Political documentary, YouTube and the 2008 US presidential election: Focus on Robert Greenwald and David N. Bossie

Abstract

This essay investigates elements of the changing media landscape between the 2004 and the 2008 US presidential elections, focusing on the audio-visual works of two prominent independent organizations: Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films and David Bossie's Citizens United. After Kerry's defeat in 2004, Greenwald's organization gradually shifted from its production of political documentaries such as Uncovered: The Truth About the War in Iraq to a heavy reliance on YouTube and video campaigns such as “The Real McCain.” Citizens United, stung by the success of the numerous liberal-left documentaries of 2004 (by Greenwald, Michael Moore and others), produced a number of documentaries in 2008 including Hillary: The Movie and Hype: The Obama Effect, but put little energy into exploiting video streaming, video sharing and related technologies. Although Brave New Films videos were widely viewed on the Internet and played a significant role in the campaign, the flourishing of music videos on YouTube—over 1,000 embracing “hope” and expressing a pro-Obama sentiment—was arguably the most unexpected and a highly influential dimension of the 2008 campaign season.