Cattle call?

Reader question:

Please explain “cattle call” as in this example: On some large cruise ships, shore excursions feel like cattle calls.

My comments:

On a seven-day cruise ship tour on the high seas, the time for land visits is altogether, say, 20 hours. Spread that in a week and it’s like less than three hours a day.

In other words, too little time. That’s what makes if feel like cattle calls when cruise ship tourists step on land. Too little time, too many people, that’s why people feel like they were not humans, but cattle, cows being herded about here and there, and always in a hurry.

Cattle call. Yes, when they call you, they don’t call you by your individual names but shout at you as a group.

That, obviously, sometimes makes one feel slighted and disrespected.

Yes, that’s what the problem is with cattle calls – they make you feel like losing your dignity.

Cattle call, you see, is an Americanism perhaps originating from mass film auditions in the 1950s. You know, one of those mass scenes where a lot of actors are needed. In those situations, actors are called in just prior to the scenes being shot. Honchos or leading assistants to the director will do some quick auditions and that’s it.

Audition, of course, is the proper name for the job interview in the movie industry. Anyways, this is the perfect situation for what is known as cattle calls. You know, they don’t even call you in alone for the audition. They call in twenty of you at a time. You, of course, are perhaps prepared to recite ten pages of Shakespearian lines (and very well prepared, too) but, sorry, no time for that. The herdsman in chief or assistant director barely takes a look at all of you before announcing: “You two here, you two on the left and the woman in the back with the hat! Thank you all for your time. Next twenty!”

There, that’s what a cattle call audition feels like.

All right, media examples:

1. Some artists like the meet & greets and even insist upon them. But Pollstar has heard horror stories of the opposite - including one artist who is such a jackass he's made people cry at the meet & greet. Some are shy while others take a Barry Bonds-attitude and question the obligation. Still others just stand or sit there as the people shuffle through for the obligatory photo.

Does it make a difference? It may not be scientific but the answer is probably yes. No one can deny Garth Brooks’ success and he is considered a master of the meet & greet, which certainly couldn’t have hurt in the early days when he ran into country radio station execs.

Then there are other folks who are naturals like - according to (booking agent) Paradigm’s Greg Janese - Chris Isaak, Huey Lewis and The Doobie Brothers.

One artist who has mastered the art - and likely turned it into a bestselling debut album and headlining shows - is only 17 years old. Country newcomer Taylor Swift amazes her industry execs with her ability to recognize fans from past encounters.

Pollstar witnessed a Swift meet & greet this summer. At one point, she told a fan that she had just posted a comment on the girl's Myspace page. Taylor immediately turned to a group of local country radio station DJs and told them that, according to the latest reports, the station was playing her single more than any other station in the country.

And all of this took place after she had an early dinner with some fans.

“One of the things that Taylor is insistent upon is that they’re not rushed,” Taylor manager Rick Barker told Pollstar. “You know, they obviously can’t spend five or 10 minutes individually but she never wants to make them feel like it’s a cattle call.”

- The Art Of The Meet & Greet, Pollstar.com, October 29, 2007.

2. Money and deep-pocketed donors have always played a key role in American politics, but the wealthiest Americans are now flexing their political muscles more than at any time in decades. Consider the examples: On the right, the Koch Brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity has been airing millions of dollars in TV ads (see here and here) hitting Democrats in key 2014 Senate contests. Just last week, a single billionaire -- conservative casino mogul Sheldon Adelson -- held what amounted to a political cattle call where four potential 2016 presidential candidates showed up. On the left, environmentalist billionaire Tom Steyer has vowed to spend $100 million in the 2014 midterms. And in the relative center, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has created gun-control groups and turned a single Democratic special primary election in Chicago into a referendum on guns and the National Rifle Association. On top of this activity, Wednesday’s 5-to-4 Supreme Court decision allowing individuals to donate the maximum amount to as many federal campaigns as they wish only increases the amount of power and influence of super-rich donors. Moreover, it creates a new incentive structure for political parties and candidates to spend even MORE of their time courting these donors. The big loser in all of this new money and new power to the wealthy: the individual campaign.

- The Rise of the Political Ultra-Rich, NBCNews.com, April 3 2014.

3. Judy Tenuta is the most fam­ous per­son who has ever lived. And if you don’t be­lieve it, just ask her.

And she’s even more.

“I am the Love Goddess and Princess of Panty Shields,” proclaims the wise­cracking, accordion-wielding Petite Flower who excelled during the golden age of character comedy in the mid-1980s, and is sure to bring back lots of fond memories when she appears at The RRazz Room, at The Ramada in New Hope on Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3.

An actress, comedian, author, producer and now even an ordained minister, Tenuta, 57, was born in Oak Park, Illinois. One of nine siblings, she said, “Throughout my whole childhood, I could never hear myself talk. It wasn’t until I got to high school that I realized I had a voice.”

It was also during those high school years that she also realized she could act.

“Performing started then, and it was really from not being heard at home. But I will tell you that I had fun with my siblings, and my parents, who, though strict, were great. It was not a terrible childhood at all.”

Originally planning on becoming an artist, when she went to the University of Illinois, she decided she’d rather pursue theater.

“I like art,” she volunteers, “but when you’re an artist you’re isolated. You can paint for hours and hours and never know if it’s something people will like — or buy.

“But when you do live comedy or theater, you get an instant reaction, which I prefer. So I soon realized I wanted to be out there in front of an audience.”

Hoping to become a performer, at the age of 20 she moved to New York and began the round of auditions.

“But they were horrible,” she said. “They were like cattle calls. And I didn’t want to wait in line for 70 hours just so I could end up in the back line of some chorus. I wanted to do my own show, and so that’s what I eventually did.”

- Meet the Love Goddess, NortheastTimes.com, April 30, 2014.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者张欣 中国日报网英语点津 编辑：陈丹妮）