The speech that made Obama president
I chose Reich's parable The Mob at the Gate mainly because of what Obama says in the last 20 seconds of the video. Throughout the entire speech he hints at how America is in danger and how "we must beware, lest the forces of darkness overwhelm us. Our liberties are fragile; our openness renders us vulnerable to exploitation or infection from beyond"(comm4020dcp.blogspot.com). President Obama portrays the same message in different ways, the message being the USA is not separated or divided, it is one nation. He ends his speech by says "I believe this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness, a brighter day will come". This is said after declaring "there is not black America, there is not Latino America.... there is one United states of America, hinting that the "liberties are fragile" and we are being divided.
I believe this has a very powerful cognitive effect on the audience. You can hear the applauds coming from the audience and how much energy was in the room. It brought the audience to a sense of togetherness and gave them something to cheer for and something to fight for, that united feeling and togetherness.
I believe Obama was able to hit home with a lot of people because of Packard's compelling needs in the sense of emotional security and sense of roots and also because of Maslow's hierarchy and a sense of belonging. By claiming there is only ONE United States of America it makes people feel secure and that he is willing to fight for the country so there is not separation and it is a free and equal country. By saying we are one and together he eliminates groups and gives the people a sense of belonging. It seems like this hits home with the majority of the people there.
Great analysis for this particular video. I liked how you summed up the Mob at the Gate parable with his last 20 seconds. He did lead up to his point very effectively. People at that time were also looking for someone to point the way to that brighter future. He was there at the right time, saying the right thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the re-analysis.
Yes, good analysis of the Mob at the Gate parable. Good job making the connection, too. I never would have made that connection if you did not point it out. At first, I thought 'I'm not going to listen to this speech again', but it was nice to view it in a different way. Thanks Taylor!
ReplyDeleteGood job honey! I also noticed a couple times in the video where Reich's Cultural Parable of the triumphant individual occured. It happened as President Obama was talking about his parents and his up-bringing. This was similar to the speech I chose where President Obama shared insights about his past and what helped him get to where he is now. He is an inspring speaker.
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