9/22/13
The Barack Obama "Hope" poster is
an edited picture of Barack Obama's profile created by an artist named Shepard
Fairey, which was mostly viewed as Obama’s icon
for his 2008 election and came to officially represent the 2008
Obama presidential campaign. The image is a
stylized stencil portrait of
Obama in solid red, beige and dark
blue, with the word "progress", "hope", or
"change" below (and other words in some versions of the image).
The author, Shepard Fairey uses rhetoric to convey his
message. More specifically Fairey appeals to ethos, pathos, and also logos and
the word “Hope” is the key. He does this to try to appeal to his audience, the
voting population of America. First, Fairey appeals to pathos by writing the
word “Hope” on the poster. This connects to all the citizens of the United
States of America because at the time of the 2008 election the country was in
bad shape. By displaying the word “Hope” it eases the fear that the country’s well
being is declining. This makes Obama seem like a hero, which is the purpose of
the advertisement, to help Obama’s campaign for office. Fairey also appeals to
logos, in a simple way. He does this by stating, this guy can fix the country’s
problems, and he states this because it is simply a noble looking picture of a
presidential candidate, with the word “Hope” underneath it. Lastly, he appeals
to ethos. He establishes credibility by simply his association with the
presidential candidate, who could become one of the most powerful people in the
world. One word could make all the difference. The word “Hope” makes this
poster. What on a day to day basis might seem like an ordinary word, with the
right picture and the right subtle message could become very influential, and
inspiring.
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