For my second civic artifact, I chose a speech by the United States Soccer Federation president, Carlos Cordeiro, and United States women’s national team star, Megan Rapinoe. These speeches were during the victory parade, celebrating the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup victory.
Carlos and Megan both highlight the importance of equal pay for the U.S. women’s national team and female athletes around the world. These speeches took place in July of 2019, just four months after 28 players on the team filed a lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation for unequal treatment and compensation.
I will use the composition lens and the reception lens to evaluate both of these mediums. Through the use of the composition lens, I can evaluate the camera angles that were used, the people included in the videos, and the places that are featured. I may also incorporate the reception lens to discuss how the audience reacted to both of these messages.
Both the advertisement posted by the French national team and the speeches by Carlos Cordeiro and Megan Rapinoe highlight the importance of equity in sports, specifically soccer. They address the importance of treating female athletes with respect and recognizing their accomplishments. The French video highlights the skill of female athletes, while the speeches convey the message of equal pay.
The advertisement and the speeches both highlight influential female athletes. This allows the audience to associate the message with someone they are familiar with. It also gives the campaign credibility, because it features famous athletes. The advertisement uses video editing effects to convey their message, while the speakers utilize the tone of their voice and overall message to generate the same power.
The audiences of both of these artifacts are people who support equality in women’s soccer. While these artifacts convey the same message, they use very different techniques. The speech has a very serious tone and the commercial is meant to leave the audience in awe.
Click here to watch the speech.
I haven’t seen this speech, but it’s really cool (I did a quick google search). Going into the composition of the visual aspects of the speech is great to fill your PowerPoint slides. Another difference you could use is that the advertisement highlighted skill specifically to gain support for the women’s team. That would be a stronger comparison to equal pay then just the skill of the athletes.
This speech is a great choice to compare with the French advertisement. While they both support the same issue of equality for female athletes, they are very different in the delivery of their messages. I agree with your intention to use the reception lens to evaluate the reactions of the audience to both speakers. You could mention how, with the speeches, you can assess the immediate reactions of the crowd, whereas with the advertisement there is no way to know for certain how the viewers reacted.