Emmet’s “eloquent” speech from “The Lego Movie”

(While the clip is longer than 3 minutes, much of it is taken up by things other than the speech so the speaking time should amount to less than 2 minutes)

In The Lego Movie, ordinary construction worker Emmet unexpectedly becomes the main figure in the resistance against the rule of the tyrannical Lord Business after discovering the Piece of Resistance. When he is brought before the other master builders as “The Special,” he is made to deliver an “eloquent speech” to provide inspiration. However, being as ordinary as he is and having previously lived in absolute conformity, he doesn’t really know what to say. The speech is intended within the film as a parody of the rousing speeches typically delivered in climactic film scenes, given that what Emmet says is not well-received by his audience. However, when I saw that fictional speeches were allowed I couldn’t help but choose an unconventional speech like this one.

For an ordinary LEGO man who had never thought for himself until that day, Emmet is surprisingly good at delivery. Emmett starts off by rallying the crowd by showing off his possession of the Piece of Resistance. He is quite confident in his appeals, and moves around in order to face different parts of the audience. After an intrusion by the cyborg pirate Metalbeard, Emmet’s confidence somewhat diminshes and he admits to not being a master builder. However, he still makes gestures with his claw hands to enhance his delivery and speaks quite boldly, though the music in the background may be enhancing his delivery.

The speech is mostly unorganized, as Emmet was not informed he had to make a speech beforehand. This shows in his use of vague terminology such as “put this thing on the thing.” However, Emmet still manages to stay on task, reminding the audience of what they should now be able to do now that the Piece of Resistance is in their hands. It is only due to Metalbeard’s interruption that Emmet is forced to change plans and talk about his lack of experience in most fields. Even so, he still manages to form a coherent argument and line of reasoning as to why he is completely unqualified

Where the speech really falls short is in its lack of persuasive appeals. Reminding the audience of your shortcomings may be an effective way to generate pathos, but given that the expectations the master builders had for Emmet were very high this only served to further disappoint them. Also, due to Metalbeard’s interruption Emmet did not have any time to offer concrete details of his plan, so Emmet waited after his clarification to explain what he would do, but by the time Emmet gets around to this the audience has already stormed off in disgust. Even as Emmet tries to continue speaking by interjecting with “But-,” Gandalf rebuts him by saying “You’re a butt!”

Overall, I would consider Emmet’s speech to be unsuccessful given how he turned his audience against him. Indeed, it was not a very wise decision to be brutally honest in such a tough time. However, he delivers his message with confidence and poise even if it is nothing to be proud of, which is impressive considering his situation.