The Pros and Cons of a Mirror

The Mirror play is similar to the Call Out. Highlighting new facts and introducing the public to a different side of your opponent are all a part of playing a good mirror.

In 2005, Marlene Esperat, was murdered in her own home. A single bullet to her head killed her in front of her children. Esperat was a former analytical chemist for the Philippines Department of Agriculture. After unearthing fraud within the company, more particularly her laboratory, Esperat quit her job and became a journalist, publishing articles about the ruthless corruption in the department. Two weeks after Esperat was murdered, four men admitted to killing her, blaming the Department of Agriculture for their actions.

Esperat is known as a Filipina whistleblower – someone who informs the public about dishonest or illegal activity within a company or the government. In our case, Esperat was a willing player of the mirror. She exposed the unrevealed side of the Department of Agriculture, announcing to the public the fraud and shame of their agricultural sector. Sadly, even though Esperat was telling the truth, she ended up losing her life because of her bold actions.

Since 1986, there have been at least 56 Filipino journalists murdered.

So, how do we know a mirror when we see it? First off, the mirror is run by a player who wants to speak out about an issue, problem or identity. The player will release new information in hopes of evoking change or changing perceptions. More than likely, the information will cause the opponent’s credibility to be questioned. A mirror is different from a call out play, but the two can be used together.

Dr. Seuss meets Recast meets travel agency

Theodor Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, the classic author of children’s storybooks, is the throwback for this sensational blog post. This post is about the Recast play and what better way to recast a scenario than with poems, prose and Dr. Seuss.

The recast is the reinterpretation of news, information and events. A recast can be run in your favor, or a rival can run it on you and try to dismantle your agenda. In Dr. Seuss’ book, the Sneetches were the ones being recast.

The Sneetches were divided into two categories, those with stars on their bellies and those without. The Sneetches with stars were the popular ones while the Sneetches without them felt lonely and isolated.

Then Sylvester McMonkey McBean shows up with a clever plan. McBean built a Star-On machine. He sold stars to all the Sneetches who were star-less and before long, the whole Sneetch clan had identical bellies. But this only angered the popular, first-star-bellied Sneetches and they created a Star-Off machine. Before long, no one knew which Sneetches were popular and which ones were lonely. They had all changed suddenly and the labels no longer applied.

There are many prime examples of recasts in our society. Most of the recasts I found had to do with companies playing off of each other’s ideas. For example, Amazon released the Kindle tablet in 2007 and Barnes & Noble released the Nook in 2009. While there are a few substantial differences in the devices, the idea is the same.

Another great example of a recast is centered around Google‘s new travel engine, Flight Search. Flight Search was officially released just a few days ago. The site is fast and simplistic, giving itself a running start in the marketplace. It is similar to Priceline and Expedia in that it searches multiple airlines for the best flights available. Depending on how well Flight Search takes off, it could be a big rival for sites like Kayak and Travelocity in the future.

Filter: The Retransmission of Information

Filtering is the retransmission of information. A player who wishes to disclose ideas in a way that will favor his agenda, will choose what information to share and what to omit and, thereby, will be using a filter.

My first example of a filter involves my immediate family. My dad liked to go out with his buddies after work and hang out for a while before coming home. He would tell my mom they were going to eat dinner and then slip away from the office. One time however, and I don’t remember how, she found out that he was really going to play pool with the guys after work. I don’t remember her being mad or upset, but she was disappointed that some of the facts had been omitted (filtered) when dad told her about his evening plans.

Another example of a filter is centered around President Barack Obama and his smoking addiction. When Obama was running for office, the liberal media did not highlight his smoking habit. The media did obtain some pictures of Obama with a cigarette, but they didn’t make a big deal about it or focus in on the presidential candidate’s unhealthy decisions. And just to clear the air (pun intended), the First Lady, Michelle Obama, did announce in early February that Obama had quit smoking.

These are just several examples of filters. There are many more examples out there and many more yet to be played. While filtering information can be beneficial, it can also have negative outcomes, causing controversy or embarrassment if not handled properly. It is also important to remember the difference between filtering and lying. In some cases it is okay to omit information in your favor, but it is never okay to make up a story or tell a falsehood in the hopes of saving yourself.