Kelly Koelle
Bradley Bleck
English 101
July 18,2008

The Audacity of Change
We live in a time where the need for change seems to be on the minds of all people. The news of soaring gas prices, financial instability and a weakened economy bombard us everyday from our television sets and newspapers. Many people blame the Bush administration for the skyrocketing gas prices and the financial instability. This crisis has provided the Democrats an easy target to take aim at the Republicans and their Presidential candidate and to frame him in a negative light. Conversely, it has given the Democrats the benefit of being able to frame their candidate as a positive catalyst for change. It is a common practice for many politicians “to use words that we’ll automatically accept or reject, without thinking too much,” (49) in order to promote their own political agenda. In the book, UnSpun: Finding Facts in a World of [Disinformation], by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the practice of using words to sway voters opinions is referred to as, “Frame It and Claim It.” The goal of “Frame It and Claim It” is to get the viewer to think a certain way about something before they consider any facts. The paradigm of change has a big appeal to Americans at this time. With that premise, Obama’s “New Energy” advertisement will be examined to expose how it has been framed to influence us positively about Obama, while discrediting McCain. The ad is used to create the image that Obama represents the change that America needs. When evaluating the content of Obama’s message it is important to consider, what he means when he talks of change. We need to be careful about assigning our own meaning to his term “change,” by inserting our own ideology into his words? It is a faulty perception to assign our own meaning to the terminology we hear presented in the political advertisements. Without understanding a politicians meaning behind their words, we can make ignorant choices, and vote for changes based on advertisements framed to influence our thinking without us thinking too much about it, or getting the facts.
Many people have built in perceptions about people in power. j These perceptions can be used by advertisers to frame their subjects in such a way as to positively promote them, or to negatively project them. The candidate mythologies shown in “New Energy,” range from hero to villain. Obama is framed to represent the hero, and McCain the villain. In the ad, Obama is presented as a man of the people, a savior and a friend. This is suggested when Obama is shown addressing the crowd. This clip has the indication that he has a connection to the people. He is portrayed as a “friend” when he is shown interacting with a family. Obama is shown shaking hands with a white man and a white lady, alluding to the idea that he is a man of all people. Obama is represented as a savior, through the introduction of his “New Energy” plan. As his plan is unveiled, the audience is left with the impression that he is someone we can trust, he is someone we need in order to have positive changes. He is an American for the American people and he is our hero. On the other hand, McCain is the villain. He is construed to represent sameness, gloom, doom, and loss. McCain is shown in a still picture with a solid, black, background. He is dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, and a black tie. The image of his appearance including the solemn look on his face, gives the impression of grief. Throughout the advertisement, McCain’s candidate mythology is negative and somber, while Obama’s is positive and change oriented. In this ad, the candidate mythologies are unspoken. The people are framed through the images shown and the thousand unspoken words in the advertisement frame Obama as the good guy, and McCain as the villain. We should be cautious about judging by what appears on the surface, what we see on the surface or what something appears to be, can deceive us during our decision making process.
Props are used to send messages and create a frame of the subject. Props can be used to evoke emotion in the viewer, which can lead to unclear thinking. In the first scene of the video, the viewer is presented with a gas station sign, displaying gas prices starting at $4.13 and upward. The gas sign is an all to familiar symbol used as an appeal to reach people in their gut. Seeing the high prices on the sign brings about the same sinking feeling we feel when we drive by the gas station and see the new price of gas. This visual is meant to play on our emotions with a focus on cost of gas, to remind us that we really need change. This is more negative propaganda used to cast a negative light on McCain. When Obama first appears on the screen, the camera pans across the flag and ends on him. This is the first flag to appear in the advertisement. The flag, a national symbol of patriotism is used in connection with Obama and communicates the idea that Obama is the politician who represents America, patriotism, and change.
On the other side it sends the message that McCain is unpatriotic, and would not be good for America. If we choose to form our opinion based on shallow props, it will lead us to make shallow choices.
Music can be a powerful reinforcement of the visuals that are shown on screen. During the first portion of the video, the focus is on McCain and reflects negative McCain energy policies. In this section of the video, the music used in the background is lamentoso, mesto with a little misterioso played with a repetitious melody. This creates the feeling of mystery, lament, and sadness along with redundancy. The advertisement uses the music to promote the idea that with McCain in office, there will be a repetition of what we are currently experiencing. It will lead to more distress and misery. With these feelings being reinforced about the McCain camp, it is sure to turn off voters who are eager for change. The music changes when Obama is introduced into the advertisement, it transitions from haunting and demure, to accelerando, consonance. The bridge in the music changes by the use of a crescendo. The music speeds up and becomes dynamic, happier and more melodic and stable. This would give the listener a sense of impending change, happier times, and stability if Obama were elected to the presidency. Since music is connected directly to emotions, it behooves the viewer to consider the facts, rather than make decisions based on emotions.
The background sounds in this advertisement are in the form of spoken words that are the true definer of this ad. Each picture and clip is reinforced through the announcer stating the opinions that the creator of the advertisement wants the viewer to walk away with. The spoken words are a testimony to the fact that McCain would be bad for the country, while Obama will fix the problems and save us. The announcer blames McCain as part of the problem of the high gas prices. The announcer states that McCain and Bush are together in their ideals, and that their energy plan will not create a timely solution to the energy crisis. Obama receives supportive reviews from the announcer. The announcer sells Obama’s plan by telling the audience that Obama will: make energy independence an urgent priority, raise mileage standards, he will promote fast track technology for energy alternatives, provide $1,000 tax cut to help middle class families, and he will break the grip of foreign oil. These announcements are very appealing when they are considered in light of the current problems in the country. The end result is that it paints a very lovely picture of Obama. This shows how powerful verbally presented messages can be in causing us to form our opinions. The best advice to employ here is that it is okay to listen, but we also need to get the facts before making choices.
Words can be used to reinforce verbal and visual communication. In the “New Energy” advertisement there is heavy reliance on supers and code words. Each verbally stated fact is reinforced by a written factoid. Throughout the advertisement each announcement is reinforced by a printed version of the announcer’s commentary. Another feature of this portion of the advertisement is the use of color choice of the words and the use of capital letters. Large red, capital letters are used to emphasize the negative McCain facts while small, white, lower case letters are used to represent the Obama plan. In the human brain, when you combine written words, with pictures and audio, you are involving more than one of the senses. This is a powerful tool that is used in teaching, but it is also used in manipulation of people by advertisers. When combined, the message stays in the mind with a bigger imprint, than if the message comes in through only one of the senses. Therefore, it is important to guard our minds against this subliminal tactic used to sway us as we view an advertisement that promotes something as important as the presidential election.
There is a purpose in all ads to appeal to our emotions, our morals, or our fears, our hopes, and our ideologies. The main appeal in this advertisement is, we need Obama as president so that we can put an end to the current energy crisis and move forward to a brighter future for America. In addition, the other message in this advertisement is a warning against electing McCain, who will only keep this country on its current course, which is heading in a downward spiral. We are presented the idea that Obama’s plan will fix our problems now, but if McCain is elected, solutions to the problems will be down the road. This is evident in the spoken message and is reinforced by the written words that accompany the advertisement. Since the advertisement is being promoted by the Obama supporters, it is logical that they will portray Obama positively and McCain negatively, knowing this, we the viewers need to take our own measures to determine what is factual and what is a distortion of the facts, before we cast our votes.
When an advertiser creates an advertisement, it is meant to sell the public on an idea or product. In a political advertisement, the goal is to make yourself look better than your opponent. An easy way to do this is to frame an issue in such a way that will make people think unfavorably of your opponent, before a person considers the facts. We have seen through the evaluation of the advertisement titled “New Energy” that the Obama campaign, has done a marvelous job of creating a positive image of Obama and a negative image of McCain. At this point, a wise person will stop and examine what is really being said in the advertisement. A closer look at the advertisement reveals this message. The Obama campaign wants to make energy independence an urgent priority, in reality; it is already an urgent priority of the Bush administration to decrease dependence on foreign fuels. Not so new a priority as it is presented to be. Obama wants to raise mileage standards, this has already been proposed and has been implemented by the current government, this is another, not so new plan. Obama wants a fast track in technology for energy alternatives. The idea of fast track makes it appear that there will be a fast solution to the problem, however, there is no time frame defined in the advertisement. It is up to the viewer then to guess at what Obama means by fast track. We need to ask, fast track, fast in terms of what? There are no parameters defining what fast track really means. Could fast track mean more than seven years? Since no time frame is defined, it is very open to whatever length of time it takes, which realistically speaking, could be more than the seven years development McCain is being slammed for in this advertisement. So what is a voter to do?
With any new president in the office there will be change. When we hear the candidates talk about change, we as the voter need to stop and consider, what that politician means by change. Do we look at the things that are important to us and think that the candidate is speaking in terms of our own mindset? It is unwise to assign our own meaning to the terminology we hear presented in the political advertisements. We need to consider how an advertisement is framed, then look for the facts that will lend support or denial to what we are hearing, We need to know that we understand the meaning behind a candidates words, so that we can make wise choices that support changes that we feel are important and necessary for our country, for our city, and for ourselves.

Works Cited
Jackson, Brooks, and Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. UnSpun: Finding Facts in a World of
[Disinformation]. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007
“New Energy,” You Tube. July 18,2008
http://www.youtube.com/user/BarackObamadotcom