The Rhetoric of President Obama's Speech on The Egypt Situation

President Obama’s speech on the former President of Egypt stepping down from office is very iconic for multiple reasons. Obama’s tone throughout the speech and his word choice were planned very well and the speech was executed with the upmost respect for all parties involved in Egypt. He managed to address the Egyptian peoples’ need for a democracy, without condemning the former Mubarak regime. Obama’s speech was very direct and straight to the point. The Speech is actually only four paragraphs in length, which seems quite short, but I believe that the short length was very effective in communicating Obama’s awareness of the situation, and also his want to see the issue be resolved quickly.

             Obama’s word choice is instrumental in conveying a serious tone, without coming across as condemning on either side of the issue. For example, in the first paragraph, Obama uses the words: concrete, credible, and unequivocal. All three of these words were put into this speech, because they carry very specific meanings. They each explain that the government must come up with a resolution in a very solid and fair way, so that the people of Egypt can be at peace. Obama set a tone for international politics with this speech, that I feel many global leaders will follow in the upcoming months, regarding the series of government revolts throughout the world.

Obama, Barack. Statement of President Obama on Egypt. 10, February 2011. 17, February 2011.

<http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/10/statement-president-barack-obama-egypt>

Rhetoric of Jordan Commercial

This week I would like to analyze one of my all time favorite commercials. This advertisement first came to television screens in late 2010. The commercial tells the story of two of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball, Lebron James and Michael Jordan. Both athletes have had merchandise contracts with Nike for many years and the objective of this commercial is clearly to sell Nike merchandise, but this ad takes a very creative avenue in order to sell its products. The first image that is seen in the commercial is James talking to the camera about some of his recent actions in his career that have upset many fans, especially in the Cleveland area. When he was traded to Miami, many fans were outraged and openly burned James’ jersey in the streets to express disgust in their once, “King of Cleveland.” James briefly discusses quitting the game, or just designing shoes, or possibly just disappearing from basketball altogether. Then something very interesting happens in this advertisement; Michael Jordan chimes in to express his thoughts on the matter, almost as mentor for James. This ad is appealing to a wide range of people, considering that Michael Jordan has been a household name since the 1980’s. Not only can ten-year-olds relate to this commercial, seeing their favorite basketball player on the screen, but their parents who grew up in the era of MJ and the Bulls. The ad then follows the story of Jordan from playing in high school and working out in old, sweaty gyms. Jordan talks over the ad the entire rest of the commercial in a rhetoric series of questions aimed at James’ fans. Jordan serves as the voice of reason in this advertisement, bringing sight into the issue of James’ status among other great NBA players. This commercial effectively addresses James’ struggle, but also works on selling Nike products to fans of the two household names. When you first watch the commercial, it is hard to envision that there are subliminal messages and hidden Nike logos all throughout the commercial. During the minute long commercial, you can see the iconic Nike swoosh symbol ten times. It is absolutely amazing the way that Nike can formulate this commercial in a way to tell a story and also effectively sell their products.

"Michael Jordan's Response to Lebron James What Should I Do Commercial." 26 November 2010. Youtube. 10 February 2011.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLZzWJxt-LE>

This I Believe Project

http://www.zshare.net/audio/863334562126c385/

Rhetoric in Advertisements

 

IHTad.jpg 

http://kleercut.net/en/files//IHTad.jpg

This advertisement really spoke to me in the way it conveyed certain rhetorical aspects that we have covered during class. Recently, we talked about the use of relevance and timing in what you are talking about. For example, the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the recent trouble in South America and the Middle East, has spurred much discussion about our energy resources and what we have to do in order to become more self-sufficient as a nation. This advertisement plays on the issue of deforestation, a topic that comes up every few years, but then somehow disappears back into the abyss of problems we have yet to solve.

The ad itself is a masterpiece in the way that it portrays the tissue brand as truly destroying the ancient forests of Canada. The box is decorated with a print of many stripped trees that have obviously been cut down to make paper, or in this case, it can be interpreted that they will be used to make Kleenexes. On other Kleenex boxes, there are usually cool designs or prints that draw attention to the boxes as more of a stylish accessory, rather than a box full of over-logged forest trees. Another aspect of this add which adds greatly to its overall effectiveness, is the three step process, which the add explains will destroy Canada’s ancient forest. The three step system is a great way to show how easy it is to lose one of the world’s greatest resources, which will be near impossible to get back. It also shows how little thought we put into a daily action, such as, blowing our nose. We could use a handkerchief, which doesn’t harm any resources, and is completely reusable, but instead, we would rather use the tissue, which we will disregard and throw directly in a trashcan in under three seconds. This add does a great job of portraying how effective using only a few words can be at portraying a message.

LA 101H This I Believe Project

http://www.zshare.net/download/8604201647f84d0f/

Sarah Palin's Rhetorical Skills

Regardless of your political beliefs, it is hard to deny that Sarah Palin is a highly followed political figure in today’s media. The way she uses rhetoric in her speeches and media responses is very unique and worthy of analysis. Voice infliction is a way that a listener can identify what a speaker’s emotions are regarding a particular topic they are speaking about. Palin uses different pitches in her voice, pertaining to what message she is lobbying for, and how she wants her point to come across. She does an excellent job of slowing down her speech, and raising her voice slightly when she really wants a point to be heard. For example, from her response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address, Palin was trying to poke fun at the acronym, “W.T.F.,” which is used in popular culture to indicate a feeling of disbelieve in a negative connotation. By poking fun at Obama’s acronym, Palin is using her language to strike a feeling of comedy in her response, and also she is connecting to a younger audience of listeners, who have grown up in a political world filled with popular satirists, such as John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. She is also trying to convince her listening audience of how ludicrous some of the current government’s policies are in her opinion. In my opinion, people look for comedy in every aspect of life, especially when watching the television. Politics is a very serious business, but comedy seems to take away some of the strain from the very hostile environment that political talk shows encompass.

              Palin also mixes up the rhetorical devices as she continues to speak. Mixing up the style of speaking keeps the message fresh and vibrant. It is very hard to keep someone’s attention for a prolonged period of time, but Palin seems to be affective in keeping her words and pattern of speech fresh and unpredictable. Palin catches a lot of flack in the media for stirring up drama and for playing the “ loving mother figure,” card too frequently, but she does an excellent job of staying in the spotlight. If she didn’t use rhetoric effectively, Palin would not be called back to speak on political news programs week after week. 

Works Cited:

Author Unknown. Copyright 2007-2008. Last Updated January 28, 2011. Accessed January 28, 2011.

<http://www.wisepolitics.com/sarah-palin-slams-barack-obama-state-of-the-union-speech-2011-3219.html/comment-page-1>

The Colbert Report

The Colbert Report is an extremely fascinating piece of comedy and satire. Aside from host Stephen Colbert’s very comedic message, lies an intricate and very well executed amount of rhetoric. Rhetoric can be defined as a way of using language persuasively, which is exactly what Colbert does. He has the ability to act and say one message that is understood to be in favor of an opposing side to politics. For example, in the most recent episode of the show from January 19^th, Colbert analyzes the choice made to throw a black tie affair at the White House, in which the President of China was invited. Colbert was trying to make the point that we shouldn’t be throwing fancy dinners for foreign delegates, especially when we owe foreign nations over a trillion “China bucks.” Although his point came across very humorously, it seems as though his strategy of giving criticism in conjunction with humor seems to work in this case. He further adds to his point by saying that the dinner should have been a, “sweatpants potluck.” He enhances the rhetoric of this phrase by dropping in tone and slowing down his speech. Colbert seems to have speaking down to a science, because he knows when to emphasize words, which carry a great importance. He could have simply said, “The White House shouldn’t be throwing ridiculously expensive parties,” but by adding humor to his point, he adds entertainment to what could be considered a boring lecture.

An interesting part of Colbert’s rhetoric is the way he stresses certain words to give effect. Like we talked about in class, the way that a person talks can affect the way a message is portrayed. The way Colbert uses a very serious tone naturally and drops the tone of his vice dramatically to make a point is very interesting. From what I can tell, it seems that Colbert raises his tone of voice when a point seems rather absurd, and he wants the audience to understand how ridiculous it seems.

Works Cited:
1995-2011 Comedy Partners. The Colbert Report. Accessed January 20, 2011.
<http://www.colbertnation.com/full-episodes/thu-january-20-2011-chris-matthews>