Last night my production partner
Will Keenan and I were tasked with the exciting and also terrifying job of following up Markos's speech at the opening night reception with our short film parody
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED MAN!". And show it we did.
You can watch it on YouTube here:
http://www.youtube.com/...
More on last night's reception on the flip:
The events here at YearlyKos have been spectacularly organized. Efficiency and professionalism that is hard to believe given the first time and grassroots nature of the YearlyKos volunteer staff. Hundreds of mature, intelligent and passionate people are running around, engaging and debating about how we can take this country back from the frauds who call themselves "republicans." It's been an honor for me to be around it. And also a little intimidating.
Will Keenan and I are recent to becoming actively involved in the Kos community. I've written my share of diaries on Kos and am an avid blog reader, but we hadn't really done much before we decided to call in a bunch of favors from friends and throw together Mission Accomplished Man about three weeks ago. Since we live and work in Hollywood there's no shortage of talent we had to call on, and we thought it would be fun to have a goofy and silly short to present.
Little did we know it'd be being projected on two huge screens in front of a thousand attendees on opening night. (gulp)
We found out we'd be following up Markos's speech and so I spent the afternoon teching out the system and preparing the DVD. The energy in the convention has been amazing. Intelligent, smart and engaged people of all ages. So nice to see the reality based community in action. It makes cartoon buffoons like the Malkin/O'Reilly set even more ridiculous once you see the real Americans working to fight through the propaganda wall that grew up while we were sleeping through the prosperous Clinton years.
And fighting through that fog with media is our goal. Even a project as silly as Mission Accomplished Man is part of that, well, mission. Engaging the fun and humor of politics. Bringing back comedy and silliness but also with a clear vision of what is and isn't acceptable in the United States.
Last night was amazing. Tom Tomorrow was hilarious. The Laughing Liberal guys were great. Everything was on time and working perfectly. Just amazing organization. After Markos's rousing speech, we were on, and Mission Accomplished Man played to what seemed like a great reception.
Afterwards I said a few things on stage (was I on CSPAN?!) and then Will came out and did some pratfalls, and then the event was over and we were talking and exchanging cards with dozens of passionate people from all over the country determined to start fighting back. And the use of media and satire is a key part of that response.
Afterwards we went to the Wesley Clark party at the Hard Rock and the General was amazing, speaking from his heart atop a bar stool for twenty minutes, then coming around and shaking everyone's hand and talking to them. I think he'd make a fine president, but if someone else wins I have three words for General Clark: SECRETARY OF STATE. He'll have a heady job ahead trying to rebuild our standing in the world after the trashing it's taken from the clowns in the republican party, but I know he'll be able to do it.
Will and I will be hosting a panel on Saturday at 10 in the morning and I hope any YearlyKos attendees reading this will come. We'll show the short again and talk about how to engage the republican failure of the past six years with humor, ridicule and satire. Arguing the issues won't win over a populace weary from the same old "political" shouting.
You win them over by making them laugh. By making them think. And by entertaining them. That's Will and my goal with whatever we do going forward with the bloggers, the democratic party and the netroots.