Campaign Ad- Ike for President

One of the first presidential campaign ads to be aired on Television is ‘’Ike For President” in 1952. This was produced by Disney and paid for by Citizens. . The campaign ad uses symbolism, imagery, and rhythmic sound to communicate to its audience. The campaign ad seeks to portray the attachment, determination, commitment and enthusiasm of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s supporters. The slogan “I Like Ike” in addition to the animation shows an image of Eisenhower as one who is likable and popular. This is intended to appeal to conformity and persuade people to cast their votes for Eisenhower.

The campaign ad starts off with a repetition of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s nickname “Ike for president, Ike for president, Ike for president, Ike for president”. This repetition of Eisenhower’s nickname “Ike” runs through to the end. The repetition sought to focus attention on Eisenhower.

The next phase follows with a jingle written by Irving Berlin. Jingles were one of the early approaches to campaign ad, after nearly a decade when television was commercialized in the United States. The jingle is a repetition of words and sounds. The jingle combines with a repetition and cycle of images. The repetition attempts to make it catchy and unforgettable.

Leading the parade in excitement is Uncle Sam with a pin of Ike. The image of Uncle Sam is national personification of the United States. Uncle Sam represents the patriotic quality of the American people. The introduction of Uncle Sam here shows the magnitude of Eisenhower’s support.   After Uncle Sam is an elephant marching and beating a military drum. The elephant displays the image of Eisenhower draped over its back. The elephant , which is an imagery of the Republican party depicts the joyous support of the party behind Eisenhower, especially in publicity.

Following Uncle Sam is a group of Americans with different occupations, matching to Washington D.C. The group consists of a chef, a farmer, a painter, a nurse, a locomotive engineer, a police officer, and a cowboy among others. This shows the variety of people willing to vote for Eisenhower. It also shows how Eisenhower relates to variety of people in the economy. The diversity highlights the composition of jobs in the American economy. After this, a driver is seen on a tractor. This demonstrates Eisenhower’s exclusive interest in farming. The tractor is similar to the black hawk tractor, a brand of tractor that was given to President Eisenhower as a gift in 1955 to work on his private farm.

As everyone moves along to the right, a shadow of a man on a donkey is seen moving to the left. This happens simultaneously with the portion of the jingle that says, “Let Adlai go the other way”. Adlai Stevenson, the democratic nominee is portrayed to be going in the opposite direction away from the crowed. That’s a wrong way to get to Washington D.C. The ad also has a scene of three donkeys that are stagnant behind a fence. They don’t seem to happy or know the direction to go. This scene comes into view as the jingle gets to “We don’t want John or Dean or Harry”. These represent John Sparkman (Stevenson’s running mate), Dean Acheson (Truman’s Secretary of State) and the incumbent president Harry Truman.

There’s an indication that Ike finally got to Washington D.C by way of a flagged arrow. A sun with Ike embedded arises on the capitol, informing on the good prospects Eisenhower will bring.campaign ad- Ike For President

Campaign Ad Analysis – Kelsey

For my paper, I am going to be working on the closely related series option. I am going to use several ads from the presidential race between Lyndon B. Johnson and Barry Goldwater that were put out by President Johnson against Barry Goldwater. All of the ads I will be using have the same basic message, that Barry Goldwater was too dangerous and unpredictable to be in charge of the country.

My ad of focus is called “Peace Flower Girl (Daisy)” and shows a little girl counting the petals on a flower. Then, that counting up petals turns into a loud countdown leading into an atomic bomb explosion. The most interesting part of this ad, to me, is the juxtaposition of peace and violence, creating an idea of what the ideals of America are, and what the actuality of America could be under Barry Goldwater.

An ad I would like to compare is called “Ice Cream.” In this ad, the only visual is a little girl eating an ice cream cone for the entirety of the minute-long ad. However, an adult voice is speaking to the girl and telling her about poisonous chemicals from the atomic bomb and how they used to have an effect on children. Luckily, “the people got together and signed a treaty,” and the chemicals went away. The voice then goes on to tell the little girl that Barry Goldwater wants to bring back atomic bomb warfare and the “radioactive poison.”

A third ad I am interested in is titled “Poverty.” While this one doesn’t necessarily go along with the bomb theme, it follows the theme of the effect of the presidential election on children. While the ad discusses the vileness of poverty and Lyndon B. Johnson’s “war” against it, many photographs of impoverished, destitute children are shown. The ad piles on more and more sad photographs, reminding you that Johnson, not Goldwater, is going to work to fix it.

I may or may not add on others to this assignment in the future, but for now, I think these three can work well together to reinforce the idea of personhood from the stance of children. Johnson definitely used the wellbeing of children as leverage for his political campaign, and I think it would be interesting to look further into that.

 

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closelyrelatedseriesanalysis

Campaign Ad Analysis — Samie Ababafha

The 2016 presidential election had one very reoccurring theme that both candidates used to their full advantage, fear. Fear is one of the most influential emotions that can really dominate the way someone thinks. In Hillary Clinton’s ad titled “Unfit” Hillary Clinton has multiple republican and conservative experts state that they are very concerned of a Donald Trump presidency. Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton and her staff kept emphasizing the fact that Donald Trump does not have the right temperament to be in the White House. The ad “Unfit” does a great job of feeding into people’s fears, and emphasizing the fact that Donald Trump is not the right man for the job by showing experts of his own party speaking out against him.

The first seconds of the ad starts off by showing a picture of Hillary Clinton and an aid looking at a piece of paper in a very concerned manner. They seem very serious which in turn foreshadows a very serious ad. Also, the picture of Hillary Clinton and her aid is in black and white. This makes the whole scene much more dramatic. Hillary Clinton is standing right in the middle of the picture, so right away, our eyes go straight to her. This emphasizes the fact that this ad is about Hillary Clinton. The next scene is transitioned with the accompaniment of a slow piano playing. It seems like a scene out of a horror movie. Next, the ad shows the White House at night time. The White House looks very creepy, almost like an old haunted mansion. Within the first four seconds of the ad, we can see that Hillary Clinton has made it clear that the priority of this ad is to scare people by having them imagine what a trump presidency would look like.

The first person to speak in the ad is Michael Hayden, former CIA director under George W. Bush. Hayden specifically says that due to some of the things that Donald trump has said during his campaign, he would be very “frightened” of a Donald Trump presidency. The next scene shows Donald Trump for the first time, but it only shows his back as he is walking away. This can symbolize many things. For starters, it symbolizes that Donald Trump would turn his back on the American people if he becomes president because he is portrayed to be a very selfish and arrogant person. Also, Trump is seen walking away in slow motion which dramatizes the clip even more. The following expert Hillary Clinton uses in the ad against Donald Trump is Gillian Turner, Former National Security Council under President George W. Bush and President Obama. Gillian Turner brings up the topic of nuclear weapons which is one of the most frightening things to think about. She states that Donald trump has suggested the use of nuclear weapon against our Western European allies. The big goal of this ad is to strike fear into people’s hearts, and the best way to do that is with speaking about the possibility of a nuclear war.

The ad goes on to bring out a few other prominent republican experts to speak out against Donald Trump. Also, the ad shows pictures and small clips of Donald Trump. But these are not ordinary pictures and clips. The screen turns black and a picture of Donald Trump comes up looking rather nervous. This backs up their claim that Donald Trump is not the right person for the job. It suggests that he might crumble under pressure and do something unthought-of like starting a nuclear war. Hillary Clinton and her staff do a great job of using Donald Trump’s own party members and experts against him. By using experts, The Clinton campaign is able to legitimize their claim that Donald Trump is “unfit” for the highest office in the land. The objective of the ad definitely worked its magic on me, after watching the ad I was definitely afraid of the future President Trump.

 

Link to campaign-ad-analysis-postHillary Clinton “Unfit” ad

https://newrepublic.com/political-ad-database/hillary-clinton-unfit/OC81LzE2OlVuZml0

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of independence is held in its spirit. Today it is celebrated as the day the United States of America was born with fireworks and barbecue. The signed document by representatives in the summer of 1776 lists the causes of the intentions for political separation from King George III. Several abuses endured by the Thirteen Colonies made it imperative for a revolution, as petition resulted in much harm. Freedom from oppression was a necessity and now is.

 

The people have a right to change or bring to an end any government that does not support the safety and happiness of the governed. Although the Declaration suggests the former, it notes that it might not be best for established governments to be changed on trivia and short-term issues. There have been changes in power from Democrats to Republicans and Republicans to Democrats since the Declaration of Independence. Do these suggest that generations has suffered similar causes and thereby felt the need to change governments? .

 

We have seen in the past two decades, that terrorists have oppressed the United States of America. This can be seen through the 9/11 attacks and other bombings and shootings.

 

This Brings me to Donald Trump Ideas of upholding the Constitution or Declaration of Independence as thought out by the founding fathers. He has claimed on many points that the current government has failed on matters of the constitution.

Thus, his rigorous policies on immigration, border protection and terrorism. He considers these policies as a means of protecting the rights of the Citizens and legal residents of United States. He demonstrates illegal immigrants in the nation, Mexicans trying to cross the border and certain groups like Muslims trying to enter the country to be a threat. A threat to safety and happiness of “We The People”. Illegal immigrants increases health care, welfare, housing and educational costs and crimes to Americans, he enumerates But one will consider his assertions carefully, is he just thinking contrary to the Declaration of independence?. The Declaration states that all men are created equal, Trump suggests ending of birthright Citizenship.

 

 

 

Hancock, J. “Declaration of Independence” Avalon Project – Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Yale Law School, 2008. Web. 05 Sept. 2016.

 

 

FoxBusinessNetwork. “Trump: We Will Build a Great Wall along the Southern Border.” YouTube. YouTube, 31 Aug. 2016. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.

 

By a 2:1 Margin, Voters Say It’s the Wrong Policy, including Harry Reid Who Said. “Immigration Reform.” Make America Great Again! N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.

Group A-Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was written to declare America’s independence from Great Britain. During those times the course of action taken to go public with grievances and issues was by writing documents on paper. John Hancock penned out a list of grievances in the Declaration which were aimed to discredit the King of England and his oppression on America. “He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.” This is one example from the text where the people state they are upset with the immigration reforms or lack thereof set by England.

A couple of weeks ago a respected news outlet The Washington Post posted a story with the headlines saying, “Donald Trump launches sexist, McCarthyite Twitter attack on ‘Morning Joe’ hosts.” “Morning Joe” is a morning talk show aired on MSNBC that touches on political topics that they deem important for their viewers. Naturally the topics this year have been focussed on Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton. It is revealed in a video from that article that host Joe Scarborough denounces his support for Trump when Trump began to talk about banning Muslim people from entering America. Scarborough states, “I’m never going to vote for a guy that is saying he’s going to ban somebody just because of the god they worship” Trump responded by tweeting a serious of tweets including this: “Some day, when things calm down, I’ll tell the real story of @JoeNBC and his very insecure long-time girlfriend, @morningmika. Two clowns!”  This is just one example of Trump’s brash commentary towards his peers and critics.

Scarborough aired his issues with Trump’s immigration policy which is similar to what the writer’s of the Declaration did.  The major difference from these two readings are the vast differences in the methods of communicating. The Declaration of Independence was written with immense thought and consideration whereas in today’s society people can fire off tweets like the one Donald Trump sent to Joe and Mika.

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/declare.asp

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2016/08/22/donald-trump-launches-sexist-mccarthyite-twitter-attack-on-morning-joe-hosts/?utm_term=.13fe4821090c

Contradictions With Our Founding Documents

I always find the topic of factions in the Federalist Paper no. 10 very interesting. Written only 11 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it shows a distinct fear of an uprising against the newly formed government. This fear was so great that the time was taken to write an entire paper on how to quash any kind of faction despite size or type

When the Declaration of Independence was written, our country was, itself, a faction of people escaping the tyranny of England. We listed our grievances against the King and created our own, new society. Yet we found ourselves, a short 11 years later, fearing that the same thing would happen within our new and great nation. We were still too young of a country to trust ourselves and our new government and values.

You would think that 240 years later, we would’ve fully found our voice as a nation, yet here we are, in this time of political mayhem, fearing factions (#BlackLivesMatter, for example) as if they aren’t the reason we became a country. Federalists were the people who truly supported the Constitution, yet doesn’t the muting of factions directly contradict the first amendment in the Bill of Rights? Perhaps there are a great many more contradictions to be found within our country and within our presidential candidates. Where do building a wall and evading the law come into an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend” our Constitution?

Then again, haven’t we always found ourselves, as a country, in contradiction with our founding documents: writing “We The People” to include only the white male elite?

 

 

Declaration of Independence

The Federalist Papers, No. 10.

U.S. Constitution. Art. II, Sec. 7.

Declaration of Independence & Constitution

Declaration of independence

The Declaration of independence is a famous text that was written to form our country. The tone was strict and firm, to enforce the way of life that our finders wanted. A big, “we the people theme”, can be that the men who wrote the papers were very hypocritical. As well, a good theme would be that the language used can be interpreted in many ways, so it can change with the time and culture, which it was many times. A great example would be slavery and discrimination. The first statement “all men are created equal” has created much controversy when African-american citizens were not being treated equally. Leaders such as Martin Luther King, used the Declaration of Independence to support his case.

The Constitution

The Constitution is another famous text that was written with the standard Bill of Rights and 17 that have been added. The Bill of Rights are straight forward and protect our freedom as American citizens. The tone used is very welcoming and encourages people to want to be in the United States. We were built on rebels, who wanted to have the freedom to believe and do what they mostly wanted, you can see that in the Bill of Rights. A theme for “we the people”, can be about how the amendments have helped people all around the world in the country. Another theme could be about the 17 added amendments that were formed to assimilate with time, such as the 19th which gave woman the right to vote. Today, the Constitution is used for things such as legalizing gay marriage, abortion, and gun laws. Many people believe that making abortion legal, will vandalize their first amendment. More importantly, people have been trying to get the second amendment changed, because of the amount of shootings in the past few years. However, it won’t be easy, since many people believe that their rights cannot be changed or taken away, for any reason.

Group A Post

  1. The Declaration of Independence represents a period where the United States was run by a unjust system and it was “the right of the people” to free themselves from Great Britain’s government. As an infringement against the people’s “unalienable rights” of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the United States drafted the document to establish a new system, with the best interest of its people in mind. The document argues that the US was under a corrupted system and owed it to its citizens to fight for a better government.
  1. Last year, republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivered a speech regarding his thoughts on “anchor babies”, or children born in America from noncitizen parents in order for the child to have legal citizenship. In the third minute of the video, Trump speaks his views on illegal Mexican immigrants and their abuse of “anchor babies” within the United States. Trump’s speech argues that the parent’s citizenship should determine whether or not a child born in the United States is allowed the rights a typical resident is given, such as social security, medicare and education. In the case of Mexican “anchor babies”, Trump does not believe birthright citizenship should be granted to the child.
  1. The Declaration of Independence and Donald Trumps speech share a common theme regarding an American’s basic human rights. In the Declaration of Independence, the US desired to separate itself from a tyrannical government and establish order in the country because it was owed to its people. In Donald Trumps speech, he seeks to strip the rights of an American even though their birth within the country grants legal citizenship. Trumps “anchor baby” views contradicts what the Declaration of Independence fought for their people to have.

 

Hancock, J. “Declaration of Independence” Avalon Project – Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Yale Law School, 2008. Web. 05 Sept. 2016.

Trump, D. “Donald Trump Mexicans Immigrants Speech – Wall Between US And Mexico.” YouTube. YouTube, 20 Sept. 2015. Web. 05 Sept. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp_JzeOGX1U

Post Group Assignments

Post Groups [These are the groups for posting; these are NOT the same as your project groups.  You really have no particular collaborative interaction with the people in this group.  The designation is about when you should be posting on the syllabus.  Remember at least twice, you must make a comment to some one’s post one of the week’s you’re not posting.]

 

Group A

Akshay

Danay

Katrina

Kelsey

Samie

Kwame

Group B

Judith

CJ

Vanessa

Shin

Sherpa

Emir

Group C

Anthony

Aidan

Ilias

Jordan

Daisy

Amson

Group D

Abby

David

Taseer

Moctar

Kayla

Franklin