Glittering generalities are a basic approach used in political agenda and advertising. The primary concept is to using vague phrases often that it seems they are part of the political dialogue (Shabo, 2008). Presidential candidate the Bernie Sanders is among the many politicians that incorporate the glittering generalities as a major part of embarking on a campaign trail.
The advert used in this case was posted by the candidate on his official YouTube channel to convey his vision of the country and the various achievements of his political career (Sanders, 2019). The imagery begins with the contrasting images of America in the past to what is currently seen by the target audience. He opens the monologue with a quote,” Real change never takes place from the top on down, but always from the bottom on up ” (Sanders, 2019). It is a statement that is greatly enhanced by the imagery as it highlights what the Democratic Presidential candidate intends to influence once he is elected into office. It is not clear though what kind of change that the political leader wishes to achieve as there are various things that the audience can assume.
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The campaign ad goes on to highlight various issues that the candidate has championed throughout his political career. Glittering generalities are incorporated in numerous statements that follow. One of them is his claim that “individuals working at least 40hours a week should not live in poverty” (Sanders, 2019). Although this is a positive message to the masses, there is little provided on how such measures will be achieved. In this regard, it is seen that the issue that the candidate would like to address is commonly mentioned,b but no one politician actually seems to do enough to make a change. As the advert wore on, it becomes clear the message that Sanders wished to convey as evidence of major corporations like Amazon and Disney World being pushed to increase the minimum wage of their employees. The words “Fierce, Vision, and Leader” flash at the center of the screen without clear elaboration on what they refer to in regards to the candidate (Sanders, 2019). This is similar to the final slogan used “Join the fight” at the very end of the video (Sanders, 2019).
References
Sanders, B. (2019) VISION: Bernie Sanders 2020 . YouTube, Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgJagAiHimk
Shabo, M.E. (2008) Techniques of Propaganda & Persuasion . Smyrna, DE: Prestwick House, Inc.
