Obamanalysis: State of the Union Address

President Obama gave his first State of the Union on January 27th, 2010. He established a great deal of confidence and optimism, getting the crowd excited on more than one occasion. For our Electronic Media Writing class, whose blog can be found here, we were tasked to analyze the first twenty minutes of the address using certain media tool sets.

My triune brain had a few reactions to speech. Because it was on YouTube, I was able to see Obama as he was talking. My neocortex was engaged most of the time - listening to what Obama was saying. My limbic brain was swayed by the patriotic colors. If Obama went off on a particularly lengthy speech and I started to lose interest, the recurring clapping of the appreciative and supportive crowd triggered a reptilian response and got me back on track.

Because this video is available on YouTube (see embedded video above), there are several trends that can be observed:

Political and Personal Shift: Because this is on YouTube, people can comment on it. There is an official White House channel with all sorts of great quality videos of important government events. All of these, including the SOTU address, can be commented on by viewers. This is a type of participation and response that is new with our advancing technology. In the sense of a political shift, the government really can not get any special abilities to regulate what kind of responses show up on their videos. This could cause an easily accessible view point that may not of been so easily exposed before YouTube comment walls existed.

Aesthetic Shift: Convergence is all around us. Families no longer sit around the fire place listening to the knob radio. No! They sit in their chairs and watch our president talk on their computer monitors, getting both the images and words. This lets the reader really grasp what Obama is expressing by gaining the ability to read his face and everyone else's face.

There are eight media principles that were also examined. Some ideas of note:

Reality Construction: Obama fires off thought after thought so fluidly that it may give him more credit than he deserves. In actuality he is reading a planned speech. There are camera shot choices that are made to focus in on certain things that will give more of a positive response to the person viewing from recorded footage. See 'Ownership' below.

Individual Meanings: Some people support Obama, some don't. This divide is evident when watching this address. Some people will think he is full of crap and a failure, others will be inspired by his words and gain hope for the future.

Emotional Transfer: Obama allows time for clapping and cheering while he smiles and shows off that beautiful face of his. These pauses in the speech let people focus on the clapping, and people then associate that with something to be happy about and something to celebrate.

Ownership: The government controls everything about this video. Everything they do i most likely geared towards a portrayal that gives the government a good image. There are American flags on Obama and Biden's suits because someone probably said that would be a good public image move.

Persuasive techniques are a staple in the effective media production. Let's look at what technique's Obama utilized:

Strength: He had a few moments where he talked of the American perseverance and how the worst is behind us. We have a bright future and through unity and pride we will prevail!

Group Dynamics: We the people, my fellow Americans, etc. Gathering a unified strength by appealing to a common perspective (the supportive American in this case)

Nostalgia: 'back in the day' or 'when we fought this war' language, making the viewer look back to America's histories and how far we've come...what we've been through.

Warm Fuzzies: Children write to him asking about the failing economy.

Testimonal: This is all from the horse's mouth.

Symbols: The American flag is on Obama and Biden's suits, giving them a patriotic aura. Also, the three of them have each color of the American flag on their chests: Red, white and blue. Coincidence? Probably not.

Defensive Nationalism: We must come together as a nation and overcome these odds that are against us.

Plain Folks: Strong focus on the middle class working man, not the rich and exclusive.

Humor: He mad a few jokes throughout, and let the laughter emanate in the room.



Was there a thesis? What was Obama saying in this speech? He spoke in a positive way, showing confidence in the face of the obstacles. Essentially, his thesis was: America has been through tough times and persevered in the past, and today, in the face of these obstacles, the nation shall see a bright future. Plans are already underway that focus on taking steps in the right direction.

Facts Obama Used:

1. Recent action has essentially halved American unemployment.
2. 1- 10 are struggling to find work.
3. The sky is darkest just before the dawn.
4. We will come together as a nation and persevere.
5. 1.5 million jobs will be created in the coming year.

Now these techniques are a great analytical tool for judging effectiveness. Did Obama do a good job? Yes. He is such a charming speaker, his voice soothes even the most furious heart. It is greatly important that we are now able to see him, rather than just hear him. You can see his expressions and judge his passion to your heart's content. This may be a bad thing, but it can also be a great thing - allowing you some potential to find support for a man who honestly seems to be trying.

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

~ Barack Obama, February 5th, 2008.