INTRO:

Nowadays, our country is so divided in the Biden and Trump era that it may be hard to remember what it was like when most Americans had agreed in politics and many shared very similar ideologies and commonplaces in their rhetoric. An artifact that perfectly shows the rhetorical situation of the 80s, a fairly unifying decade, and the difference between the presidential election of today and the one of yesterday, is Good Morning America by Ronald Reagan’s campaign effort against Walther Mondale. So why was it so different then? Why is the country divided now but so unified behind one candidate almost 40 years ago? The answer lies in not only the kairos of the artifact, but the commonplaces and ideologies of American rhetoric during the election as well. Good Morning in America is a great example of American rhetoric through its brilliant use of common places such as patriotism, family values, and the American Dream.

OUTLINE:

For my speech, I chose the artifact of Ronald Reagan’s Good Morning America commercial. The main reasons for my choice involve my familiarity with the artifact and admiration of the rhetoric behind it. I have already written a blog about the ad and I had done extensive research on it for a project in high school. Not only this, but the advertisement has a large amount of very easily definable rhetoric. It is a rich, familiar, and relatable artifact that shows to a great extent the elements of rhetoric such as commonplaces and ideologies that were present in Reagan’s America.

My speech will most likely fall into the 3:30 time, because I plan to show pictures of the artifact and describe the context behind it for thirty seconds. There is a great deal to analyze with the commercial so I plan to describe its impact on not only the outcome of the election but also the impact it has on the culture and civic life of America.

I want to first start talking about the ideologies and commonplaces found in the ad. Commonplaces that include the statistics about the well being of the United States underneath the Reagan administration and imagery that shows Americans what they should commonly desire to achieve. Ideologies in the advertisement include patriotism, individualism, and family. These ideologies and commonplaces are tied into each other to provide the audience with a clear message from the commercial.

This is a political ad during an important presidential power transition in the United States and is heavily influenced by its rhetorical situation. I plan to describe the rhetorical situation and its context and how they influence and inform the overall message of the advertisement.

Finally, to leave the audience with a wholesome message and conclude my speech appropriately I want to tie in all that I have previously outlined into how the commercial pushes the audience to be civic and how it shows what is civic in America. I want to take this and show the differences between then and how and how we can change our rhetoric and improve our lives about being more civic.

THESIS: Good Morning in America is a great example of American rhetoric through its brilliant use of common places such as patriotism, family values, and the American Dream.