News Magazine of the UW Department of Communication
By Stephanie Birch
Seattleites have political fever. More than 120 members of the community packed into Central Cinema, on Wednesday to watch on the big screen Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) last presidential debate.
A long line of people formed outside the cinema, which is located at the corner of 21st Ave. and Union, which nearly wrapped around the block. Children’s Alliance, who hosted the event, drew such a large crowd to see the debate that the cinema was over capacity and the management was forced to close their doors.
While people were getting ready to watch the debate, organizers surprised everyone by handing out presidential bingo cards. Presidential bingo is played much like regular bingo. However, the numbers are replaced by words; these words include change, maverick, immigration, terrorist, foreign oil, tax cuts, climate change and more. Every time Obama or McCain said any of these words, people crossed out the word on the bingo card. By playing presidential bingo, people paid closer attention to what was said, and made the debate more engaging and interesting to the younger audience.
Central Cinema has a very unique style and design that separates it from regular movie theaters. The cinema, which is equipped with a full kitchen and wait staff, allowed it’s patrons to relax and watch the debate while they ordered food, drinks as well as alcohol.
The atmosphere, consisting of dim romantic lighting and black painted walls, made the theater resemble more like a nightclub or cocktail lounge rather than a regular lackluster movie theater. The ambiance gave the theater a friendly vibe, which made members of the community appear welcome and comfortable.
Before the debate started, the room was filled with laughter, quiet chatter and anticipation; however, the moment it began a roar of “shh” instantly quieted the entire room. As the moderator, Bob Schieffer, introduced Obama and McCain, the crowded cinema erupted with applause and shouts—it almost felt like actually being at the debate at Hofstra University.
Being in Seattle however, it came as no surprise that the majority of the audience appeared to be democrats-- they loved to shout support for Obama and his promise of change. In contrast, they were very critical of McCain’s policy and his personal attacks on Obama.
During the debate, the audience became very distressed when McCain made assertions that Obama had links to terrorism. At these remarks, there was an onslaught of “boo’s” from the audience. It was obvious that McCain’s mudslinging strategy for the last debate was not persuading any of these Seattleites into changing their minds about Obama.
Additionally, McCain made about 10 references to “Joe the Plumber,” who is apparently a metaphorical figure of the middle class working people. The crowd seemed to grow increasingly tired of McCain’s redundant verbiage and laughed hysterically every time “Joe the Plumber” was mentioned.
Spending time at the Central Cinema during the debate, the audience resembled more like a unified community rather than an ensemble of strangers. While other cities around the country may have viewed the candidates differently, there is no doubt that the majority of Seattleites will be supporting Obama on Nov. 4.
