Download Are We There Yet

Bruce Sexton
Professor Seligo
English 1A-12
May 8, 2008
Are We There Yet?
Political statements through media have been part of American culture for a long
time. Since the Revolutionary War, Americans have been making statements about their
political leaders, beliefs and ideas. In the 1700s most political ads were cartoons, in
modern times the new cartoon is the television spot. Since television’s inception it has
played a major role in American politics. When election time is near, it is indeed hard to
not see a campaign ad. The 2008 presidential election is no exception. The candidates
have been using campaign ads as far back as 2006. Republican, Independent, or
Democrat, they have all been trying to push their agenda for the voters.
Senator Obama has released his fair share of campaign ads. From the weird 1970s
cartoon rendition of one of Obama’s speeches, to retrofit of an 1984 Apple advert, to the
plain folk simple ad of a Martin Luther King JR speech, Obama’s quest for the
presidency has produced very creative ways to inform voters of his opinions and ideals.
The Martin Luther King JR speech’s ad is titled Are We There Yet? This short advert is a
very simple yet highly effective form of propaganda. The advert uses primarily three
forms of propaganda, plain folks, transfer and testimonial. The advert has a plain folks
appeal with its quiet setting. King’s eloquence, stateliness, and personal power is
attempted to be transferred onto Obama, and because of the way the advert was edited
King gives a testimonial. King names Obama the “the face of the future,” the next
president of the United States.
The advert starts with the words written in white text “Are We There Yet,”
superimposed on a black screen. At a very slow tempo a banjo plays out Amazing Grace.
The song ad’s very much to the folksy feel of the advert. The advert then cuts to King
giving a speech. These next few shots are in black and white film. This is actual footage
from Kings speech. King is standing at a white podium, centered on a stage with speakers
or supporters behind him. In the background is a hill with these beautiful trees and sky in
the background. Nature can almost be smelled through the scene.
King says, “I look out upon the thousands of negro faces, and the thousands of
white faces.” The video then cuts to a new shot. It shows the crowd. Thousands and
thousands of people sitting in folding chairs until the camera loses focus at the horizon.
At this shot King goes on to say, “intermingled like the waters of a river.” The advert
then fades back into the shot of King at the podium.
King says, “I see only one face.” The video then cuts to a still frame of Obama.
This shot keeps with the rest of the film; it is still in black and white. His right hand is up
at his shoulder level and his expression is most serious, as if he is at an important part of
delivering a speech gesturing for emphasis. Behind Obama is a large contingent of white
people. Listening intently to what he has to say. In the background there is a hanging flag
in red and blue covered with white stars.
King then says, “The face of the future.” The advert then cuts to a black screen
with these words written in white, “Are we there? Obama ’08.”
This political campaign ad was very cleverly done. The advert’s artful and rustic
scenery appeal to the simple times in voters’ lives. King himself also appeals in the same
way. Even though he led in a time of conflict, everyone in the audience when the film
was shot that day was as peaceful as Hindu cows. This type of appeal is known as plain
folks propaganda. According to Phil Taylor, the writer of “The Fine Art of Propaganda,”
“Plain Folks is the method by which a speaker attempts to convince his audience that he
and his ideas are good because they are "of the people," the "plain folks."(Paragraph 30)
Propaganda like this can be very dangerous if it is not noticed. An emotional appeal that
is so subtle, the voter wants to do whatever is necessary to make the present seem like
this euphoric past. A strong appeal to ones emotions, but it provides no factual evidence
why Obama should be elected president.
This plain folks appeal is not the only subtle form of propaganda being used in
this campaign ad. The director of this ad is using King himself to transfer King’s power
to Obama. Another emotional appeal, Taylor calls this type of propaganda transfer.
“Transfer carries the authority, sanction, and prestige of something respected and revered
over to something else in order to make the latter acceptable.”(Paragraph 28) There are
few Americans who do not respect King. To use the black and white film of King’s
actual speech, to be able to see the man almost in person when he has long been dead,
conjures up emotion in almost all voters. The ad is almost screaming at the voter: trust
Obama, for he will lead you to this promised land of peace. America might not be there,
but Obama will take Americans there. Vote for a black president, end racial
discrimination and intermingle America. It is a powerful tool in swaying the voter to
Obama’s cause with no use of fact. The advert never displays a chart, factual evidence, or
proof that voting Obama into office will end racial discrimination. He will be the first
black man to be elected to the presidency, but that does not make him anymore qualified
than the other candidates.
According to Taylor the third type of propaganda used in Are We There Yet is
testimonial. Taylor says, “Testimonial consists in having some respected or hated person
say that a given idea or program or product or person is good or bad.”(Paragraph 29)
Here the creators of the campaign ad become even more insidious. At one point in the
advert the film cuts to a picture of Obama. King says right at this time “I see only one
face, the face of the future.” The film has been edited in such a way that King is
endorsing Obama for president. When King looks out at that crowd reaching to the
horizon, he can spot Obama out of all the people. King is made to out to be saying, that
Obama is the face of the future. Obama will unite America, bringing together all the
racial, social, and financial backgrounds. If Obama has King’s vote, why shouldn’t he
have every voter’s vote? That is what the advert is asking. If King, one of the great if not
the greatest politically astute and social leader of his time, will vote for King it makes the
voter want to vote that way as well.
Are We There Yet is a very effective campaign ad in swaying voter
opinion, at an emotional level. It attacks the voter on all of the emotional spectrums. The
voters’ longing for simpler times. One man almost all Americans trust endorsing a
presidential candidate. And that same man naming his successor, Obama, a man who is
alive today, a man the voter can elect into office this very year.
It is unknown who King would have voted for if he was alive today. The advert is
only focusing on emotional appeal. If King had survived his gunshot wounds, he would
probably have been the first black man elected president. The only weakness to this
campaign ad is its lack of factual evidence that Obama will be the president many
Americans hope he will be. If evidence had been included, this advert might have created
such a trust on a rational and emotional level that many Americans would of gone out to
the voting booths that day and voted for Obama, whether it was election day or not.
Works Cited
Taylor, Phil. “The Fine Art of Propaganda.” Phil Taylor’s Website. The Institute of
Communications Studies, University of Leeds, UK. Web. May 6, 2008.
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