Orwell describes politics is “a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia” (p.366). While I do not fully agree with his statement, I do acknowledge that politics is full of propaganda which contains lies, evasions, and hatred. Propaganda attempts to gain power by manipulating the masses’ beliefs or actions by means of symbols. The Conservative party’s ad The Interview is a piece of propaganda using techniques of propaganda and rhetorical elements to demean the Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau, and uses identification to appeal to the audience of the ad. The Interview presents Trudeau as one who is not capable of upholding the job of prime minister, and the ad blatantly illustrates to the audience that voting for Trudeau …show more content…
A woman in the ad states that Trudeau is “just not ready” and “I’m not saying no forever, but not now” (The Interview, 2015). Rather than outright say that Trudeau is a bad option for such a powerful position, the ad tactfully mentions that Trudeau is not suitable for prime minister at the moment, but perhaps at a later time. Insults, another technique, are also subtly used throughout the ad. A policy of Trudeau’s is mentioned and a woman comments, stating that Trudeau “has some growing up to do” (The Interview, 2015). This remark reinforces the idea that Trudeau is not ready, implying that he is not mature enough to take on the important role of the prime minister. Another insult said in the ad is brought up near the end, and is a man commenting on Trudeau’s hair. The comment patronizes …show more content…
The Conservative party’s ad persuades the audience in favor of their primary motive using identifications by creating a division between those who support Trudeau and those who do not. More specifically, the ad identifies with the Conservative party and their supporters by persuading “the audience to identify itself with the speaker’s interests” (p.46), and divides from the Liberal party and those who support the Liberals. The ad also identifies with not only those who are Conservatives, but also those who agree with the ad or who do not support Trudeau. This brings forth consubstantiality, as those who agree with the ad, but do not identify as Conservatives, are being grouped together with those who support the Conservative party due to the principle that they have in common (p.21). The ad’s identification with the Conservative party reveals its primary motivation to be for the Conservative party to win the election, and brings up other motivations such as for voters to not vote for the Liberal party and to guide voters away from voting for the Liberal