able to understand how they operate, and thus, are better able to look past all the spin and marketing and form their own personal opinion on John McCain. For that, ultimately is the goal of Up, Simba.

While Up, Simba is textually focused almost entirely on the media, it is contextually focused on John McCain. Although McCain himself is obviously prevalent throughout the article, Up, Simba really focuses mostly on the members press corps. Even the title itself refers to the press corps. Rolling Stone could have called title the article anything, yet Up, Simba, a phrase commonly uttered by a tech as he prepares to film, was chosen. Not John McCain: Real of Phony or any such title, but Up, Simba. However, through the focus on the media Rolling Stone is able to reveal the spin tractics and strategies and therefore raise countless questions about how John McCain is portrayed and whether this portrayal is his true persona or an act. All of these questions, Rolling Stone intentionally fails to answer, leaving readers forced to answer the questions for themselves.