You feelin' lucky?

Of course I had to pick this video for the RCL Blog. It's a brilliant video for a number of reasons, and its full of rhetorical strategies, particularly ethos. The one and only Clint Eastwood is the narrator, likely since his image is a well-known one, and to have someone as popular as him as a spokesperson will make people pay attention to the advertisement.

The first example of ethos-based dialogue contributing to the message is at about 0:40, when Eastwood says “I’ve seen a lot of tough eras in my life, a lot of downturns…” This contributes to Eastwood’s credibility in his age; being so old, he can reassure the audience that this downturn will not be the end of America. It is one slice of the entire first half of the commercial that is spent laying out the problems that America has now, and the problems that we have faced in the past. By putting these problems on the line now, it makes the feeling of hope all the more powerful when, in the second half, Eastwood gives a moving monologue about the solutions and our willpower.

In the second half of the video, Eastwood starts saying things along these lines, “But after those trials, we rallied around what was right, and acted as one… Because that’s what we do.” This is a complete turnaround from the beginning of the video, and it really amplifies the audience’s feeling of hope when the mood changes so quickly. Furthermore, the use of images like firemen, families, and a father dropping his child off at school evoke feelings of traditional down-hominess in the American audience.

So while this is a great example of rhetoric, all of this is a little underhanded. Sure, it makes the audience feel proud to be Americans and all that jazz… But you know what? It’s all to sell Chrysler vehicles. Tell me you don’t feel duped after that. “We’re America, we can recover from this, and we’re a strong and proud people that won’t stay down! Now buy a Chrysler.”