Sunday, January 1, 2012

Summary: "This isn't about what LeBron James has done, or hasn't done. This is about the difference between the expectations others may have of him versus the expectations he has of himself. What should he do? The answer is a question.
  • Author: This commercial was created by NIKE
Context/Purpose: (Causal) This video was created in response to the growing hatred of Lebron after he decided to join the heat. I think that NIKE was afraid that Lebron's marketability would drop due to this decision. To prevent this from occurring, they created this video not for the purpose of selling a product, but to sell a person, and defend Lebron's actions.
Audience: Those familiar with basketball and the Miami Heat's recent signing of Lebron James.
Rhetorical Devices: This video utilizes multiple rhetorical devices. One of these devices put to use was the allusion. In fact the video makes many allusions. In the Miami Vice segment of the film, the actor alludes to the Miami Heat, the basketball team Lebron was signed by. They also made an allusion to Michael Jordan when the poet said "Or should I rise." This phrase goes back to Michael Jordan's days as an athlete and as a prominent spokesperson of the Nike franchise. In one of his commercials they made use of this saying several times. Additionally, the author alluded to Lebron's younger days. When Lebron says "Or should I remind that I've done this before,"  he was referring to the fact that he and his friends switched high schools in order to give them a better chance of winning the state title. The makers of this commercial also used the repetition of "What Should I do?," and anaphora in order to appeal to the logic of readers. In this video he attempted to answer the question of "what should I do?" and brought up various possible solutions, all of which were ludicrous. He begun each ludicrous idea with a variation of "Or should I?" By suggesting these solutions he illustrated that it was impossible to please everyone, and why should he, as an athlete he should only have to please himself. This reasoning is what made the commercial so effective. Essentially, it questioned why he should be hated because he made a decision that made him happy despite the fact that he did not consider the feelings of the fans. Any ordinary person would understand that he has the right to please himself.

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