Leonardo DiCaprio to the United Nations

The video I have selected is of actor Leonardo DiCaprio delivering opening remarks at the 2014 United Nations Climate Summit. Since the video is over 2 minutes long, I am restricting the analysis to the first 2 minutes. 

Delivery wise, Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance is phenomenal. His delivery skill is only fitting for a talented actor like himself. Throughout the entire two minutes his eye contact is unfaltering. Not once does he need to look down, because his entire speech is memorized. He moves his head side to side decently frequently and naturally to make eye contact with the entire assembly. Whenever he emphasizes a new point, it seems that DiCaprio will turn his head a bit to address a new section of the assembly in order to connect with them for that short period. 

Credibility wise, DiCaprio introduces himself a normal person. He says he comes here not as an expert but as a concerned citizen. He mentions that along with hundreds of thousands of other protesters, he shares the same concerns. This allows DiCaprio to portray himself as humble and regular. Later on in his speech he brings up his personal career in acting as an interesting transition to the gravity of climate change. DiCaprio mentions how in film, people play fictional characters with fictional problems. His discussion of acting then leads him to draw a comparison that the world has viewed climate change too fictitiously and it must be taken seriously. This allows DiCaprio to delve into why climate change must be taken seriously. 

DiCaprio’s argument builds foundations for his argument using appeals to scientific facts and testimony. He lists worrying trends that scientific researchers have studied in an attempt to convey the importance of climate change to the UN. He even cites that the United States’ Navy chief of Pacific command has listed climate change as the greatest national security threat threat. All of DiCaprio’s statements create a sense of urgency and importance for his argument. DiCaprio is well executed and prepared. Personally I think he sounds effective but he may not actually have been effective. To UN representatives, the topic of climate change may be so common that speeches like DiCaprio’s, no matter how moving or well delivered, sound trite.