History Calling: Thoughts on the State of the Union

And we're back, this time takin' on the wonderful world of politics. It already seems like it's been weeks since Obama's first State of the Union, but it was only a week ago. I'm going to take a look at how Obama's speech interacts with our four media tool sets.

First, the speech itself:


Triune brain:
Obama's speech engages all three parts of the brain. The neocortex allows us to processes the information he is giving and decide its accuracy and relevance for ourselves.

It engages the limbic brain because people are watching the speech rather than just hearing it. It also utilizes certain symbols.

Finally, the reptilian brain comes into play; Obama's words can incite fear for survival, as most of it regards the state of the economy and the war.


Eight Trends/Shifts
I think the biggest shift here is the technological shift. I didn't watch the State of the Union on television or hear it on the radio; I watched it on youtube at my own convenience. The new technology at play allows people to review Obama's speech in full, an interesting change from seeing clips on the news or reading a transcript.


Seven Principles
Two of the biggest principles I noticed were production techniques and individual meaning.

When the President would mention something like a specific bill, the camera would cut away from him and show a person in the audience that had a part in that bill. There were a lot of different types of shots and angles used to capture the speech.

Individual meaning comes into play in terms of the actual content of the speech; I might watch and feel hopeful and inspired. My grandmother might hear his words and wish there was a third term of Bush.


Obama uses so many persuasive techniques in his speech. Just a few:
-Symbols via the flag pins and Presidential seal
-Nostalgia when he talks about Bull Run, Omaha Beach the Depression, and the Civil Rights Movement. One of the earliest lines in his speech is "we must answer history's call".
-Humor when talking about the bank bailout: "It was about as popular as a root canal."
-"Maybe" as he avoids definite answers and polar responses
-Group Dynamics through phrases like "fellow Americans" and "we can deliver on that promise".


Thesis
I think that Obama's thesis in this speech is essentially "change takes time, but we're getting better." To support this idea, he uses facts like the following:

"We cut taxes for 95% of working families."
"Because of the steps we took, there are about two million Americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed."
"Economists on the left and the right say that the stimulus bill has helped saved jobs and avert disaster."

Obama is a smart cookie and very, very good at public speaking. I think he has used methods of engaging all parts of the brain and persuasive techniques to his advantage in order to reassure many Americans in a time where pretty much everyone is terrified about the state of the economy.

Not bad, Mr. President. Same time next year?