THE IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRITIES IN POLITICAL DECISION MAKING: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
The role of celebrity rhetoric serves as an important area to study campaign messages, how they transfer to the public, and the potential for civic engagement. By analyzing Barack Obama’s calls for a new political framework, through the use of structural criticism; I argue that he created the impetus for a renewed valuation of citizenship. Using the work of Dana Cloud, I argue that such a critique is successful because it forces citizens to question how they want to exist politically, as well as what they want out of political decisionmaking. As examples, this thesis explores the rhetorical aspects of Oprah Winfrey and Will.i.am’s endorsements and their efforts to impact the audience’s reception toward Obama’s politics. I conclude that the celebrities not only made the public more receptive to Obama’s campaign, but also more willing to embrace his calls for a renewed democratic ethos.
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