As promised, here is the first essay assignment as we discussed in class which will be due Monday the 29th. I would like you to look at the website: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/
Please choose one or two political commercials and analyze the messages they convey and the means in which they do so. Are they successful? What do you see? How do the images tell a story? What do you know about the candidate from the commercial? What do you know about the candidate from your own research? Does the visual representation of the candidate coincide with what you learn through your research? How does the visual medium affect your feelings, perceptions, and reactions towards the candidate? Remember that this is just a first draft and we will discuss it together in class. Feel free to write your way into the essay, beginning with your initial impressions, and then linking them together to form a cohesive argument. I have also attached a close-reading checklist which I hope will help you to structure your essays. Please write me with any questions. This essay should be 3-4 pages long.
Close-Reading Annotated Checklist:
Commercial Chosen:
Candidate Depicted:
What issues are presented as important to this candidate?
What visual imagery is used? List details.
How does the visual imagery create a narrative?
What is the thesis?
List examples of supporting evidence which support the thesis which you see portrayed in the commercial.
What are your reactions to the commercial? Would you vote for this candidate based solely on the commercial? How about when you take into consideration what you know about the candidate?
22 comments:
Emma Ente (ece0991@yahoo.com) September 28, 2008
Images have a strong impact on one’s opinions and ideas. What is seen often speaks louder than words, and expresses a point in a more specific and detailed manner. Often times, images are used to create psychological effects to influence viewers in commercials. Political campaign commercials are no exception to this. Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower used powerful yet subtle imagery in a commercial to support his idea of peace. This political commercial endorsing Eisenhower for President and to win reelection in 1956 is effective in encouraging American citizens to place a vote for him.
Eisenhower, after a first term as president of the United States, was seeking reelection to serve a second term. He was running against Democrat Adlai Stevenson. A main theme of Eisenhower’s campaign was the concept of peace and avoiding American involvement in war. He knew this was a winning idea because of the unpopularity unsuccessfulness of the Korean War.
In order to draw in the attention of voters, the commercial opens with a football game. Football is a uniquely American sport and something that many citizens could relate to. By showing a young man having a good time and enjoying the game, it illustrates a simple joy of common life, something that is easily taken for granted. It is something which many citizens are able to relate to in that they would also find themselves enjoying this sort of thing. What is done next in the commercial completely contradicts this scene, therefore creating a powerful statement.
The next scene shows that same young man in a setting of war. He is crouched down and hiding and careful of his surroundings. He is in complete uniform for combat, and sounds of shots and fighting can be heard. This situation easily evokes feelings of vulnerability to attack and danger. By instantly transferring from a happy scene to an unpleasant one, it makes the viewers feel a sense of uneasiness. The fact that they can relate to the entertainment and fun of a sporting event creates worry, as this same person quickly enters a perilous situation.
Another powerful use of imagery in this commercial is the interviewing of simple American people explaining why they support Eisenhower. People like to feel included and not in isolation. By seeing others similar to them, they will begin to feel like perhaps Eisenhower is the choice to make. This type of influence through imagery is used later in the commercial, when voters from the last election (which was won by Eisenhower) are shown crowding in a line, signing in, and placing their votes. Viewers will feel like they should be doing the same in order to feel as part of the crowd.
Each of these people interviewed in the commercial have a certain story in which different people can relate to. One man explains how he is about to get married and does not want the idea of possible war hanging over his head. Three others have children. One woman explains how some of her son’s friends were previously sent to Korea. This instills fear in parents who have sons who are of age for the military, as they do not want their children in danger. They also interview a man who was previously a soldier and explains the horror of war. These people help Eisenhower’s statement hit close to home. If there is a war, it could somehow strongly affect each American citizen. Another man interviewed is shown holding a very young girl. This girl brings a sense of innocence, which is the very opposite of what war is about. It makes the voters think how that in the case of war innocence is destroyed and young children like that girl will not be able to grow up in a stable and peaceful environment.
In the commercial it is stated that Eisenhower can keep America out of war because he is someone that understands war and has experienced it first hand. A member of the military during World War II, Eisenhower was a commander in Europe. In later years after he was appointed Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. During his first four years in office, (1951-1955) Eisenhower ended involvement in the war in Korea and avoided involvement in conflicts with other nations such as the Soviet invasion of Hungary and when Britain, France, and Israel attacked Egypt.
My reaction to this commercial is that Eisenhower is someone who is experienced and will keep our country safe. He had already succeeded in doing that for four years. I believe that the commercial clearly expressed the point it needed to make and used images well. However, I would need research more about his past experience and where he stands on other issues. This commercial was developed only to state one angle of Eisenhower’s beliefs. Therefore it does not present enough information for me to feel I have made an educated decision. It does, however, influence me to consider voting for Eisenhower. After taking into consideration what I now know about Eisenhower through research, I would definitely vote for him. As the commercial states, Eisenhower already understands the experience that is war. I also did like the certain feelings of safety and comfort that the commercial gave me.
“The Livingroom Candidate”
JingQianLiu （Liu6584@yahoo.com）
A country and a community should have a leader to manage them. The identities and conditions of leaders have become the most important figures to people for their relying if he/she will be of beneficial to them. In America, in order to participate in the presidential campaign, candidate must be a citizen whose age has to be over 45 years old, and lived in America for at least 14 years. It is basis demand to participate in presidential campaign. The presidential campaigns are spread allover the United States. Wherever they came from, they all have one dream, one goal that aimed to the president of America. In the progress of campaign, they tried many different ways to win the presidential campaign, but most common way is advertisements. The advertisements are most easy and popular way to get people knows their thoughts of presidential campaign. So many times of election, candidates tired to get advertisement for publicize their political ideas. Let’s tried to go back to the past, we would determine who will be president in 1984.
In 1984, Ronald Reagan and Mondale entered into the competition against each other. They tried their very best to compete hard to gain their votes in states. The “Strain” was one advertisement to disseminate Reagan’s thought and goal so that would encourage people to support him. In the “Train” television advertisement, the cameramen had begun focus on old men work in factory and outside of a store. In the middle of the advertisement, there were thousands of people gathered next to the railroad wave their flags of United States, they were cheering and shouting when train was coming. The both children and the adults were happy, everybody were happy. They all were happy for the train that carried the President of United States as narrator said. An old man was looking at the train, he smiled when the train was approaching in front of him. According to narrator “A few weeks ago the barbershop closed three hours early. The mill closed at noon. Across the state people took time for something special-a train carrying the President of the United States and the spirit of optimism and pride, because today inflation is down, taxes are down and America is operating again. So while some might have come just so they could say they saw President Reagan, most just stopped by to say thanks.” We could learn some details from narrator said, Reagan was described as a president of United Stated who had helped people to solve economic problems. He changed people’s tribulations to welfares. In other word, he brought wealthy, happy, peace and quiet lives to people who were seeking for them. In the advertisement, old men went to work because the economy was not very good, so they needed to support their family by themselves, but Reagan was their light in the end of the tunnel to changing their way of live. He had promised people to advance the economy of United States, and the new ways of life was guaranteed.
The commercial also expressed appearances through details to audience. For example, in the first scene of video, the old man was cleaning on the outside of a store, and the other old men were taking a rest in the factory. As we can saw that the old guys at their late ages of their life have to do some physical job because the economy was low. The image represents that the economy was very low in that period of time. After then, many people were gathered around the station and railroads, they were laughing and cheering when train was approaching to the station. The supporters showed that Reagan’s expression of idea has lead to the popularity of Reagan. The train was not a train for traffic, it was symbolized the new hope has coming to the United State. The hopes were not here yet, if Reagan won the election he would make the hope stop in a station call America. People felt happy and thankful like they were rating a festival. They waved their fag when they saw the train was coming in to the station, that meant that everything were going around on a cycle, the hope would coming back after the train begun its new journey. The train was taking the Reagan who was a president of United States, which meant Reagan was the hope. The advertisement tried to convince audiences that Reagan was a suitable man for the president of the United States, because the advertisement showed people’s heart that was fulfilled with pleasure when they saw the train was coming. The president of United States was on the train whose name was Reagan. He had changed people live to better than better future and given them hopes to live on. Reagan promised that during his presidency, he would flourish the economy of America. In the video, the old men were happily enjoy their life during their freed time of work, which meant that the economy in getting better, because they had chose Reagan to be the president to help them to improve economy. All supporters included young children, adults and old men were able to gather together to welcome the president’s presidency, because he improved people’s life. It was a sign of democracy. People felt very happy when they saw the train was coming which showed the new coming hope of Reagan if he was elected to become the president of United States.
As we seen, the commercial is not easy to understand to people who had watched it once. Like me, I don’t even understand it when I first time see it. After I over review it few times, I started getting in to the point of what it means. The idea in the commercial is not very easy to understand, because it foreshadows people’s life will become better if they vote Reagan as the president of the United States. Sometimes, I get very confuse because I don’t understand how the commercial was connected to old men and the train. So I tried to analyze the point of the commercial for many times. After I read the information about the advertisement, I have some ideas in my mine that will answer some of my questions. The old man was symbolized the economy which is poor, slowness and low, and the train is the hope which can improve economy. That is the answer what I get from the information. The Reagan’s idea of advertisement uses lots of metaphors to express his purpose. In the commercial, he is not really the president of United States yet, but he tries to make people to think about what he will do for them is very beneficial if they support him to become the president of United. His idea is very clear and detail which it had shown in the commercial. The economy will get better, and the old men will enjoy their life. The people will smile again. I strongly felt that he is very confidence, because he felt that he can change the country to a better future by using his power and knowledge.
The other commercial called “Bear”, it was more difficult to watch and understand. The bear walked slowly along the ridge, it looked up to the sky for a while, and then moved back. At the last scene of the “Bear”, it showed a man who carried the gun slung over his shoulder faced the bear. As it narrative, “There is a bear in the wood. For some people, the bear is easy to see. Others don’t see it at all.” The description was going to say that we need to be strong as bear. Who is bear, the people of United States or the people of Soviet Union? It was unclear information for people to learn, but it was interesting to make me analyze it. In my idea, I thought the bear was metaphor Soviet threat for meaning it was strong as bear. The bear was black and fat that was walking around in the forest like searching for food. It was danger sign for people know about their countries would be menaced by war that Soviet brings. As the end of commercial showed, the bear was stand in left side, and a man stand opposite to it on the top of mountain. The man was metaphor people of United States. They must to face against it if they want to alive. Then narrative asked, “Since no one can really be sure who is right, isn't it smart to be as strong as the bear? If there is a bear.” It tried to say Soviet was bear would possible to affect America. The “if there is a bear”, of course, it was a real bear, a real Soviet Theat. So it meant we needed to fight with Soviet because we need to protect our country and people. Reagan suggested decreasing military spending through commercial if they were going to war, because the economy was very low, Reagan didn’t put more economic pressures on people.
After I saw these commercials, I tried to search more information from online to know him deeply. Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois, February 6, 1911. His father’s religion was Catholicism. In 1928, he went to Eureka College and major in economics and sociology. In 1940, he was married with Jane Wyman, and they had one daughter named Maureen. One year later, they adopted a boy named Michael, but Reagan and his wife were divorced. In 1952, he was married again. Nancy Davis was his second wife. With her, they had two daughters named Patti and Ron. Later on, He had held the governorship for eight years in California State. Before he had entered into politics, he ever acts as lifeguard, actor, and professor of newspaper and so on. Also, he was the leader of Screen Actors Guild. His unusual power of discourse was be commended by people as “The Great Communicator”. In 20 years, he had 55 performances which he has attended to. After then, he became chairman of the committee in performance. In 1969, he became a leader in the Republican Party. In 1968, it was his first time to run for the president, but he failed to win the presidency. He had come up for re-election next year. As the result, he failed to win it either. In 1984, he third time to run for the president. From 1911 to 1984, Reagan had already 73 years old. He was older than any president, but he had never given up his dream.
According my research, we can know Reagan has versatility and great knowledge. Also, he has lot experiences in his whole life. In “Strain” commercial, I know he is not an armchair strategist, because he had learned economy that proves him can help people to improve the economy. Even thought he was old, but I still believe he can help country to get better. I know he doesn’t have much energy which young people have, and most people don’t want old people to manage the country. His experiences and knowledge makes me feel admirable. In other commercial “Bear”, it described the bear as Soviet threat would affect United State, but Reagan was ready to deal with this problem. He decided to release economic pressure for weapons and army. Even thought America was weak, but they could overcome their troubles under Reagan’s help. If I have a chance to vote, then I will vote Reagan to become a president of United States because I know he will do great a job to improve the economy which same as the commercial showed. All people are glad to hear the president can help them solve their own problem, so do I.
Imagery can become influential to those who watch it. Depending on the type of descriptions it uses, one can be drawn to it immediately. When it is visually seen by the public, then their belief in it grows as well. While creating these commercials, the messages it portrays are more important. Once the viewer is enthralled, then he looks to see if the message is vital or not. Therefore in the election of 1952, public ads and commercials had become extremely popular. The candidates understood how to gain the attention of the people without causing irritation. Though they tried to keep the commercials as upbeat as possible, they knew that they must win more than just the people’s attention. They were not just images it was where the people can see the personalities of the candidates as well.
Truman’s presidency causes his polls to decrease tremendously that the Democrats did not even want to renominate him. When he announces that he will not be running, the Democrats went after Illinois governor, Adlai Stevenson. After Truman’s fall, Republicans believe it was their chance to finally win the elections. As their nominee, the Republicans choose war hero, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Both the candidates were familiar to the people for their own accomplishments. Stevenson was a great governor to Illinois, while Eisenhower played a key role in planning the Allied victory in World War II.
The election of 1952 was known to be a “strange election”. It was the first time that the candidates took advantage of the media. They were short commercials that usually ran for as long as twenty seconds to a minute. Though it was rejected in the election of 1948, Eisenhower chose to use the thirty minute blocks rather than speeches to convey his message. Stevenson used eighteen thirty minute speeches trying to develop a regular audience for his broadcasts.
Since Eisenhower was a hero, Stevenson was unable to attack him directly. Instead he tried to remind the public of the “Great Depression” which was when the republicans were running office. Eisenhower as well was unable to blame Stevenson for Truman’s actions because he was not part of the administration. He used his lovable personality and the influence of his family to try to gain the popular vote. A poll in March showed Eisenhower to be the most admired living American.
The republicans’ main goal was to show the role of family that both their nominees had. Eisenhower was a strong family man who had a supportive wife, while Stevenson was a divorced candidate. Since the Americans needed stability after WWII, Eisenhower used the picture of a traditional family to accomplish that. It was the first time a candidate used issues that were appealing to women as well. When presenting the three major problems of; the Korean War, corruption, and balanced budget, Eisenhower brought the example of a woman. He stated that just like a woman can balance the budget of the house, he will do the same. Since the woman had lost their faith in the Democrats, Eisenhower used that to his advantage to gain their approval.
The two major points the Republicans wanted to show about Eisenhower was that he was both a war hero and a family man. In his first commercial, the image presents a group of people holding banners that say “Ike” heading to Washington. The jolly beat that the people are singing makes the viewers want to continue and watch the ad. In the march it shows every type of person from families, children, workers, and individuals. There is one scene where it shows just a man, woman, and their baby walking. This portrays the idea of Eisenhower as the real family man.
In his other commercials called “Eisenhower answers America”, he uses ordinary people with ordinary questions. These people ask questions about the issues with money, and the problems with the Democrats. When answering these questions, Eisenhower is presented as the one to answer them. It is extremely vital that he presents himself in these commercials because he shows that he is involved. He uses the motto “its time for a change” to show that he realizes their situation is not good, and he is willing to fix it.
At the same time, Eisenhower creates an effective commercial to present the issues about war. It starts out saying that he came from a small house in Kansas to show that he is like all the Americans. When asked if the nation is ready for war, Eisenhower admits that its not but proves points in how it can be. After that it shows scenes of Eisenhower in his previous experiences in war and what he has accomplished with the Russians and in the Korean War. This powerful piece really illustrates the potentials Eisenhower contains.
I believe the commercials Eisenhower presented were very effective. He was able to use different types of imagery to show his main personalities. Though he was a lovable family man, he was a strong war hero as well. He presented ordinary people to ask ordinary questions so that he can present daily problems as well. However at the same time, I believe that one should not base their decision only on these advertisements. Without my own research, I would have not known important information about both candidates. Though it is important to portray important messages in these commercials, one should not be so naive and base their decision on just those messages.
Suzy Basiratmand (Nycsweety511@yahoo.com)
Politics is all about making one’s self look better than his opposing candidate so that he or she can be elected, and what the candidate “will do” for this country is very important in the campaign as well. John McCain to most is viewed as a mere copy of George Bush and will most likely lead this country into what seems to be the slump it is heading into now. Other Americans feel as if the conservative way is the best way. Citizens and the people of America have the power to vote for their leader and this should not be taken for granted. Barack Obama, the democratic candidate in this election, is willing to make change and help America in its most troubling economic state in recent decades.
In the “Energy” commercial, first scene, the tax price banner is shown and then McCain is portrayed as part of the problem and this reveals that this is indeed a democratic ad. The commercial continues and Barack Obama shows that he will do what it takes to lower gas prices by the use of new technology and by loosening the grip of foreign oil. There is pictures in the commercial of George Bush and John McCain together showing that McCain will not help the economy but will just make the problem worse. Hybrids cars are also introduced to show Obama’s determination to reduce gas prices nationwide.
The visual imagery is presented in order from worse to better. First the republicans are shown hugging and agreeing on similar decisions but then the narrator proceeds to the better way which is by choosing Obama to lead the country. The thesis is that the republican, more conservative way is not going to help the country in our desperate times such as now but only the democratic way will lead us through this economic crisis. Republicans vote toward tax cuts for the rich as opposed to the democratic approach to issue tax cuts to the middle class that is struggling more.
After watching this ad, Obama has convinced me that I should vote for him because he will lower the gas prices and help the economy stabilize. I would vote for Obama because I like the democratic method in politics more and I think that the country will benefit more from that.
Once again, John McCain is shown first as being a “maverick” and then the ad quickly reveals that that is a joke and shows that McCain is just a copy of Bush. Obama is then represented as a change and a change is what this country needs. The imagery that sticks out the most is that in which McCain is speaking about how he and the president agree on over 90% of the important topics in politics, and Obama says that one of his most important goals is that he will reduce gas price as well as give a tax cut to the middle class as oppose to McCain’s tax cut for the wealthy.
The visual imagery is a repeated change of scene of what the narrator is talking about and has important statistics shown in the background. All the wrong things that the country is doing and that McCain will continue to do are shown. “The original maverick, or just more of the same,” is what the Ad ends with and is said while a picture of McCain is shown along side a picture of Bush. America needs change and Obama is that change.
I would vote for this candidate because the Ad shows “McCain’s agenda” and states all the negative things McCain is going to continue to do and I am willing to help make a change by voting for Obama.
Temimah Zucker
When one thinks of ice cream, he or she thinks of the frozen delectable dessert. "Ice Cream", however, is also the name of a commercial advocating Lyndon B. Johnson for presidency. Often times campaigns use imagery such as commercials to convince the viewer of whom he or she should vote for. The commercial "Ice Cream" is one of the many campaigns that successfully persuades the watcher why he or she should vote for Johnson and not Barry Goldwater, utilizing the effect of "seeing" to do so.
"Ice Cream" was broadcasted in the year 1964 when the two candidates for presidency were Lyndon B. Johnson, the Democrat, and Barry Goldwater, the Republican. The commercial shows a young girl, most likely five or six years old, eating what looks like a vanilla ice cream cone. The child seems delusional to the words being narrated and to the fact that there is a camera filming her. One would think she was just an "All-American" little girl, the camera men happen to see eating her ice cream cone and candidly filmed. Though the film is black and white, it is obvious the girl has blond hair and one would guess blue eyes- a very adorable, very American looking innocent child. The ad is one minute long, and as one watches the little girl eat her ice cream cone, he hears the sound of a woman's narration saying "Do you know what people used to do? They used to explode atomic bombs in the air. Now children should have lots of Vitamin A and Calcium, but they shouldn't have any Strontium ninety or Cesium one hundred thirty seven. These things come from atomic bombs, and they are radioactive. They can make you die. Do you know what people finally did? They got together and signed a nuclear test ban treaty. And then the radioactive poison started to go away. But now there's a man who wants to be president of the United States, and he doesn't like this treaty. He fought against it. He even voted against it. He wants to go on testing more bombs. His name is Barry Goldwater, and if he is elected they might start testing all over again." A male voice then says "Vote for President Johnson, the stakes are too high for you to stay home" as a black screen with white writing in the center saying "Vote for President Johnson on November 3."
Lyndon B. Johnson, the Democratic candidate whom the ad is promoting, stepped up from vice president to president after John F. Kennedy's assassination in the year 1963. He was known for his political agenda called the "Great Society" in which he focused on issues such as Medicare, poverty, and the Vietnam War. His population soared due to his acts when taking over for President Kennedy, creating a tax cut and establishing an anti-poverty program.
Barry Goldwater, the Republican opposing candidate was unfortunately not as well liked as Johnson. He was an extremist, conservative and supported Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon, showing dislike for John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry Truman, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. His views including the disapproval of a Federal Civil Rights law and a more violent approach toward Vietnam, combined with his dislike for such successful presidents caused his unpopularity and loss in the election.
One of the major issues discussed by the candidates, which caused quite an uproar, was that of nuclear weapons, as discussed in "Ice Cream." Candidate Goldwater first addressed the issue at a press conference in Hartford, Connecticut when he said "Field Commanders" should be given the authority to use nuclear weapons when they felt necessary. Though he insisted he was misquoted, having actually said the head of NATO should be given the power to decide, it was too late. The issue of nuclear weaponry was raised time and time again and each time Goldwater dug a bigger hole for himself, saying that some nuclear weapons are small and can be used and that the President should not be the one in charge of making the decision over Nuclear Weaponry, it should be the commander of NATO. Both Republicans and Democrats used this opportunity to fight against Goldwater, saying he was too "Conventional."
The large and controversial debate over nuclear weaponry is most likely the reason "Ice Cream" was chosen as a campaign. The ad depicts a young girl is who doing absolutely nothing wrong. As the narrator says, "Children should get lots of Vitamin A and Calcium", and the viewer sees a young girl doing just that, but as the commercial goes on to talk about killing and nuclear bombs, the watcher feels sorry for this little girl, as if she will be hurt harmed by these weapons. As if she will be harmed by the Strontium ninety and Cesium one hundred thirty seven. The Test Ban Treaty of 1963, as the narrator states, was made to protect people like this adorable little girl from such harms, and now if Candidate Goldwater takes it away or questions the treaty who knows what will happen to the treaty.
The reason the imagery is so important in this ad is because it causes the viewer to feel emotion. At the start of the commercial one might think it odd that a child eating ice cream was chosen to be shown while but the child is in fact the essence of the commercial. If the commercial was simply a narrator saying over the words stated in the background of the commercial, it would not be half as effective. One would think it was simply informative and well made, because of the facts and connection it makes to children and every-day facts. What causes the commercial to be successful is the image of the little girl as the words are being said. The watcher is drawn in to watch a cute little girl eat ice cream and then to shockingly hear Goldwater could take this little girl away if he is elected into presidential office and permits the use of nuclear bombs. The emotional attachment the imagery creates is what "sells" the commercial.
Though the facts on Goldwater never state he outwardly wanted to remove the test ban, it is well known he had quite a different view on the matter. He may not have said specifically said he wanted nuclear weaponry, but at the same time he had no issues against using them in warfare, which is strengthened by the fact he believed in a more violent approach toward the Vietnam War.
Lyndon B. Johnson's choice of airing "Ice Cream" was wise and produced successful outcomes. He targeted the audience emotionally and used information such as the content of nuclear bombs and Goldwater's view on the subject to prove a point. The clip of the little girl successfully shows the innocence of America, and leads to the thought of destruction of that innocence through electing Goldwater. After viewing this commercial it is safe to say as to why Johnson was elected president of the United States.
Greg Hyams (ghyams@gmail.com) september 29,2008
A leader is some one that is meant to be in control of a community. This leader must know every aspect of how this community works and allow it to function as a well-oiled machine. The type of person that can do this must be able to keep them fully intact and know everything that will have to do with their lives. How could any one want some one to control aspects of their lives if they can’t even take care of themselves? I remember watching the news the morning after a McCain interview and the newscasters were making fun of the fact that he didn’t know how many homes he owned. I laughed at this and then realized I had to know if it was true. In the Obama commercial “Out Of Touch” it focuses on how McCain seems careless about the economy. If a leader is chosen, then this leader must have control of their own lives and in turn be able to fix any problems that face the majority of people in that community not the rich wealthy minority.
When I see this commercial it is obvious that everything that is said matches up with where the words are spoken. To elaborate on this confusing statement, the narrator says, “Call it country club economics” as it shows McCain and George Bush Sr. in a golf cart at a country club. Everything that happens in this commercial is thrown dead center in the screen and at a medium shot to focus attention on it without causing confusing the people as to why it is just his face. This allows for McCain to redeem his human qualities and not come off monstrous. This helps Obama not seem like he is blood thirsty and going for the jugular on McCain for any mistakes he had made. There are ambient sounds of a piano in the background during this commercial that make the viewer sympathetic to McCain for not knowing the number of houses that he owns, but the music allows for the viewer to see that the man that deserves this job doesn’t deserve it out of sympathy. McCain is introduced in this commercial as the man riding on the golf cart that could be better then most people. He has money and that can provide power, but does power give people what they want? It can only help the person in charge get more power and control everything, but that does not help the little person that needs things that they cannot afford. As the commercial draws to the end it shows a couple that seems to be hoping that something better can come and help them. The yellow shirt on the women can symbolize an illness that she might have and the orange shirt and the man can symbolize the intensity of emotion that he feels over this illness and over the fact that since they are of middles or lower class that they can’t get all the treatment they need to take care of her. Through what I see in this commercial I am angered and sympathetic. If I am not mistaken this was what the commercial wanted to cause the viewer to feel. How can a person that has so many homes and not know how many be able to control and help maintain the US economy as it shows its faults? The answer is that this person can’t be expected to do very much.
The information that is presented in this commercial is all facts. John McCain did not know how many houses he owned when asked in an interview. He told the reporters that his people would get them the answer as soon as possible. It turned out that the number that was reported in the commercial was not correct. McCain had eight homes not seven as the commercial had originally stated. Regardless what is the point of having that many houses? All it does is prove that the person with the houses has money. The commercial also stated that McCain feels that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. This is also true he does believe this, but he also believes that there are greedy people on Wall Street that need to be fixed. It seems though that his believe in this might be a ruse to make people think he is there to help them. The track record of McCain is not one that would have him going against his party’s beliefs. The Republican parties basic beliefs are that big business should be aloud to do what ever it wants. Taxes should be bracketed so that the wealthy and big businesses pay a lower percentage then those on a lower tax bracket. They also believe that the government should do less for the people. John McCain seems to stay true to these ideals of the Republican Party. This can keep true to what the commercial said about McCain not caring to help those that are of less money and in need.
In the year 1929 on a day known as black Tuesday he stock market crashed and the economy was destroyed. There was nothing that people could do. People began losing jobs. Inflation started to occur and people were left without homes. Seventy-Nine years ago this occurred. And to a degree many thing are happening now that happened back then. The economy has passed the peak in its cycle and is headed down towards the bottom. Back after the Great Depression it took Franklin D. Roosevelt to help right the ship. Now that the Bush administration will leave office soon with the economy on a downward spiral it will be left up to either Obama or McCain will be selected to take over the presidency and help to fix the struggling economy. Today people from foreign nations are purchasing many companies, which are based in America. This is due to the weakness of the economy. There is a lot of unemployment in the nation today. This is partially due to all of the outsourcing that is occurring in the country today. Jobs that could simply be done by people that need jobs in the United States are given to people overseas for less money to help the company make more profit. This hurts the people that work hard and need the money and it puts them out of a job. This is what occurs with the republican ideals being used in government. These are the same views that McCain has been following throughout his political career.
After all that I have learned based on my research and what I saw on this commercial I would be more likely to vote for Obama rather then McCain. I feel that a leader will be able to take control of a situation and even if they are unable to give an answer to a question that they are asked that they could give a valid reason why. If some one does not know how many houses they own, then how could they be expected to control an economy where many people are losing their homes? It is insane to think that some one could forget that they own eight houses. I mean I guess it is understandable since he is really old. Another thing that I found through my research is that McCain besides that fact that he is very old had skin cancer. With these health issues that seem to plague him can he be expected to make it through the four years of the presidency and be health enough to actually help fix the economy during this time period. It is very hard to say if it can be done.
A leader must be able to help a community and allow it to prosper. This leader will do everything in his or her power to help maintain and improve the community that he or she is in charge of. Can some one that is out of touch with a community be counted on to one-day lead that same community? The answer is no, because the leader of a community must know everything about a community to know what needs to be fixed.
The commercial 2013 is a very powerful commercial depicting images of what could be and what has been. It creates a great contrast between hope and disaster. The commercial was made in support of John McCain. Here in this commercial he is illustrated to be the savior of all of America’s problems. Apparently all John McCain needs to achieve United States greatness once again is 4 years.
This commercial does a great job in communicating many issues in just a few minutes. The issues portrayed are the Middle East, nuclear terror thereat, enhanced border security, energy dependence, wasteful spending, healthcare, and economic confidence. To emphasize the messages even more, every time a new issue is introduced an image is shown. When the Middle East is introduced an image of a boy with a camel is shown. The boy looks calm and in good health. John McCain wants the Middle East to be stabilized. In four years the Middle East will be stabilized and all the population will look as good as this boy. Or so we are led to believe. There are images of defeat such as the image when terror is discussed. It is an image of the towers being blown up. Right after though an image of people building a house is shown, to introduce economic confidence. This commercial does a great job in contrasting between the good and the bad things that have happened and that will happen.
John McCain has plans in order to stabilize America. To ensure workplace flexibility John McCain plans to modernize the nation’s labor laws for more flexible scheduling arrangement. He also wants to promote telework so that workers spend lesss time commuting. To improvehealthcare McCain plans to make drugs cheaper, dedicate more federal research to treating and curing chronic disease, also wants coordinated care which allow the payment of a single bill for high-quality care, and wants to make tax subsidy more fair.
The commercial is very effective in communicating what McCain wants to achieve but fails in communicating what McCain will do to achieve it. Solely based on this commercial I would not vote for John McCain. His ideas seem very good but what will he do to make these ideas a reality? I’m not too sure on whom I will vote for come November. There are many issues that need to be fixed and the ideal person to do it does not seem to be a candidate.
Stephanie Balroop (sbalroop100@qc.cuny.edu)
The Living Room Candidate: “Plan for Change”
Visual imagery has a great deal of influence on a person’s judgment. In many cases people don’t realize when their views are being swayed. Political Commercials often take advantage of this reflex in the public and use it to win them over. Over the years this tactic has become more and more common and has resulted in a war of empty promises and gained recognition. Though some have resorted to this low, immoral approach to acquiring a good public image, some have managed to achieve this through a fair and ethical manner. The current race for presidency between Senator John McCain and Senator Barrack Obama has become a bitter exchange of immoral of behaviors, mainly on John McCain’s part. Though Barrack Obama has been the target of many political commercials, he has endured it and has found a way of getting his message across in a fair and truthful way.
In the political commercial “Plan for Change”, Barrack Obama is seen sitting in what appears to be a living room; there are lamps and a sofa behind him, offering a sense of tranquility. In a firm, calm voice and with a few hand gestures, he is seen addressing the many issues Americans have experienced over the years and expresses his plans for the future. After seeing Obama in this setting and learning of his modest beginnings, growing up with his grandmother in Kansas he seemed more humble. When watching this ad there was also a feeling of hope, hope for a brighter, more prosperous future for this country.
Over the last few years the United States economy has taken a dive. The high unemployment rates have become a huge problem in America today. With companies moving overseas for lower taxes and cheaper labor, many have lost their jobs and have resorted to living on unemployment due to the lack of available jobs. Furthermore health insurance has also become an issue among many Americans. The cost of health insurance is too expensive for most, and this has caused countless to live without any. This has caused a major controversy on whether health insurance should be free or not. Gas prices have also become an important issue. Soaring gas prices and food prices have worried many and have caused them to stay home and save their money. As a result of this less money has been circulating in the economy, which has contributed to the economic crises of bank closings market instability we have been experiencing lately.
Barrack Obama’s “plan for change” includes many aspects which would help ease our economic troubles. If elected he plans on reforming our tax system, to give a tax break to the middle class instead of large corporations, which outsource jobs. His plans for energy made in America over the years will create millions of new jobs, a cleaner environment, and will stop our dependence on Middle East oil. He plans on stabilizing Wall Street by making regulations to protect investments and pensions, which will gain trust from Americans to start investing their money again. Finally, he plans to bring an end to the war in Iraq. Bringing the war in Iraq to a halt will result in the beginning of many good things. Instead of billions of dollars going towards rebuilding Iraq, it will be used to rebuild our own nation. The collaboration of all these components will surely return the faith of Americans in our nation.
In order to win an election one must win the popular vote. In order to achieve this there are two ways to go. One way is honorable and obtained by being honest and truthful to the public. The other is immoral and obtained through fabrication and stretching the truth. The majority of the time it is the immoral way which grabs more attention and causes more impact. That is not to say that in order to win one must take the low road. Barrack Obama is a good example of this. Political commercials often tend to focus on the poor qualities in a candidate in order to make the other candidate look better. In Barrack Obama’s “Plan for Change” he focuses on the positive aspects of change, revitalizing viewer’s faith in this country. By centering his attention on the values that Americans really care about, he is able to gain recognition as an outstanding candidate in this election without losing his dignity. This commercial was full new ideas, which could potentially lead to a more steady future for this country. Many envision the same future described in this ad. Based on this one can say that it is possible for an individual to vote based solely on what is shown in this commercial.
Panagiotis Serris (XiosJP@earthlink.net)
When looking at an image, do you see a hidden meaning behind it or just what you see directly in front of you? Some images don’t have hidden meanings but others do. Often times when we look at an image and we don’t always tend to look at the deeper meaning they carry. We look at them and whatever we directly see is what we believe the image is about. We leave out little details that help us create a clearer understanding of what the creator is actually trying to prove. Everyday there are images around us. One huge event is the 2008 presidential elections. Images help shape a belief about a certain topic or person.
McCain vs. Obama has become a very interesting and very important election. Obama was born on August 4, 1961 and lives in Chicago, Illinois. Many people believe Obama is not ready to lead the country because he hasn’t had enough experience. Barack Obama got married in 1992 to a lady named Michelle. Obama also has two daughters, Sasha and Malia. Obama believes women have the right to chose for abortions. He believes that we should withdraw the troops in Iraq. Obama also wants to help the middle class families by getting them health care and an education.
In the commercial “Zero (Obama 2008)” we notice how Obama does support the middle class population. The video starts off with text being printed as if on a typed on a computer. This part of the commercial is similar to the master card commercials we are all familiar with. The most important word that they want standing out is underlined to show the main argument this image is trying to address. After the text they show a video of a debate John McCain and Barack Obama had. In the video you hear Obama speak to McCain about how he feels about McCain’s middle class is tax policy. Obama says that we had 8 years of this problem, we don’t need another 4. Obama got the message across that McCain will follow the footsteps of Bush without even saying it directly. Through this video you can see Obama’s determination in the way he talks and his hand gestures. These movements’ would make a person look more confident in what he is saying. This video changes the views of middle class citizens about McCain.
In the commercial “100 Years (web) (Obama 2008)” we notice one of the audience members asking John McCain a question on the war in Iraq. The man tells McCain that Bush said he would stay in Iraq for 50 years and McCain reply’s “Maybe a 100…that would be fine with me.” By showing the war right after this being said made you think twice about electing him for president. It shows very vivid videos of the war. It shows bombs exploding and fire everywhere. It has music in the background as if to show panic. As these images are being shown there is also text being show. The texts are important because they are main points showing how bad the war really is. It shows 5 years, 500 billion dollars spent and 4,000 killed. These 3 statistics make you want think about what could happen in another 4 years. To make the point concrete at the end of the video what John McCain said was repeated in a way of saying do you really want this. He is shown on the right of the screen while the flames and destroyed land is on the left as if to say if John McCain is evil and if we elect him as president that fire and explosions will continue. One thing I’ve noticed is if you looked at this image once you would think nothing of it and say that that is how John McCain feels. If you watch the video you notice that the person speaking is not shown which means that this question was not necessarily have been asked. Also John McCain just says “Maybe a 100” then the video is stopped. If you look closely you see McCains hands are folded on the microphone and once the video is started again his hands are not together and his left hand is down. This shows that he could have not said “that would be fine with me” right after “Maybe a 100”.
The way you look at a certain image helps you analyze and see how the image can change your belief on a certain topic. For example the way they put those clips together in the first video makes all middle class citizens feel that Obama actually cares. Music is a huge plus. Having the proper music makes the image more powerful as if it is trying to prove a point. The way the videos clips are combined makes one believe certain things that could b true or just be false but the way it is done could fool many.
NAVPREET SINGH n.singh1990@gmail.com
As we come closer to the 2008 elections in the United States, there are decisions to be made. The two major candidates for the elections are John McCain and Barack Obama. The candidates represent the chief political parties in America. John McCain represents the Republican Party and Barack Obama, the Democratic Party. Both candidates have been using vigorous mud slings in political advertisements against each other. These advertisements can play a major role in the decisions made in the 2008 elections. John McCain has been misguiding the American people throughout his political campaign.
John McCain was born on August 29, 1936 in Panama. He went to vast amounts of schools during his childhood. His father and grandfather were part of the navy. This placed an interest in McCain’s mind to follow the same field. As a young child McCain showed bravery and leadership. He assisted his friends in hard times and also acted as a type of leader in their minds. As he got older he joined a naval academy and studied to be a part of the navy. At times during his education he had ups and downs. He was not determined to achieve high in subjects that he struggled with. One of the subjects he did not do well in was mathematics. McCain also had a low rank in the navy, because he did not always abide by the rules. McCain went through many combats during his naval experience. At one point he almost died due to an explosion and also went through torture as a prisoner.
McCain was married to Carol Shepp and then decided to have an affair. This caused an intense conflict in their marriage, which eventually led to a divorce. Following the divorce McCain had a second marriage to Cindy Hensley. McCain soon left the navy and began to show an interest in the United States government. Currently McCain is an active member of the Senate representing the state of Arizona.
The first political advertisement I analyzed was “Better Off.” This was approved by Barack Obama, pointing out McCain and his dishonesty towards American people. The advertisement starts off asking whether American people are better now than they were eight years ago. McCain responds to this question with many answers, which all are proven wrong with current economic conditions in America. The different images shown in this ad vary from gas prices, foreclosure signs, and occupations closed down. Obama makes a point in this political ad, because McCain says that Americans are better off now than they were eight years ago. This is a complete lie in the eyes of Americans, because household income has fallen close to a $1000, unemployment has increased and over a million of jobs lost, high inflation, and gas prices increased tremendously. McCain tends to misguide his audience in this ad, by making it seem as if America is standing tall on its feet without any major problems. All the issues in this ad put together are the reason America is facing recession and slowly disintegrating.
The second political advertisement I observed was “Don’t Know Much.” This ad was focused on McCain’s lack of knowledge on the topic. There is a song used as a guide or way to explain the meaning of the advertisement. Looking back at McCain’s childhood, he was never determined to understand a subject he disliked. This characteristic reflects on him now at the age of 72, because he admits not knowing enough about economy, although he should. It focuses on the issue that McCain has claimed he does not have much knowledge on the subject, economy. It shows that he is following the path of current President Bush. There is no key difference between the two Republicans, and that if McCain is elected, it will be no different than President Bush. The issue on economy is very important, because the next elected president has the responsibility to put America back on its feet. According to the song, McCain has no explanation to the economic problems faced by the middle class. McCain has agreed with President Bush 90% of the time. This shows McCain is somewhat following the footsteps of President Bush.
Senator John McCain has been misguiding the American people, with his compulsive lies. He has made many claims that America is doing better than it was eight years ago, although if taking current conditions into consideration, he is completely wrong. He lacks knowledge in the key issue, economy. He doesn’t seem like a much different person, than President Bush. If people want to see change and avoid continuing the Republican reign, Barack Obama is the right choice. I will give my vote to Barack Obama, so that there is a change in the economy and an end to the war overseas.
Dick Martin (Rmartirosian100@QC.Cuny.edu)
Septemeber 29, 2008
Imagery often lures unsuspecting viewers into the depths of an abyssal cluster of questions. How useful it would be to give your audience an actual visual, audio representation of what you want them to believe; through combining thought-out rhetoric and modern day technological advancements in the film industry, our candidates have gained the ability to manipulate and shape the voters’ perspectives on each candidate running for president. These commercials that our candidates create can be beneficial, but the key is to craft the viewer into despising any other runners, as such, some commercials are not always truthful or exact. Various times these commercials have spewed forth malicious false representations of what a candidate has to offer the American people, deliberately trying to harm the candidate’s campaign.
In the 2004 Bush vs. Kerry campaign, Kerry issued a commercial attacking bush called “State of the Union…Not Good”. This viral web video was very aggressive and negative towards Bush’s campaign. The video starts off with a medium shot of bush speaking towards the Union, and then going from shots between the president addressing the union and the union applauding Bush’s statements. What Bush said in this video was not one cohesive real argument that held with the union in real life; it was a collage of different video’s when bush would speak to the union. Kerry’s team set the video up to make Bush seem less than professional oft more so an evil towards his own country of America than Americas foreign enemies. In the video it seems as though Bush said “In these past few months I’ve been trained by Al Qaeda, that I’m weak and materialistic, I told our country and I told our world that if it feels good do it”, I believe that Kerry is trying to show Bush’s incompetence as a leader. The one spot in this video that summarizes the whole point of the commercial is when Bush said “We can be summed up in one word…evil”, afterwards giving a jaunty, somewhat sadistic, smile.
My reaction to this video was held back by the thought of it all being forged. The fact that Bush’s opponent, Kerry, had to stoop to that level to create libel actually turned me further away from Kerry’s oath to office. It seemed as if the way he would get things done was by falsifying information and misleading the public. From my personal view on this subject, this video had much more of an impact on Kerry rather than Bush, an inverse effect on what he intended.
In the 2008 McCain vs. Obama campaign, Obama’s campaign released a T.V. commercial called “Don’t know much”. This video showed several images relating to a quote, “Economics is not something I've understood as well as I should” - John McCain December 2007. While the slideshow of images progress, a song is sung joyously, the words and meanings of this song are linked visually to the pictures. When the singer sang “really can’t explain the price of gas”, they showed a visually stimuli of gas prices at a gas station. Most likely to show the consumers of gas, what this senator can and cannot do for the everyday consumer. I believe it show’s McCain’s ineptitude to solve the gas problem. Then the singer sings “what has happened to the middle class” and the video pans over a realty sign, with the world foreclosure in bold capital letters. I can infer that the maker of this video wanted us to link the middle class with foreclosure and McCain’s standing on economics; if he can solve anything. At the end of the video, a caption shows McCain’s partnership with Bush, claiming that McCain votes with President Bush 90% of the time. There is also a caption that says “We can’t afford the same.” while displaying a picture of President Bush and Senator John McCain embracing each other. At last, a narrator asks “Do we really want four more years of the same tune?” He was referring to the tune playing, the tune of all our downfalls with President Bush, as this is a democratic commercial against republicans. He ask the audience if they want rising gas prices, foreclosures, people that don’t know how to handle the economy, and people that don’t know how to handle the industry. I feel that Obama’s campaign had taken private photos and loose incomprehensive verbal quotes from Senator John McCain and twisted his position on Americas Crisis. They want the people to believe that McCain is the biggest crisis; we do not want another failure in office, as though they let us infer with their grouping of Bush and McCain. They let the common image of Bush ride on to McCain, telling us that he will follow in Bush’s footsteps and the government will follow too.
In both of these videos, we see that in today’s society, we have become more aggressive and manipulative than ever before. We will use whatever recorded material of another that we can find, and change it by placing it out of context. This political rivalry has become a man-eat-man service, it won’t finish until the loser has won. What we can learn from watching these videos is that big brother is always watching, and big brother may just come back to attack in the end.
Tiffany Lallkissoon (tiffany32090ja@yahoo.com)
For the first seventeen years of our lives, we are constricted and can only do as much as we are allowed. We are told we are men and women who should be able to make our own decisions. Yet, when we take these very same words and put them into action, we get a rude awakening on how we are not adults yet and we have to live by their rules. However, Once we turn eighteen, we are liberated from those very shackles and are free to make our own decisions. Being a legal teenager in the twenty first century who can vote is an invigorating era in our lives. Our sole responsibility is to pay attention to the many newspaper and magazine articles, news reports, gossip columns and commercials that has to deal with the upcoming elections. We have to do this because in today's society, someone can have such a squeaky clean persona but carry a life as a schizophrenic buffoon. Not to mention that we, the people, make the decision as a whole on who will be our future leader for the next four years.
The web commercial, Yes We Can, by Wil.i.am and Jesse Dylan in 2008, depicts the Democratic contender, Barack Obama. The visual imagery creates a narrative that shows us what ideas Obama has for this country if he is voted President. This commercial is shot in black and white and is spoken through a musical tone. I find that the visual medium is meant to be black and white in order to show the purity of the commercial and not to create any interruptions in the message being sent by Obama. But it is not Obama who is in the commercial alone. There are a lot of famous people who take part in it. There are a few people who play instruments to create a beat. And if paid close attention to, we can tell that the famous peoples who take part in the commercial either repeat or sing the same words uttered by Obama himself. I find that having a commercial with famous people that we are affiliated with through their work is a way to send the message out to teenagers and young adults.
Barack Obama is a Hawaiian native. His dad is from Kenya and his mom is from Kansas. Obama attended Colombia University and Harvard Law School. He has held many positions such a Community Organizer in Chicago, Junior Senator of Illinois and a Member of Illinois Senate from the 13th District. But you see, for me personally, it doesn't matter where he was born, where he was educated or what he did prior to this election. But what does matter is what he is standing for and what he will bring to the table when the time comes.
The way that I perceive this commercial brings to my attention that the purpose of making it is to show that the miniscule issues would put a bigger relief on the bigger issues. And I think that these little issues are having hope in him, looking forward to change, and being optimistic about the change. I say this because, Obama himself said that "I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change In Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours."
I find that this commercial is very successful. Me being a teenager, and watching this five minute segment, I feel compelled to vote for him. I know for a fact that I do want to vote for him. The visual representation of the candidate does coincide with what I know about Obama. Because, unlike McCain, who owns eight house's for God knows what reason, and lives a lavish life. Obama on the other hand lives in Chicago with his wife, Michelle, and two daughters, Malia and Natasha. And in this commercial we see this simplicity. Not to mention that seeing him in this commercial we see this aura of determination and his fight for the presidency.
My initial reaction to this commercial is "WOW". And I mean it. Out of all of these campaigning commercials, this one really got to me. I felt the intensity and the power of each word. It's like every single time his words get emphasized, I feel as if I have a duty to commit to; and if I don't then I'm a letdown because I understand what he is saying and what he means, and also what he wants for this country, however if I don't do my part, then what sense does it make for me to pay attention to anything about this election. When watching this commercial, I can tell that the thesis is to Vote for Obama. And I do know that on November 4, 2008, when I go to vote, the check will be right next to his name.
Bianca Barabas
bgbt714@hotmail.com
For many decades in the past, presidential electors have focused primarily on the necessity of change as the main necessity for improvement. Years later is still remains the same. It is the continuation of the American dream and the improvement of the American life that makes the word change that vital. In today’s world, change is no longer an option, but a motive. In John McCain’s political commercial “Man in the Arena” the flashback of American history and struggle, and the measure of time, help to convey the message that time and change are the same concept and that it is imperative that moving forward is the only option.
John McCain, the Republican candidate running for President in the 2008 election is liked and disliked by many Americans and foreigners. From tax cuts, to becoming independent off of foreign oil, John McCain proposes immediate change. He wants to make healthcare available to the American people, one on one, rather then through government control. He stresses that it will be the United States that will win this war overseas but only if the United States keeps their presence there with the addition to more troops. Because McCain proposes immediate change within and outside the nation, the formation of this political commercial is constructed perfectly to emphasize immediate change.
From the constant flashback through time, the images as a whole tell a story of the hope of progress and change in the past and the future. The beginning of the commercial focuses on the past and its struggle. The images of the flashbacks signify the hardships that this nation has faced in the past and that sometimes, to see the ultimate reward and satisfaction, you have to do whatever it takes. The man in the flashback constantly reminds the viewer that although his people may not understand his decision, his decisions are ultimately made to benefit his people. I think the usage of the flashbacks help to highlight that even though the discussions in the flashbacks happened years ago, there are some things in life that will never change regardless of the time period. This is the same concept with McCain, except we see him in color. From the compromises made, as seen in the commercial.
McCain is first introduced into the commercial by the time capsule through the past created by the images of the clouds moving rapidly through time. The opening flashback in black and white shows a man discussing unity and compromise seen through the eyes of determination regardless of the struggle involved. The man’s voice does not sound very convincing, but when McCain comes into the picture, a sense of comfort and reassurance is felt by the positive power heard through his voice. McCain reassures his listeners by telling them to continue representing what the American country and its people represent; strength and willpower. The American people do not settle for anything less then what is expected, and McCain reassures this message by telling his viewers everything they should and should not do.
The important issues represented by the candidate are the primary well being of the country, its people, and the safety and improvement of the world as a whole. The war across sea is the main issue in this political commercial because the man in the flashback and McCain himself mention how they will never give into the enemy. McCain mentions that he does not take the title of President because of its title alone, but because he feels he has a responsibility as an American to give back to his country everything it has given him. The viewer sees images of McCain when he was in the force, and that is a perfect time to use the image with the words spoken. It helps the viewer have a better understanding that if something is mentioned, the proof is there to believe it. I also think this idea can be related to the image of the Statue of Liberty used in the commercial. Right after McCain mentions his title as President and his responsibility, the image of the Statue of Liberty is shown. The Statue of Liberty represents the hardships that America has gone through in the past to have liberty that some take for granted today. With the images of the soldiers in the past, and how determined and strong they were, the image of the Statue of Liberty coming into place helps show how far this nation has come through time that we now can celebrate and cherish the liberty we have due to the men that fought for us.
Throughout the commercial, time and moving forward are strongly emphasized. The images of the sky and the clouds changing rapidly from day to night and moving rapidly in time help to emphasize the meaning and importance of time and change. This country has no time left to waste to make improvements for itself and the world. The clouds and the cars moving rapidly in time help to stress the necessity of progress made in the past and the hope of progress in the future because the clouds change as if the days are beginning and ending quickly. The image of the men in handcuffs symbolizes being held down when fighting for what one believes in but having the mentality that you should never give in, no matter what they do, or how strong they fight. You can see this when you see the face of the soldiers and how it emotionally beats them down. However, you then see a complete different tone to the commercial; you seen children. The children that are shown towards the end of the commercial represent the country’s next generation and where we can find our hope and assurance. It is the children of today that will help shape tomorrow. They are the voices that will help this nation move forward. A child symbolizes hope and innocence. A child brings upon hope and innocence because when looking at one, especially one holding the American flag as seen in the commercial, a sense of pride is felt because you know that they are the future leaders of this country, continuing on the journey of a constructive change.
My reaction to the commercial was that I perceived it to be very well structured as a whole and was very persuasive. Watching the commercial gave me a sense of confidence and hope that we could finally have a nation with an actual leader. This commercial did a very good job of portraying McCain as the next President. What I enjoyed in the commercial and what helped me feel confident and hopeful were the images and especially the music. The music helped tell the story and helped the images flow in a more sequential approach because it is what helped the images change from image to image smoothly. As a whole, I think the designer used the rights clips and the right words spoken by McCain and the other man because they all were positive statements on moving forward. I would vote for McCain based solely on the commercial, but in reality, I am not. I choose to vote for Obama. I enjoyed the political commercial for what it was, but I do not agree with McCain or support his proposals and the path he wants to take.
As a whole, I think the political commercial met every criterion on what a political commercial is supposed to do; persuade the viewer. If I did not do any personal research on my own of McCain, I would vote for him just on how persuasive his commercial was. However, that is why political commercials are used; they create a picture perfect of what the viewer wants to see. They know the right words to use, and the right images to show to convince the viewer. From the flashbacks to McCain speaking, you are constantly reminded of the necessity of making changes regardless of the struggles and hardships involved to receive the ultimate reward. It is the power and strength in his voice that makes him so convincing, but it also the images. The images help say a thousand words that McCain himself probably couldn’t say.
When it comes to political endorsement commercials, we see the same strategy used by the candidates time after time. The candidates tend to pick out major economic issues and then make claims on how they plan to fix them. They use this method of campaigning in order to get into the homes and hearts of Americans to show what they stand for and promise to do if elected. Thinking about the issues of today displayed in the many presidential commercials, young adults like myself often wonder about the issues decades ago. After viewing the many commercials on The Living Room Candidate website, I notice how the issues of the past half century are very similar to those that are of major concern in today’s politics. The campaign commercials I chose were the 1960 Kennedy versus Nixon, Sill’s Family (1960), and the 2008 McCain versus Obama, Plan for Change (Obama, 2008). The candidates depicted are John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama. Although they are forty- eight years apart, both candidates speak of the failing economy and its effects on the lives of American families.
Barack Obama was introduced by his name appearing on the bottom of the screen at the opening of the commercial whereas John F. Kennedy was introduced through a narrator at the beginning of his commercial. The issues that are presented in both commercials are those of the importance of recovering the economy such as bank closures, job losses, increasing interest rates, heath insurance costs. Between this year’s election and one of almost 50 years ago, the issues have scarcely changed. One of Barack Obama’s opening statements was “our troubled economy isn’t news.” In the same effect, John F. Kennedy stated in his commercial that “one of the great problems that all American families are now facing…is the great increase in the cost of living.” Both candidates understood the importance of opening with the state of the economy. It is a very important issue, and one that is important to all voting members of society.
Also, both men went on to delve more deeply into specific economic issues. Being a commercial, having limited time, one can easily determine the specific issues most important to the candidate because the time in the commercial was spent on that topic rather than another one. That being said, food and energy costs were also mentioned by both candidates. In 2008, Obama stated that “home values are falling. It’s hard to pay for gas or groceries.” In 1960, JFK’s candidacy commercial included “our rent has gone up, our food…our gas and electric.” Sure, the issues were presented in reverse, but they are in fact the same problems being faced by today’s society as well as that of the sixties.
Lastly, the two democratic presidential candidates spoke about the climbing interest rates in America. This is a major problem in society because it deals with the peoples’ ability to borrow money for school, cars, houses, as well as spend money through credit cards. It was in the latter sense that Barack Obama brought up this topic when he said “…if you put it on a credit card, they’ve probably raised your rates.” JFK brought up this topic in a more general sense stating that “one of the things which I think increase the cost of living has been this administrations reliance on a high interest rate policy.” He used this as a negative aspect of the then current administration while he was campaigning so to show a big problem that he planned to fix.
There was no visual imagery used by Barack Obama, instead he simply spoke about the issues at hand making it a more personal campaign commercial. Commercials like this almost make it feel as though the candidate is talking directly to the single viewer rather than a large public crowd. I find that the more effective messages are set forth through the candidate actually sitting down and talking to the people, rather than a string of imagery clips with a dubbed narrator. I find that the more personal messages are more effective in allowing the viewer to relate themselves to the candidate and to the issues that the candidate chooses to bring up in their message. The John F. Kennedy campaign commercial was also a personal message as it portrayed him simply sitting on a couch as though he was in the viewers’ living room talking to them. In this case, it just so happened that he was in fact in someone’s living room talking directly to them about what they felt the problems were in their country. The campaign commercial also went on to end with a narrated clip of JFK greeting crowds and his smiling portrait on the screen with the words, “Sponsored by citizens for Kennedy-Johnson”. In essence, this commercial showed two forms of political commercials, the personal as well as the broader, more abstract portrayal of the candidate.
Ashley Martinez
Christina Mathew
Cmathew624@yahoo.com
As the 2008 elections are coming up, we see many presidential ads everywhere. Many of these ads are making us see the good side of our favorite candidate and the evil things the
other candidate has done. Theses ads can sway us to the other side or make our decision in our candidate stronger.
The first commercial I chose was one of Barack Obama called "Country I Love." In this
commercial, Barack Obama is talking to voters. He is wearing a white shirt that's unbuttoned at the top and a black suit top. It gives us a feeling of casual speaking. In the background we see a window that overlooks a backyard. He makes the atmosphere feel cosy and home like. He is speaking from his point of view on life from all the morals and alues he learned throughout life.
As he starts talking, we get this feeling of reassurance. He starts to talk about his
childhood life. We see many pictures of him with his mother and grandparents. We can
relate with him because he comes from a middle class family and he worked hard for everything. He starts to talk about accountability, self reliance, love of country working hard,
and to treating your neighbor as yourself. He took everything he learned and applied it to his
job. Some of the things he has been doing is cutting taxes, improving health care and
helping people through financial crisis..
Barack Obama seems connected to the people in this commercial. You can really see that this is truly a country that he loves and he'll make some great changes in the economy. I have seen Barack Obama talking to the voters on television before and he was amazing. He's always dressed for the occasion and he knows exactly what to say. He really cares for
the people because he has been through it. He knows what sacrifices we have to make and
how hard we have to work to get what we want. He knows how hard it is to pay bills, take
care of children while watching the violence and greed in this world. He seems like a great
candidate for president and I would love to see him in office.
The second commercial I picked was another of Barack Obama called "Obama Love 10."
This starts off as a really cheesy song and the words "There's Love In the Air". This
commercial is talking about how the media is in love with Barack Obama. Barack Obama is
portrayed as a love affair. It seems like this commercial is praising him and making fun of
him at the same time. They talk about how Obama is a great speaker and showed how Obama was ahead of McCain in the polls and also starts praising him and then goes into how this is the kind of love a ninth grader would feel.
I was confused at first at what point this commercial was trying to make and then I saw a
short clip of Obama on an airplane. It showed him joking around and talking on his cell
phone and smiling and making everyone around him laugh. It feels that even though this
commercial might be poking fun at him, it is also showing Obama's true nature. He has
many great qualities about him that everyone notices such as the way he makes his speech's and basically the way the media is obsessed about him. He has a great family and he has many values in him and it comes out in the way he presents himself. This commercial just shows another 10 reasons why we should put him in the White House.
Clint Ramnarine
McCain is introduced with a rather strong and intellectual speech. This speech is about being able to fight against oppression and never giving up. McCain then appears to tie in with the speech by stating words of encouragement and saying that America must be strong and so must the American people. McCain’s introduction is strong due to the use of the speeches of previous presidents in the commercial. The major issue that is presented here is being able to overcome the war in Iraq and being able to accomplish the task of making the United States a better and safer place. He does not want the United States to surrender; McCain feels that Americans can make the country better. McCain states that we shouldn’t ask what our country cannot do but rather what we can do to make it improve. Towards the end of the commercial McCain gives the impression that Americans will experience good changes should he be elected as president.
The imagery used throughout the commercial depicts numerous things. It starts off with a bright sky and then with various images of the stars and the heavens. There are then various images of independent figures in the United States the Flag and the Statue of Liberty. The imagery created here is conveying that America symbolizes freedom and greatness. By utilizing images such as the flag and the Statue of Liberty, key figures that represent the United States, the commercial is revealing this sense of peace and serenity that America justifies. Figures such as the Flag and the Statue of Liberty are common, if not the most commonly used figures to portray the United States. Utilizing all of these images during McCain’s presidential commercial keeps as constant reminder as what America is and American need to preserve.
The images of the sky, stars, and various universal photos reveal a unique scenario. It starts off with a bright blue sky and then, transitions into space imagery and then later into the bright sky again. This is portraying in a sense that just like the bright sky, the United States must have a bright new beginning. I believe that the space imagery casts the notion that America must begin a new frontier, one of great magnitude under a new president, President McCain. In essence, these images create a narrative to portray America as having a stronger and brighter future.
Images of McCain are shown several times throughout the commercial. McCain mentions that he has been a servant for the United States for many years. An image depicts him as being in the United States Air force. We can interpret this from his flight uniform and from the fighter jet right behind him. From research I found that John McCain was a prisoner of war. He received sever torture. He states “Every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine”. Through this experience John McCain perhaps is most determined to keep America strong and wants to keep America from not giving up on the was in Iraq, thus using his experiences as motivation for his presidential campaign. McCain was a senator for four terms and he also ran for president in the 2000 presidential election. He received naval training and was assigned mission in Vietnam.
The effects of the visual medium create a positive mood. The tones of those who speak within the commercial are soft yet strong. Because of the imagery which plays an exorbitant role in this commercial, a hopeful mood is thus created. This hopeful mood is created from the images of the bright blue sky and mentioned earlier. The syntax and diction of the speeches adds to the effect of the mood. The use of language crates tones that are convincing and yet justifying. All of these effects create an impression on the way I view McCain. My impression from this commercial is that McCain is serious and knows what changes the United States needs to address. My reaction to this commercial is that is very convincing and powerful. Its messages are therefore powerful and convincing. Based on this commercial and what I know about McCain and the current status of the United States, I am unclear as to whether or not I would vote for him. His messages are powerful yet they appeal to me in that his major objective is to stay in Iraq and fight war rather than withdrawing our valiant troops. John McCain seems to have much experience with based on the commercial. In actuality he has a substantial amount of political experience considering that he was a senator for 4 terms and ran for president previously. My concern would be that the troops need to be withdrawn from Iraq. Right now no one major is being infiltrated and solider are dying for something that is taking long to do. The soldier’s efforts and sacrifices are great however we cannot keep on fighting this war and jeopardizing more and more soldiers. Therefore I do not agree on McCain’s view to keep on fighting this war. Issues are constantly arising in the United States, a major issue being that of the United States economy. Now if McCain really wants to fight a war then it is this war. The Wars within the United States must be rectified if we are to even stand a chance rectifying others’.
John McCain’s theme of the presidential commercial is to not retreat from war. McCain wants to keep on fighting; he uses the speeches of great ones before him as a reason, as a motivation for Americans to continue this struggle in Iraq. He feels that we can be successful as a nation by doing so. He uses images of people who are prisoners, ones who are held captive and they supposedly never gave in to tyranny. McCain’s thesis would be “America’s valiant past victories shine as tomorrow’s continuing success. This could be interpreted as being able to use America’s past struggles and the achievements of each one of them to inspire a continuing success. The continuing success mentioned here would be the constant effort in Iraq to prevail.
Esther Lee (aznxsoyoung@Yahoo.com)
Images can represent different meanings and have a powerful impact on someone. Commercials are used to grab the attention of the audience and influence the viewers to support there product or in this case to vote for them as President. In the commercial of 1952, different images symbolizes certain things. Yet, the images are quite obvious to what they represent. The commerical is upbeated, entertaining, catchy, and easy to comprehend. Its repetitive to really put the message to the viewers minds. "Everybody likes IKE" is the motto and is also shown by having different types of people from farmers to bakers carrying a sign for Eisenhower. There is also a scene with a family and a farmer to have this commerical to also to speak out to them. They are all headed towards the white house representing it'll be the right decision to vote for Eisenhower. At the end of the scene it shows a sun rising behind the white house. This sun rising represents a change America needs which Eisenhower will give them. He knew how to speak out to the people and point out their main concerns such as, the Korean war and the high costs of living and what he will do to help.
Eisenhower was a natural leader and proved his leadership skills over time which let the people convinced he will put an end to the unpopular Korean war. The people are moving forward in the commerical towards the White house while the Democrats are go to opposite direction. That had a strong impression on me because they also showed three other donkeys which represented the Democratic President who were unsuccessful and that Eisenhower will do a better then them. Compared to the commercials Stevenson had, Eisenhower was catchy and spoke out to the people personally while Stevenson failed to do so. Eisenhower kept it short, yet simple and enjoyable for the viewers to really listen such as for myself.
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