ELC650

VIDEO CRITIQUE
BREXIT

SHAHRUDDIN BIN AREE @ HAJI ARIFFIN

MOHAMMAD HAZIM BIN HAFIZA NAZRUL
MUHAMMAD SAFWAN FAIZ BIN BISTAMAM
Political strategist Dominic Cummings (Cast: Benedict
Cumberbatch) leads a popular but controversial campaign to
convince British voters to leave the European Union from 2015 up
until the present day. This provocative feature-length drama goes
behind the scenes, revealing the personalities, strategies and feuds
of the Leave and Remain campaigns. The tactics employed by Vote
Leave during the data-driven campaign swayed a historically silent
voting bloc that would ultimately decide the outcome of the
referendum, as well as affecting future elections around the world.
 VIDEO EXCERPT 1

Board meeting that consist of Member of Parliament (MP) to

strategize campaign to Vote Leave. The MPs have a different
approach to the strategy by using traditional ways in conducting
the campaign such as posters or talks to the public. Meanwhile,
Dominic Cummings has different ideas by using scientific
methods such as algorithm and statistical analysis to influence
voters.
NEGATIVE ASPECT OF COMMUNICATION AND EFFECTS:

▪ Dominic Cummings has totally brush off the idea by his team member to
include the MPs in the strategy. (18:39)
▪ Dominic Cummings speaks up the failure of the MPs to succeed the movement
in previous attempt and the referendum is useless. He used judgment words.
The MPs looked surprised and a little upset by his direct approach.
▪ Even though the way express his disagreement not in high tone but the words
he has chosen might be inappropriate in that setting considering the MPs is
older and has more experience in politics.
▪ Dominic crossed his arms during the meeting which demonstrate reluctance to
conversation or disagree with what he is hearing from the board.
 RECOMMENDATION:

▪ We suggest that first to consider the risks of not speaking up because perhaps the project will be derailed or
Dominic will lose the board’s trust; and then realistically weigh those against the potential consequences of
taking action.
▪ Discussing the issue in private will make the powerful person feel less threatened.
▪ When Dominic do speak up, he should nor assume the link will be clear. He’ll want to state it overtly,
contextualizing his statements so that he is seen not as a disagreeable underling but as a colleague who’s
trying to advance a shared goal. The discussion will then become more like a chess game than a boxing
match.
▪ Dominic should ask permission to disagree. It’s a smart way to give the powerful person psychological safety
and control since the audience is MPs. He can say something like “I have reasons to think that won’t work.
I’d like to lay out my reasoning. Would that be OK?” This gives the board a choice, “allowing them to
verbally opt in. And, assuming they say yes, it will make him feel more confident about voicing his
disagreement.
▪ Dominic should not crossed his arms. He should have placed his arms on the table to be in more receptive
position.
▪ There is an importance of appreciating the other people at the leadership table. While each of them has gotten
there because of their performance in their particular area of politics, now it’s especially important to respect
what others are responsible for and how he can work as a team to help accomplish what needs to be done for
the overall campaign.
 EXAMPLES FROM VIDEO EXCERPT:

Scene 18:43
Team Member : We should start sounding it out with our growing band of MPs
Dominic : Why?
Team Member : Well, their experience in this invaluable
Dominic : We don’t need them. We’re going to make a decision based on science and data. No
matter how counterintuitive to traditional political thinking. We don’t need to put up with any
prima donna MPs. Understood?

Scene 19:20
Dominic : I just want to get over the line, something that MPs have failed to do since this
movement began over 40 years ago. This referendum is a really dumb idea.
Board : What?!
Dominic : I think what we are emphasising is referendums are quite literally the worst way to
decide anything. They are divisive, they pretend that complex choices are simple binaries, red
or blue, black or white, and we know there are more nuanced and sophisticated ways out
there, to make political change and reform.