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Bombshell · 2019 — Chapter 4 of 12 · 2'26" · B2

Kayla Pitches Herself to Roger Ailes, Explained: give me a twirl

Kayla pitches herself as a future on-air star; the reply is a request to stand up and turn around. "It's a visual medium, Kayla" turns the interview into an appraisal. The talk about Santa and authenticity sets the tone; the twirl sets the terms.

What happens

Kayla meets Roger Ailes, and the talk starts on Megyn, Santa, and liberals before the question "So, what can I do for you, Kayla?" She then makes her pitch: she belongs on air, citing college weather segments in Central Florida, and insists she'd be "freakin' phenomenal" on the network. Then comes a compliment on her face and a request to stand up and twirl.

Job interviewTalking to the bossAskingPersuadingBoss & employeeB2slowamericanClean
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in the spotlightdrop bythe thing iswhere I belong

00:00 / 02:26
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Phrase of the scene

give me a twirl

turn around once for me to see

After a comment on her face, the request to stand and turn makes the interview feel like a visual inspection.

The tailor said, "Give me a twirl," so he could check the hem.

Also in this scene

  • in the spotlight

    under public attention

  • drop by

    visit briefly, often without planning

  • the thing is

    here's the real point

  • where I belong

    the place or role that suits me

  • freakin'

    mild intensifier for emphasis

Everything marked in this scene

24 notes across 37 lines

Phrase · B1have courage

show bravery

Yeah, few have courage in the spotlight.
Phrase · B2in the spotlight

under public attention

Someone praises Megyn for speaking her mind in public, turning bluntness into a selling point.

Yeah, few have courage in the spotlight.
Phrase · B2all someone wants is

what people really want is

All audiences want is authenticity.
Phrase · B2without someone doing something

without someone doing something

Let's discuss it without you calling my people racist.
Grammar · B2somebody who wants to live in a future

relative clause: The who-clause defines what kind of somebody the speaker means; it is the descriptive core of the line.

A liberal is somebody who wants to live in a future, that he is
Phrase · B2too [adj] to do something

so [adj] that one does not do it

too lazy or too arrogant to actually create.
Phrase · B1according to someone

as someone says

Well, in my family, Santa's always been white and, according to my granddaddy, a communist.
Slang · B1granddaddy

grandfather (Southern) — Regional and informal; use grandfather in formal writing.

Well, in my family, Santa's always been white and, according to my granddaddy, a communist.
Phrase · B1drop by

visit briefly, often without planning

The question uses drop by to make Kayla's visit sound casual; she then starts explaining her experience.

Why did you drop by to see me?
Phrase · B2the thing is

here's the real point

Kayla pauses, then uses this phrase to pull the conversation back to her own experience.

Well, the thing is, sir, I actually started on-air during college in Central Florida. Weather.
Phrase · B2start on-air

begin in live broadcasting

Well, the thing is, sir, I actually started on-air during college in Central Florida. Weather.
Phrase · B2convince someone that...

make someone believe that

I want to convince you that that is where I belong, Mr. Ailes.
Phrase · B1where someone belongs

the place or role that suits me

Kayla turns her job pitch into a claim about identity: this network is where she belongs.

I want to convince you that that is where I belong, Mr. Ailes.
Grammar · B2convince you that that is where I belong

object clause: The first that introduces what she wants him to believe; the second that is the subject of the clause.

I want to convince you that that is where I belong, Mr. Ailes.
Soundthat that is

The two thats run together; let the first fade into the second before is.

I want to convince you that that is where I belong, Mr. Ailes.
Phrase · B2be phenomenal on a team/network

be outstanding on a platform or team

I think I'd be freakin' phenomenal on your network.
Soundfreakin' phenomenal

Put the beat on freakin' and phenomenal; push the rest through.

I think I'd be freakin' phenomenal on your network.
Slang · B2freakin'

mild intensifier — Casual emphasis only; too loose for interviews.

I think I'd be freakin' phenomenal on your network.
Grammar · B2did create

emphatic do: Did before the verb adds insistence: he is not merely stating a fact but correcting the other person.

but I did create it. I do run it.
Phrase · B1give someone a twirl

turn around once for me to see

After a comment on her face, the request to stand and turn makes the interview feel like a visual inspection.

Here, stand up and give me a twirl.
Soundstand up and

In fast speech, stand up and blends into one run; avoid three separate beats.

Here, stand up and give me a twirl.
Phrase · B1a quick spin

one quick turn

Yeah. Just a quick spin.
Phrase · B1pull something up

lift something upward

Now, pull your dress up and let me see your legs.
Phrase · B2a visual medium

a format that works through images

It's a visual medium, Kayla.

Kayla Pitches Herself to Roger Ailes, explained

What's really going on

Two kinds of talk share one room. The first half is ideology — liberals don't get Megyn, audiences want authenticity, Santa has been a fat white guy for 200 years — and it establishes whose version of reality the room runs on. The second half drops the subject entirely. "You have a pretty face," then "stand up and give me a twirl," then "pull your dress up and let me see your legs." The excuse offered is "It's a visual medium, Kayla" — the language of television used to relabel a request as a professional formality. The pitch that on-air is "where I belong" is answered on exactly that register: if the medium is visual, the candidate is evaluated visually. The shift from an argument about audiences to an instruction about a hemline is the whole content.

Theme

PowerA job interview is also a reminder of who sets the terms, and the terms change mid-conversation.
AmbitionThe pitch for an on-air job is answered with a request to stand up and turn around.

Listen for

  • that that is — The two thats run together; let the first fade into the second before is.
  • freakin' phenomenal — Put the beat on freakin' and phenomenal; push the rest through.
  • stand up and — In fast speech, stand up and blends into one run; avoid three separate beats.
All audiences want is authenticity.

The stated rule of the room: viewers reward whoever sounds unfiltered — offered here as the reason a host who says the unpopular thing works.

Let's discuss it without you calling my people racist.

A condition for continuing the conversation: argue the point, but don't label the people on this side of it.

I want to convince you that that is where I belong, Mr. Ailes.

The pitch: on-air work isn't a favor being asked for, it's the job the speaker wants to be judged for.

I think I'd be freakin' phenomenal on your network.

A blunt self-sell, with "freakin'" as an intensifier: the claim is that the performance would be exceptionally good.

It's a visual medium, Kayla.

An appeal to what television supposedly is, used here to justify a request to show more of the body.

Questions about this scene

What does Kayla want out of the meeting?

On-air work. She mentions college weather segments in Central Florida and says, "I want to convince you that that is where I belong."

What reason is given for the request to pull her dress up?

A line about television calls it a visual medium; it comes right after the request to pull her dress up and show her legs.

Whose air is the network, according to the exchange?

One line credits Mr. Murdoch with the air, and the next adds, "but I did create it. I do run it."

What is offered as proof that Megyn connects with viewers?

Two claims: "All audiences want is authenticity," and a ratings jump — "she went up 30% that quarter."

Bombshell · 12 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 5cut both waysAiles Tests Kayla's Loyalty
Chapter 1only rains on womenOnly Rains on Women LawsuitChapter 2perpetual outrage machineKayla's Fox News InterviewChapter 3thrive in toxic environmentsDrunk Confessions About a Hillary PosterWatching · Chapter 4give me a twirlKayla Pitches Herself to Roger AilesChapter 5cut both waysAiles Tests Kayla's LoyaltyChapter 6complaint box in occupied ParisCoworkers Debate the Harassment HotlineChapter 7political footballRoger Ailes Faces Harassment ChargesChapter 8sweep something under the rugSilence Gets Noticed in the HallwayChapter 9jump off a cliffNo One From Fox Came ForwardChapter 10play by old rulesKayla and Megyn Discuss RogerChapter 11gave in toKayla Calls From a DateChapter 12come to thisRoger's Exit Negotiation
Chapter 4 of 12 · about 20 min to go