Question: when does a campaign become a movement?
He says he was inspired by Obama's second place speech in New Hampshire .
The Obama campaign was apparently not in on it, but it's easy to see how they might like it.
This thing is going to spread like the flu bug in winter. WOW.
8 comments:
Herbie Hancock, Kate Walsh, Scarlett Johannson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.... who else?
Ah...you beat me to it! What a video. What a creative, infectious reinterpretation of a momentous speech. What an visionary example of multimedia campaign communication. Beautiful, genius.
great minds think alike, eh lara c.?
I showed this to my class just this morning. They added Tatiyana Ali, Common, and several CSI characters to the list.
When I asked why this is rhetorically interesting, students said that its purpose (to engage young people to vote, and to vote for BO) was partly achieved by its use of a familiar form and by its choice of a medium with which they are comfortable. The argument is simple, with three one-syllable words, so the structure helps an audience remember and take away with ease the point. It's a refrain. And to back up the idea that We Can, the authors (which include but are not exclusive to Obama) provide historical evidence of other people who Could. We Can, because We Did. And all of this is done with an easy poetry that we would expect of Will.I.Am but not necessarily of a politician, a poetry that is Obama's, originally, but which in the new context makes him sound like a rapper. That's a key thing if the purpose is to rally the vote, because Obama, and by extension electoral politics, borrows the hipness of Common and the other stars to overcome young Americans' sense that they have no control. This is "Rock the Vote," only way more sophisticated.
One question we did not address: who is the "we" implied in Yes We Can?
That was so well done. I thoroughly enjoyed the video. I sent it to my friends. I loved how the speech was intertwined. When was it made?
I think that everyone made good points here. The fact remains that music acts as the glue. Music has always reached generations and although the video does focus on the "cool, hip" factor, it also is mature enough to motivate the older generations. Had this been a 50 cent music video, the impact would not be as great. There may have been a connection with the teenage audience, but not among the masses. The video features cameos from celebrities of all different age groups, all different races. I think music will be further integrated into politics in the future.
Although I am really engaged by the video and I was EXTREMELY inspired by Obama's speech, I still wonder if this is a true "movement" or if this is just a trend. "Yes we can" sounds really good, but, being the cynic I am, i wonder where the line between hype and real action lays. And when Hollywood gets involved, I really start to question the credibility. Will the younger generations be politically interested in the future? When the Presidential elections come in November, will we go to the ballots, considering we have notoriously been politically apathetic in past?
Amazing. I, too, am showing this to all my friends. It seems rare nowadays that people are inspired by the oratories of our nation's leaders, but I feel even the cynics will have a hard time ignoring the power behind Obama's words... While I still wonder if he will be able to back up his speeches with actions if he is elected, I nevertheless cannot deny the fact that the man has charisma.
Taylor:
New Hampshire's primary was January 8. So in between then and about Feb. 1, this video was made and released.
YouTube is showing about a million hits for it right now, and almost another million on Will.I.Am's channel.
Post a Comment