Demons in the garden: politicians and actors, by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón


Let the politicians interpret a role that borders on fiction or that they act facing the gallery is not reprehensible. As long as we have the keys to representation, that figure of desire.

In politics there are good and bad actors. They all act, but certainly some lack presence, others lack credibility. There are some politicians who turn out to be good actors and then they are reproached for the same thing, that they are more actors than anything else.

Jose Maria Aznar I was struck by his involuntary propensity to stay with foreign accents and tones, owned by other politicians. It first happened with the inimitable accent of his mentor in the Popular Party, Manuel Fraga. But it turned out that yes, he imitated him. She appropriated it. Then the same thing happened with the president of the United States. George Bush. During his stay as a guest at the ranch of the American president, Aznar spoke to the journalists in an ‘American Spanish’ tone as if taken from a bad comedy of clueless tourists. José María Aznar often reminded me of the actor Fred MacMurray, unforgettable actor of ‘Doom’ by Billy Wilder and ‘El mutín del Caine’, among others. But he also reminded me irremediably of Lola Gaos. His gruff, unsympathetic tone was characteristic. Both Aznar and Lola Gaos seemed to always be scolding someone. People expected it, the tone became almost familiar.

Philip Gonzalez was more of the type Marlon Brando, a method actor. Felipe came to believe everything he said, even if it was the opposite of what he had claimed a short or long time before. It didn’t matter, he had overwhelming self-confidence. What was most striking was his ability to concentrate and his way of remaining calm in any situation. Great actor skills. By the way, once I had Felipe as an actor. It was in an advertising ‘spot’ on Andalusia, produced by John Lebron. Felipe arrived on the set on time and followed all the instructions without question. He got it right on the first take and didn’t have to repeat it.

Felipe González had what is called in the method emotional memory, and that served him so that his communication with the public was “true.” He also had a great facility for relaxation, while his opponents used to appear tense, which ended up making them nervous and giving the impression of falsehood.

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If there is an actor for whom the method worked, it was Marlon Brando. Over time, Brando grew very fat and lost all charm. Philip too.

President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero I didn’t have a good stage set. Her body always appeared rigid, her shoulders stiff and her elbows misplaced. His image consultants invented the “Zapatero eyebrow.”” A claim built on the old idea of ​​highlighting an aspect of the character that would characterize him, such as Hitler’s mustache or Churchill’s cigar. So his followers had to put the flexed index finger on an eyebrow to show their political identification with the leader. As expected, everything turned against it, and the gesture was ridiculed ad nauseam by the right-wing media. Looking for some acting similarity, he could be placed as a minor emulator of Jim Carrey.Mariano Rajoy He always appeared as one of those movie supporting characters who can do anything: crossing a street or playing a postman or, at most, in the role of a hairdresser. They have the advantage of going unnoticed and serving other roles without weighing on the memory.Robert Breson, One of the great French and universal film directors, considered that better than actors one had to use anonymous bodies, which practically made the movements of an actor but were not. So the characters would be “models, & rdquor; like those who parade down the catwalks, only that in the case of the cinema they would do it in front of the camera. meat robots. So too our current politicians would rather be ‘performers’, executing actions before a public that is sometimes fervent, sometimes disbelieving, almost always distracted. In any case, actors with little foundation. They would not, in their case, become good actors, since they are not great politicians either.


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