"I need a hero"- while, in this song, this line is referring to a woman waiting for her Mr. Right, her knight in shining armor, I got to thinking about how we all look for a hero in many different aspects. Girls, clearly, want their hero, but what about every single person: don't we all look for a hero? When we head to the polls to vote for president, when we watch a movie, when we are trying to decide who to support on any kind of issue, we all want "the hero."
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| Malcolm X |
Thinking about all of this led me back to Malcolm X's The Ballot or the Bullet and to thinking about modern politics and how much advertising oneself as the hero is crucial to any campaign.
In modern society and politics, we have countless channels that connect any candidate to the masses, to the voters. When Malcolm X spoke in 1964, we didn't have the internet and today's television is nearly unrecognizable relative to TV in the 1960s. Thus Malcolm had to rely on public speeches and rallies and face to face contact to advertise his position and advocate his principles. I found it really interesting to view his speech in this way, as a form of advertising. It got me to thinking that, while his speech was incredibly powerful and commented on many of the problems plaguing his society, that's exactly what The Ballot or the Bullet was, an advertisement.
For those that were willing to listen, to really listen, Malcolm X was attempting to portray, even though it may have been unintentional, himself as the hero. He was advertising himself and his ideas to those that needed inspiration. He was, as the song above states, "fast," "strong," and "fresh from the fight." Malcolm X presents fairly radical ideas when you really think about it: "I don't even consider myself an American" is a statement that many would only think, but never say. "Anyone who stand in the way is not the law any longer" is another idea that presents a new facet of the civil rights fight.
Advertising has really become a science. The amount of research done in the area points to just how important it has become, not only for manufacturers selling a product or service, but for anyone selling an idea. Now, much of the research on what makes an advertising campaign successful has been done in relation to advertising of a product. The value, the call to action, the impact, the circulation, and the consistency of an ad often remark on its effectiveness. Take some of the classics for example, in addition to campaigns make by Nike, Miller Lite, and Coca-Cola, which have some of the most recalled ad slogans. These all share these common characteristics of a call to action, consistency, and impact viewers, and these also can be seen in a figure advertising themselves and their ideas, such as in the case of Malcolm X.
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| Most would agree that Apple has had a successful advertising career. |
Malcolm's speech has value, it calls listeners to action, prompts them to take a stand against the injustice that plagues America. The speech is also impacts listeners. It makes bold statements that catch listener attention and harnesses the passion and power of the civil rights movement. It is also consistent in its ideas and works to circulate them. Malcolm's message is relevant and novel, commenting on what is happening, presenting solutions for the people at this moment in time. Couldn't one argue, when looking at the speech as a whole, that Malcolm X is really aiming to advertise his ideas, to be don a cape and become the hero of the civil rights fight?
Modern politicians have taken this hero notion to the extreme. Take a look at modern advertising- don't politicians try to be each individual's hero?
The Presidential election this year is just an example. Candidates in our modern political system are working to appear as the hero for whatever group they happen to be directing their advertising toward at the moment. They want to be the one to save us from the looming debt fiasco, or the one to restore employment to 100 per cent. It is all about advertising yourself as the hero, as the one who is "strong," "fast," and ready to face a challenge. With much of advertising being directed online, the amount spent on advertising doesn't seem to have a cap.
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| Looking at Yahoo vs. Google, both with this graph and in our everyday lives, amount of advertising seems to point to success. |
We can see it in Malcolm X's speech, we can see it political campaigns that berate us through the media everyday, we can see it in everything. The goal is to advertise: advertise the importance of the issue, to advertise one's ideas, and to advertise one's self as the hero, as someone ready and willing to be a role model, to be the face of something.
Who do we think of when we think civil rights? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are most likely going to be the most popular answers to such a question. Why do you think that is? Are they our heroes? Were they successful at advertising themselves and their principles? Or was it something else?
I'm not completely sold on the idea of Dr. King and Malcolm X attempting to portray themselves as heroes. I think there is still a large difference between these figures of years past and today's modern politicians in that these men were not already fighting from a position of power. Dr. King and Malcolm X were fighting for rights with a chip on their shoulder. Sure, they were the focal points of a movement, but they never acted like they could achieve their goals on their own like many modern politicians do.
ReplyDeleteI'm not completely sold on the idea of Dr. King and Malcolm X attempting to portray themselves as heroes. I think there is still a large difference between these figures of years past and today's modern politicians in that these men were not already fighting from a position of power. Dr. King and Malcolm X were fighting for rights with a chip on their shoulder. Sure, they were the focal points of a movement, but they never acted like they could achieve their goals on their own like many modern politicians do.
ReplyDeleteI'm not completely sold on the idea of Dr. King and Malcolm X attempting to portray themselves as heroes. I think there is still a large difference between these figures of years past and today's modern politicians in that these men were not already fighting from a position of power. Dr. King and Malcolm X were fighting for rights with a chip on their shoulder. Sure, they were the focal points of a movement, but they never acted like they could achieve their goals on their own like many modern politicians do.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you when you say that modern politicians tend to try and sell themselves as the best possible candidate toward whatever partisan group they are trying to appeal to. I think it is "all just advertising." This prompts us to ask the question, are these politicians really that firm in what they believe in, or are they just trying to appeal to a specific group of people? Are they just saying what voters want to hear so that they can be elected? If that is their motive, then one has to wonder if they actually have the passion they claim to have when they say they're fervently against abortion or against the tax cuts for the wealthy. If they do not, then yes this is simply a big show, a display of rhetoric at the highest level.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between leaders such as Dr. King and Malcom X is that they probably had a stronger belief in the causes they were fighting for. Otherwise, they would not have risked their lives for them. Their goal was not to simply get into office but rather to see a change happen. That is why I wouldn't consider them to be advertisers like politicians are.
When discussing the observation you had about the fact that modern politicians use advertising to, in a sense, sell themselves, to me, that would seem like the goal of any political activist. For modern politicians these advertisements must be made in order to appeal to the public, or they themselves will never become popular, and as a result, will never have a chance to make their ideas a reality. However, I think the use of advertisements is extremely abused. When discussing the most recent presidential campaign, what I thought was interesting was the increasingly occurring use of the candidates bashing other candidates ideas, rather than promoting their own. In numerous advertisements throughout the election season, I simply saw candidates talking negatively about their opponents, which seemed like a childish argument to me. Additionally, I even began to question the role that these candidates had in making these advertisements, as the only real credibility we get from them is the generic, "I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message" at the end of the commercial. Unfortunately, advertisements still have a massive impact on public perception. I myself, at least nowadays, try to not pay attention to the advertisements as they are so often misleading and biased. I think the recent increase in the use of these advertisements is due to the fact that political activists know the public is too lazy to search for the truth.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your stance on modern politicians. They have become a sort of product that each respective party attempts to sell to the masses, there is little that is actually personal about them anymore. However, in regards to Malcolm X and MLK, I do not think they tried to market themselves off as heroes. Malcolm X may have come off as a little bit of the prophet-type, but both men were willing to step up in order to bring about positive social action for others of their race and for all races in general. Martin Luther King Jr. was notoriously humble and was willing to die for his people. While viewed by others as a hero, I do not think that either he or Malcolm X purposely attempted to portray themselves as heroes, rather it was their actions that led to them becoming known as heroes.
ReplyDeleteI like your comparison to Malcolm X's speech and advertisement. I do not think they are equal though. Malcolm X is bringing content and basically himself through his speech. Advertisements on the other hand are just an image. Ads sell a product, while speeches sell the speaker. I see a speech as a type of art, similar to a book. Ads are just clutter sought out to gain attention. Though Ads and speeches both seek to gain popular support, I see them as they totally different mediums.
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