Last week, as TV viewers were greeted to the Republican hate fest, delegates waved just a handful of different signs. There was “Make America Great Again”, the generic “Trump/Pence”, and … that was pretty much it.
There was little effort to integrate the audience with the speakers, creating a unified whole for the TV cameras to capture. Instead, we got a crowd that reveled in chanting “lock her up” at any provocation while all real focus was on stage. Those delegates might as well have been carrying torches and pitchforms, given the imagery they beamed back to America.
Democrats, on the other hand, have masterfully integrated their delegates with the evening’s themes and the speakers on stage. Check it out:
From the start on Monday, the convention was focused on setting a different theme than last week’s Republican convention.
But this was the day that Bernie Sanders-supporting insurgents tried their best to step on the convention’s messaging.
As prominent speakers arrived, we saw the first signs that the signage was choreographed.
Cory Booker got signage previewing his 2024 theme, “Rise Together.”
During Elizabeth Warren’s speech, the crowd waved signs that said “I’m With Her."
Who is with who? Is Warren with Clinton? Is the audience with Warren? Is the audience with Clinton?
Yes! The answer to all of the above is "yes."
Then Michelle Obama brought down the house, and the imagery was as stunning as her rhetoric.
Even the color of the signs coordinated well with her dress!
Bernie Sanders closed out the evening amidst a sea of blue Bernie signs.
There were enough Bernie signs that Clinton delegates must’ve been waving them as well. [Update: Commenters at convention confirm that the Bernie signs were handed out by convention organizers (read: The Clinton campaign).]
Moving on to Tuesday. So we all know what the state delegation signs look like, right? They’re the same for both parties. Remember that as we move forward.
After Clinton was formally nominated, we got this gorgeous display of color:
And then afterward, the convention hall wasn’t just 50 states anyore—it was united both in party and in nation, and those state banners replaced with ones that read “America.”
Cool, huh?
When the Mothers of the Movement took the stage, the audience was subdued. There was nothing to celebrate. There were a few Black Lives Matter signs, but they appeared handmade. This was a moment for somber reflection and righteous indignation, and it was treated as such.
Madeline Albright didn’t get any thematic signage for her speech, so people waved the generic ones:
And then Bill Clinton came on stage to those America signs, making for dramatic imagery:
But mid-speech, Bill introduced the theme of Hillary as a “Change Maker,” and what happened?
Woah, like magic!
Then, the emotional kicker to the evening, with Hillary shattering the glass ceiling while surrounded by women, young and old—and what do delegates have in their hands?
They had their bloodthirsty chants of “lock her up!” We have a beautiful, colorful, dramatic choreography of message-reinforcing signage, directly engaging the delegates with what’s happening on stage. It’s beautiful stagecraft, and it’s ours. Score another one for the only competent party in America.
