The Rabbit Hole
Since I live in Chicago, I was fortunate enough to be in Grant Park on Election Night 2008. In my opinion, there was no better place on earth to experience that historic night.
November 4, 2008 has to be one of the most documented dates ever, between the press coverage and the countless amount of personal audio, pictures, and video. Unfortunately, none of technologies, no matter how advanced, can truly capture the feelings of excitement, happiness, and pure hopefullness that radiated in the atmosphere of Grant Park that night.
The press coverage from Grant Park was exensive, with CNN’s constant cutaways to the growing crowd in the park and even their laughable “holograms,” but the real treasures from that night are the videos not shown on TV, those filmed by regular Americans on their cell phones and personal video cameras. Below are five memorable videos by regular citizens, capturing the reality of this legendary moment.
One of the most energetic moments of the night, this video captures the moment the election was called, including the countdown and the deafening cheers that errupted when the screen announced: “Barack Obama Elected President.”
Though this moment was fully covered by the media, I love this 2 minute amateur clip of President-Elect Obama and his family taking the stage. The shakiness of the camera may be annoying, but it captures the excitement of the moment along with the cheers of the crowd and that inspiring chant “Yes We Can.” Plus, the little intimate moments Obama shares with his family before his speech are even more touching, because the moment seems more real than simply watching the moment on CNN with pundits talking over it.
This video, by “Ben,” is a collection of images and videos from Grant Park, set to John Legend’s “Coming Home.” This video clearly depicts the night’s excitement and celibration, including spontaneous dancing and the rejoicing after the anouncement of Obama’s win.
Youtube regular johnnysmooth, posted his own account of the Grant Park Rally. This video does have a bit of a humorous tone to it (note the “paparazzi” and the “scenesters”), but it captures the massiveness of the crowd, the overwhelming emotions experience by Vanessa, and the peaceful exit of the masses from the park.
This ten minute video chronicles the entire night, to the music of Fat Boy Slim and Journey. It’s an impressive collage of footage showing the anticipation and enthusiasm of the crowd and the celebrations in the street afterwards.
And for those who’ve been in a cave for the past week, Barack Obama’s stirring acceptance speech:
ETA: Here’s a bonus video edit by a friend of mine, Arlen, which was added to Youtube yesterday. It covers his entire Election Day, including filming in Indiana for Video the Vote and ending the day in Grant Park at the rally.