Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Rhetoric
I felt that this video truly portrayed the rhetoric because it used several available means of persuasion to get its message across. The video is based on one of Barack Obama's speeches and was turned into a song by several famous people. All of these components are highly persuasive means of communication.
Obama's actual speech in this video is very deliberative because his goal was political and directed towards the wellbeing of the public through his messages of hope and change. This presentation effectively uses the three proofs. The Ethos was extremely effective because many people love and trust Obama, as well people are big fans of the stars who created the song and care about their opinions. The logos or logic surrounding Barack's arguments was convincing as well as he used the stories of immigrants and our founding fathers as examples of the country's hope. The presence of Pathos was very strong in this clip as well. Not only was Barack emotive, but the famous people who sang in the video were as well. They all portrayed emotions of love, determination, urgency, and hope.
The canons of this presentation were beautifully composed. The invention was to turn Barack’s already influential speech into a song. The style of his speech is hopeful and deliberate, as well as eloquent because Barack demonstrates all of those qualities in his language. The delivery was unique because it was not only a speech but a song as well, sung and spoken from memory. I believe that this presentation is a truly remarkable example of effective rhetoric because it encompasses all of the qualities Aristotle outlined in his studies of rhetoric in an original manner.
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4 comments:
I think the "Yes We Can" video is a great example of modern rhetoric! Obama's speech in and of itself was a good example of how to utilize the three Rhetorical proofs, but when made into a song, I feel like it takes it to another level. The music behind the speech makes an even stronger emotional impact, and the fact that so many of his supporters are involved in the video gives Obama another layer of credibility. Will.i.am also gave a lot of thought to the audience who would view this clip, and using a song is very clever because it is more likely to attract young voters.
I thought that repeating the words "Yes We Can" throughout the video made it that much more powerful. It really appealed to the audience showing them that things can be accomplished with some cooperation. I thought repeating the same phrase over and over again was an interesting style of rhetoric. It also lasts in people's minds and they will always equate that positive phrase with Obama.
This is a wonderful example! I am a huge Obama supporter and I have this song downloaded onto my ipod. His rhetoric works so well that it can be taken out of context and still affect millions of people. The speech in the song, his speech after losing the New Hampshire Primary, is not quoted directly in this song. Parts are re-ordered, but because his rhetoric is so strong, it does not matter.
His delivery is so unique and this example is a good one of how he mimics the speaking style of Dr. Martin Luther Kingm Jr.
Even though it was not a speech of victory, this has become, perhaps, Barack Obama's most famous speech. He gives no data, no real proof, but his emotion is so overpowering that it makes you trust in him and his message.
Aristotle would be proud.
The emotion and way in which Obama structures his speech, allows this to be a clear demonstration of Rhetoric. He also is a clearly affective speaker because he obviously considers his audience and directs his speech to suit their needs.
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