Jerky Boy

When I was going to school with the crazy notion that I might eventually get a degree in film theory, I learned a lot about two very important ideas: mise en scene and montage. Simply put, mise en scene would be the stuff you see on the screen and how it is arranged. Montage is the way that film gets put together, as in splicing. It was Sergei Eisenstein who suggested that a "collision" of two shots could create a connection in the viewer's mind, resulting in a film metaphor. He used this technique to generate sympathy for the embattled sailors in "Battleship Potemkin." Alfred Hitchcock used it to heighten the suspense in the shower scene in "Psycho." James O'Keefe used it to further their right-wing agenda against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.
In case you missed it, Brooklyn prosecutors cleared ACORN of any criminal wrongdoing last week. This was after a four month investigation into claims that ACORN staffers were giving advice to a pimp and a protstitute about how to avoid paying taxes. At least that's what the video, shot by Mister O'Keefe would have us believe. Shot, by the way, and then carefully edited. He hasn't exactly been making the rounds at Fox News like he did back last September, when he was the darling of the Right. Maybe that was going to happen anyway, after little Jimmy got caught trying to tap the phones of Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu. Who knows what creative fun he might have had with that connection. It's almost certain that a phrase here or there, played out of context, could stir up a whole new controversy. After all, isn't that what reporting is all about? Just ask the Jerky Boys.