Kiley Stevenson
12 February 2013
S. Peters-Whitehead
ENGL 1130-901
Halftime in America: A Rhetorical Analysis
In the early 2000s, Americans faced a devastating economic crisis. In particular, though, the automotive industry was crushed by the global financial downturn and almost lost it all. Nearly 4.5 million employees were laid off, including my father, and numerous factories were forced to close. The Big 3, also known as Detroit’s three, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, reported sales that plummeted drastically, placing them on the brink of bankruptcy. Currently, Americans are stuck in ‘halftime’. Delivering an emotional jolt back into reality, aside from the humorous Super Bowl commercials, Clint Eastwood reminds all Americans that it’s halftime in America, and the second half is about to begin. Aside from all the tragedy, Eastwood states, “all that matters now is looking ahead and finding a way forward.” It’s time to move away from this devastating economic crisis and move forward in our future.
Clint Eastwood, a renowned cinema icon, appears in the first full minute in Chrysler’s “Halftime in America” commercial without even seeing him. He begins explaining how it is halftime during the Super Bowl, but also halftime in America. Describing Chrysler’s credibility and ideology with ethos, Eastwood’s role in this commercial is quite important, although some may not realize it. As leading actor in the film Gran Torino, Eastwood played the role of a retired Ford Motor City factor worker. This same character delivers Chrysler’s message, setting the tone, in Eastwood’s well known ‘gruff’ voice. Although both teams are now discussing how they’re going to come together and win in the second half, Eastwood mentions in relation to America, how those who are hurting are questioning, “what we’re all going do to make a comeback (against the recession) because this isn’t a game.”
Chrysler’s commercial shares a specific aura of seriousness, by presenting moods of dark, gloomy environments and quiet tones of subtle music in the background. We can understand this through pathos, the commercial aims to grab a hold of the reader’s emotions. While Eastwood explains this “halftime” America is in, the commercial continues on by showing clips of people hurting, then in solidarity together, and finally hopeful by the end of the commercial. This correlates well with Eastwood’s message explaining the hardships of not only the automotive industry, but Americans as a whole due to the result of the economic recession.
Eastwood states that The Motor City almost lost everything, referring back to being on the brink of bankruptcy. Then continues, “But we all pulled together, and The Motor City is fighting again”. In hopes to rescue the Big 3, the U.S. government granted an automotive bailout in 2008, which made it possible for them to get back on their feet. However, during this time was very controversial and didn’t think it would be good for the economy. I believe this is why Eastwood states in his message, “Seems that we’ve lost our heart at times. The fog, division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. But after those trials, we all rallied around what was right and acted as one.” Even through all that fog, division, discord, and blame, Americans were able to see that the automotive bailout was in deed good for the economy. But that was only one big step, that’s why we’re in halftime, it’s time to move forward as fighters, because the second half is about to begin. Eastwood argues strongly through logos, provides reasoning, and persuades the readers to relate feel the connection through his reasoning.
Emphasizing his statement, “...That we acted as one, because that’s what we do”, the background transitions into a slideshow of gray and white images of families, workers, mothers, etc. I believe the one of the important statements Eastwood declares is, “we find a way through tough times and if we can’t find a way, we’ll make one.” No matter how bad circumstances may get, we can always pull out of it, together. That’s the most important part. We are one country, we make mistakes together, we fight together, and we make better outcomes together. And that’s just what Detroit did. The Motor City is proving that no matter how deep you get, you can make it to shore safe. We’re not going to give up as a country, because Americans have larger hearts and a driving motivation. This is in fact the time when we need each other the most.
The focus towards the end of the commercial is focusing on what’s ahead and moving forward, this also relates back to pathos and logos. Eastwood states, “how can we come from behind, how do we come together, and how do we win?” Metaphorically speaking, referring to winning the Super Bowl game, and winning as a whole, a country. During this part of the commercial, when taking about moving forward, the scenery changes. The sun is out and it’s shining. It shows people in a car driving. The windows are down, the wind is blowing and you can almost imagine it as taking in a breath of fresh air. It’s almost as if it’s referring that it’s a new day and tomorrow is always a new day. A new day to fight together, to win as one, is what really matters the most.
The last few lines of the commercial are what really sum up the overall message. “What’s true about them is what’s true about all of us.” Referring to Detroit, we, the viewers, all know that it’s been through hell and back. It’s not the most glamorous cities off all, but you can never judge a book by its cover. Detroit is truly a diamond in the rough. Making his point of ‘what’s true about all of us’ is explained in his powerful ending statement. He sums up the entire commercial with proving Chrysler’s credibility and reputation, as well as the reputation of Americans, using the appeal of ethos. “This country can’t be knocked out with one punch, we get right back up again and when we do the world’s gonna hear the roar of our engines.” This simply means we have the fight in us. Also, the statement means metaphorically speaking, the engines of Chrysler cars. We, as Americans, are not going to give up without a fight. We’re going to fiercely attack back, protect our country, and prove that we can overcome all the fog, division, discord, and blame.
Throughout the entire commercial, you may realize that the word ‘Chrysler’ is never mentioned. You never really understand what the commercial is for, or better yet, who it’s representing until the conclusion of the commercial when Chrysler’s slogan appears, “Imported from Detroit”. It provides such a strong, heartfelt message that applies to every American, not just those affiliated with the auto industry. That’s the whole point of the commercial, that even though it’s a Chrysler commercial, it’s broader than that. Aiming the struggles, the hardships, the fight, and so on to all Americans, brings the meaning of ‘Halftime in America’.
We can tell through this commercial that Chrysler really tries to persuade us on all three levels of appeals. They prove the credibility of their company, using ethos, as well as using Clint Eastwood as their messenger. They provide strong emotional details of the commercial, through pathos, that can be felt by all Americans. They also challenge where we, as Americans, stand logically in this economic crisis, through logos. To make Americans think of where we were at (first half), where we are now (halftime) and where we will be (second half). It’s made clear throughout the commercial that America is stuck in some hard times. We’re all wondering how we’re going to pull out of this slump, move forward with our lives, and figure out where we’ll be in five years from now. The truth of the matter is that we all face these hardships and struggles. The bigger truth of the matter is that we can all face these hardships together, and fight as one, to win as one. You can’t look back on when we’re here today. You must look at what lies ahead because the only way to predict the future is to invent it. The main message is all about moving forward, stating that “it’s halftime America, and the second half is about to begin. This leads viewers to believe that the grass is truly green on the other side and that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We’re moving through these tough times together, we’re moving fast, we’re moving quickly. It’s time to win. 