Inquiry 1 and the classes before the assignment illustrated that remixes could be done on the obvious things, like songs and videos, but it could also be done on traditional texts, such as books and speeches. The main way that traditional texts like these are remixed are through intertextuality, which entails allusions to previous ideas, ideals, objects, texts, and events in order to make connections and prove a point. By learning how to identify important phrases as intertextual references, I could better identify a good remix, as well as employ this technique in a self-made remix, which set me up perfectly for Inquiry 3. One of the main things I took away about how to determine without or not a phrase or an event that is mentioned by the author is intertextual is to take advantage of today's technology. For example, if one read something in a book that they were unsure as to whether or not it had intertextual meaning to it, all that person would need to do would be to look up the word, phrase, or event that they just read on the Internet. Within a few seconds, one should be able to see whether the item is intertextual based on whether the search results yield many hits on the same thing in previous books, speeches, movies, etc.
In Inquiry 2, I analyzed President Obama’s first Inauguration Speech because it is historically significant due to the fact that he is the first minority American president in the country’s history. President Obama’s use of intertextuality throughout his speech takes away from it being truly original, however those same intertextuality elements that fuel the United States of America—such as allusions to history, religion, the military, and the diversity of the U.S. population—are used to inspire the nation to make the changes necessary to get the country back to where it should be.
Inquiry 2 is below for your reading pleasure:
Inauguration Intertextuality—Barack Obama Edition
President Barack Obama’s first inauguration speech was historical because he was the first minority president in the history of our country to take the Presidential Oath. It is important to realize that when President Obama was inaugurated, that the country was not in the best of shape. America was, and still is, in a time of economic hardship, experiencing a sharp decrease in employment, and was still involved in the war in Iraq. Obama’s speech itself was not completely unique from all the other political speeches that have ever been given before his first inaugural address because of intertextuality. In his first inaugural address, Obama said many similar things that have been said before in political speeches. He talks about many of the same topics and uses many similar phrases that have been used in previous political speeches. Nonetheless, President Obama’s speech is successful, even though it is not entirely original, because he uses intertextual components of things that fuel the United States of America—such as history, religion, the military, and the diversity of the U.S. population—to inspire the nation to make the changes necessary to get the country back to where it should be.
Within the first few lines of President Barack Obama’s first inaugural address, he uses the famous Constitutional phrase, “we, the people” when explaining how Americans have endured a history of hardships (Jefferson 1). Obama begins his claim by saying that “America has carried on” through hard times “not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents” (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1). This three-word phrase is a historical reference that few Americans could possibly miss. “We, the people” is the opening phrase in one of the “founding documents” that Obama is alluding to the Preamble of the Constitution. The Constitution is easily one of the most important written documents ever written in U.S. history. The phrase’s importance in the Constitution is not only recognized for the elegance and lasting effect of the phrase, but also because it is written in such large script. The Constitution itself is so important because it set up how the U.S. government is structured. The fact that Obama used this phrase gives it more power because by taking the Presidential Oath at his first inauguration, he became the first minority president in the history of the country. After over 200 first years under rule of Caucasian males, “we, the people, were finally going to be led by an African American president. Such a feat would have been unthinkable during the early years of the country, especially when slavery was the norm in everyday life before the Civil War. President Obama’s use of “we, the people,” brings a new light to the history of the governing of our nation that had never been experienced before. Obama, also uses this intertextuality to remind and inspire Americans that as long as they “remain(ed) faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents,” that the country will be able to overcome any hardship in the present and in the future, just like the country has in the past (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
Later in his speech Barack Obama alludes to the Constitution again. He gives credit to “Our Founding Fathers,” whom were “faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine” when they “drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man.” This charter is obviously the U.S. Constitution. It is rather remarkable to think that one document can have such a large impact on the history of this world. The “ideals” in it “still light the world” today. These ideals consist of thing such as pride, teamwork, perseverance, and working hard. The ideals that our country thrives on are really endless. Without these ideals, the United States would not be the best place on the Earth to live life. Imagine how things would be if the Constitution was not written, and instead America was still under the rule of the British. Life might be similar to how it is now, or it might not, but one thing is for sure—every single aspect of the world would not be exactly the same as it currently is. This single document established the democracy that has been battle tested through peaks, like African Americans and women gaining equality and America becoming the most powerful country on the planet, and the valleys, such as World Wars and the Great Depression, of our nation, and it will only continue to do so because it will be “expanded by the blood of generations.” Just as the Constitution will continue to be referenced by politicians, history teachers, and patriotic American citizens alike, the people that took part in the writing of it, like Thomas Jefferson, will never be forgotten either (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
By talking about the Constitution multiple times in his speech, President Obama is reminding his audience of U.S. citizens that America has been a great country since the very time that the document was written and that the ideals upon which it was written about have carried us through both prosperous and difficult times in our history. Therefore, there is no reason to doubt that the ideals in it will help the country pull through the country’s current struggles, like a weak economy, high unemployment rate, etc. These allusions are used to inspire hope into the audience that the tough times are temporary because we are a nation founded on world-class ideas, values, and principles. Obama goes back to the historical well again near the end of his speech to provide another example that America has made it through tough times before, and he is confident that it will happen again. He tells his audience to “mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.” The use of “we” here is important in this context because it makes each listener feel important—as if each of their individual efforts will be crucial in helping change America and making a difference from this day on. At the same time, the use of “we” relates back again to the phrase “we, the people.” This singling out of each individual listener in Obama’s speech can be intertextually related to speeches given during presidential campaigns as every candidate in the history of politics preaches to the public to vote because their vote counts and their vote makes a difference (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1). Maybe no other election stressed the importance of every vote counting than when the president before Obama, George W. Bush, competed against Al Gore in the 2000 election. Ever since then, Gore has been helping to push Americans to vote, his speech at the Democratic Convention in 2004 is well noted for mentioning this, as he stated his close election as an example that “every vote counts” ("Gore: Every Vote Counts—and Should Be Counted" 1).
Next, Obama provides his audience with a specific example in which the brave U.S. citizens pulled together to come out on top of a trying time. Obama tells his audience to visualize “a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river” during the time in the Revolutionary War when the colonists were losing (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1). He then tells the audience a quote that George Washington borrowed from Thomas Paine, which Washington used to rally his troops to keep fighting. Washington quoted Paine saying, “Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive… that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]” (Paine 1). Obama uses this quote as a metaphor to compare the current issues of America to “the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive.” Both times are bleak but if everyone came “forth” as one, the country can improve their “future world” by overcoming the problems at hand (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
Another intertextual element that Barack Obama effectively practices is using religion to inspire his audience. Obama paraphrases Corinthians 13:11 saying, “the time has come to choose our better history” and “to carry forward that precious gift” which is the “noble idea passed from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve, a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness” ("Corinthians 13:11" 1). By paraphrasing this part of the Bible, Obama is explaining that he is aware that he is taking over the control of the country during hard times, and it is time to make changes to “better history” of the country. By doing this, Obama would be able to allow those who have been affected by economic hardships to “pursue their full measure of happiness” again by returning the state of the economy back to the status quo. Obama gets away with not telling the audience the exact methods he plans to use to make the changes necessary to better the country by distracting them with a reminder of the great social conditions of our country. Such a reminder of our country’s “equal(ity),” and “free(dom)” is enough for most people to not worry about how the country’s problems will be solved at the time that Obama says this. Instead, the audience has faith that things will turn out well because Obama makes them feel good about being free and equal to the point where they forget about hardships (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
Obama effectively uses religion to transition to another topic that, again, injects hope into the audience. He alludes to the fact that our country is and has always been a melting pot by saying “our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.” He starts this successful allusion by explaining the religious part of the melting pot, as “we are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.” The religious claim leads into the other facts of the melting pot that contains “every language and culture drawn from every end of the Earth.” Despite that the country is religiously, linguistically, and culturally diverse, it has always came out of problems in a betters situation that it entered the problem in. As a result, Obama is implying that since the country has always pushed through hard times ever since it was “united” as one after the “Civil War,” there is no reason to believe that it will not successfully overcome the hard times that were present during the time that he was first inaugurated (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
Another intertextual tactic that Obama uses to inspire hope, as well as senses of security and comfort, into his audience is reminding them of the “brave Americans” that serve in the world’s strongest military. Such a strategy has been very common in the speeches given by presidents before Obama because it provides their audiences with a sense of security and comfort. Obama’s reminder is no different from any other reminder that a president has given before him about the strength of the U.S. military. Thanks to similar previous usage, Obama’s reminder is naturally given a sense of intertextuality. He also gives credit to where it is due to the “fallen heroes who lie in Arlington.” Obviously, Obama is using intertextuality to refer to the soldiers that have served the country prior to this speech. By reminding the audience that we have and have always had such people fighting on our side, he is yet again hinting that America will come out on top of another issue that was crucial at the time—the seemingly everlasting war in Iraq—just as the country has from all wars in its history (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
The last piece of intertextuality that Obama used is present in the closing of his speech. Obama ends his speech by saying “Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America” (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1). As elegant as this ending is, it is not original. Ever since Richard Nixon concluded his Watergate speech with “God bless America and God bless each and every one of you,” saying some form of “God bless America” has become a staple of conclusion for presidential speeches (Rauch 1). By ending speeches this way, every president, including Obama, use a form of “God bless America” to wish the grace of God on the country, which can be construed as an indirect way of telling Americans that the country has God on its side, therefore they will make it through tough times because of his aid.
Barack Obama uses intertextuality in a way that it could be argued that his speech was a mash-up or remix in certain parts of it. By making well-known historical and religious allusions, as well as by mentioning things that are dear to Americans, like its military and diversity, Obama is able to deliver a successful first inauguration speech. The point of using the intertextual elements that Obama took advantage of was to inspire his audience by explaining he would help lead America through its current tough times. The biggest crutch for his argument lies in the history of the country. Obama states to his melting pot of an audience that America has a history of facing and overcoming hard times by working together, and if the country works sufficiently again together, then they will overcome the problems at hand once again, and they will do so with the help of God. Despite not being 100% original, the intertextual elements of Barack Obama’s speech greatly contribute to it being a successful one.
In Inquiry 2, I analyzed President Obama’s first Inauguration Speech because it is historically significant due to the fact that he is the first minority American president in the country’s history. President Obama’s use of intertextuality throughout his speech takes away from it being truly original, however those same intertextuality elements that fuel the United States of America—such as allusions to history, religion, the military, and the diversity of the U.S. population—are used to inspire the nation to make the changes necessary to get the country back to where it should be.
Inquiry 2 is below for your reading pleasure:
Inauguration Intertextuality—Barack Obama Edition
President Barack Obama’s first inauguration speech was historical because he was the first minority president in the history of our country to take the Presidential Oath. It is important to realize that when President Obama was inaugurated, that the country was not in the best of shape. America was, and still is, in a time of economic hardship, experiencing a sharp decrease in employment, and was still involved in the war in Iraq. Obama’s speech itself was not completely unique from all the other political speeches that have ever been given before his first inaugural address because of intertextuality. In his first inaugural address, Obama said many similar things that have been said before in political speeches. He talks about many of the same topics and uses many similar phrases that have been used in previous political speeches. Nonetheless, President Obama’s speech is successful, even though it is not entirely original, because he uses intertextual components of things that fuel the United States of America—such as history, religion, the military, and the diversity of the U.S. population—to inspire the nation to make the changes necessary to get the country back to where it should be.
Within the first few lines of President Barack Obama’s first inaugural address, he uses the famous Constitutional phrase, “we, the people” when explaining how Americans have endured a history of hardships (Jefferson 1). Obama begins his claim by saying that “America has carried on” through hard times “not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents” (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1). This three-word phrase is a historical reference that few Americans could possibly miss. “We, the people” is the opening phrase in one of the “founding documents” that Obama is alluding to the Preamble of the Constitution. The Constitution is easily one of the most important written documents ever written in U.S. history. The phrase’s importance in the Constitution is not only recognized for the elegance and lasting effect of the phrase, but also because it is written in such large script. The Constitution itself is so important because it set up how the U.S. government is structured. The fact that Obama used this phrase gives it more power because by taking the Presidential Oath at his first inauguration, he became the first minority president in the history of the country. After over 200 first years under rule of Caucasian males, “we, the people, were finally going to be led by an African American president. Such a feat would have been unthinkable during the early years of the country, especially when slavery was the norm in everyday life before the Civil War. President Obama’s use of “we, the people,” brings a new light to the history of the governing of our nation that had never been experienced before. Obama, also uses this intertextuality to remind and inspire Americans that as long as they “remain(ed) faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents,” that the country will be able to overcome any hardship in the present and in the future, just like the country has in the past (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
Later in his speech Barack Obama alludes to the Constitution again. He gives credit to “Our Founding Fathers,” whom were “faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine” when they “drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man.” This charter is obviously the U.S. Constitution. It is rather remarkable to think that one document can have such a large impact on the history of this world. The “ideals” in it “still light the world” today. These ideals consist of thing such as pride, teamwork, perseverance, and working hard. The ideals that our country thrives on are really endless. Without these ideals, the United States would not be the best place on the Earth to live life. Imagine how things would be if the Constitution was not written, and instead America was still under the rule of the British. Life might be similar to how it is now, or it might not, but one thing is for sure—every single aspect of the world would not be exactly the same as it currently is. This single document established the democracy that has been battle tested through peaks, like African Americans and women gaining equality and America becoming the most powerful country on the planet, and the valleys, such as World Wars and the Great Depression, of our nation, and it will only continue to do so because it will be “expanded by the blood of generations.” Just as the Constitution will continue to be referenced by politicians, history teachers, and patriotic American citizens alike, the people that took part in the writing of it, like Thomas Jefferson, will never be forgotten either (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
By talking about the Constitution multiple times in his speech, President Obama is reminding his audience of U.S. citizens that America has been a great country since the very time that the document was written and that the ideals upon which it was written about have carried us through both prosperous and difficult times in our history. Therefore, there is no reason to doubt that the ideals in it will help the country pull through the country’s current struggles, like a weak economy, high unemployment rate, etc. These allusions are used to inspire hope into the audience that the tough times are temporary because we are a nation founded on world-class ideas, values, and principles. Obama goes back to the historical well again near the end of his speech to provide another example that America has made it through tough times before, and he is confident that it will happen again. He tells his audience to “mark this day with remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.” The use of “we” here is important in this context because it makes each listener feel important—as if each of their individual efforts will be crucial in helping change America and making a difference from this day on. At the same time, the use of “we” relates back again to the phrase “we, the people.” This singling out of each individual listener in Obama’s speech can be intertextually related to speeches given during presidential campaigns as every candidate in the history of politics preaches to the public to vote because their vote counts and their vote makes a difference (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1). Maybe no other election stressed the importance of every vote counting than when the president before Obama, George W. Bush, competed against Al Gore in the 2000 election. Ever since then, Gore has been helping to push Americans to vote, his speech at the Democratic Convention in 2004 is well noted for mentioning this, as he stated his close election as an example that “every vote counts” ("Gore: Every Vote Counts—and Should Be Counted" 1).
Next, Obama provides his audience with a specific example in which the brave U.S. citizens pulled together to come out on top of a trying time. Obama tells his audience to visualize “a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river” during the time in the Revolutionary War when the colonists were losing (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1). He then tells the audience a quote that George Washington borrowed from Thomas Paine, which Washington used to rally his troops to keep fighting. Washington quoted Paine saying, “Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive… that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]” (Paine 1). Obama uses this quote as a metaphor to compare the current issues of America to “the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive.” Both times are bleak but if everyone came “forth” as one, the country can improve their “future world” by overcoming the problems at hand (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
Another intertextual element that Barack Obama effectively practices is using religion to inspire his audience. Obama paraphrases Corinthians 13:11 saying, “the time has come to choose our better history” and “to carry forward that precious gift” which is the “noble idea passed from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve, a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness” ("Corinthians 13:11" 1). By paraphrasing this part of the Bible, Obama is explaining that he is aware that he is taking over the control of the country during hard times, and it is time to make changes to “better history” of the country. By doing this, Obama would be able to allow those who have been affected by economic hardships to “pursue their full measure of happiness” again by returning the state of the economy back to the status quo. Obama gets away with not telling the audience the exact methods he plans to use to make the changes necessary to better the country by distracting them with a reminder of the great social conditions of our country. Such a reminder of our country’s “equal(ity),” and “free(dom)” is enough for most people to not worry about how the country’s problems will be solved at the time that Obama says this. Instead, the audience has faith that things will turn out well because Obama makes them feel good about being free and equal to the point where they forget about hardships (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
Obama effectively uses religion to transition to another topic that, again, injects hope into the audience. He alludes to the fact that our country is and has always been a melting pot by saying “our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.” He starts this successful allusion by explaining the religious part of the melting pot, as “we are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers.” The religious claim leads into the other facts of the melting pot that contains “every language and culture drawn from every end of the Earth.” Despite that the country is religiously, linguistically, and culturally diverse, it has always came out of problems in a betters situation that it entered the problem in. As a result, Obama is implying that since the country has always pushed through hard times ever since it was “united” as one after the “Civil War,” there is no reason to believe that it will not successfully overcome the hard times that were present during the time that he was first inaugurated (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
Another intertextual tactic that Obama uses to inspire hope, as well as senses of security and comfort, into his audience is reminding them of the “brave Americans” that serve in the world’s strongest military. Such a strategy has been very common in the speeches given by presidents before Obama because it provides their audiences with a sense of security and comfort. Obama’s reminder is no different from any other reminder that a president has given before him about the strength of the U.S. military. Thanks to similar previous usage, Obama’s reminder is naturally given a sense of intertextuality. He also gives credit to where it is due to the “fallen heroes who lie in Arlington.” Obviously, Obama is using intertextuality to refer to the soldiers that have served the country prior to this speech. By reminding the audience that we have and have always had such people fighting on our side, he is yet again hinting that America will come out on top of another issue that was crucial at the time—the seemingly everlasting war in Iraq—just as the country has from all wars in its history (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1).
The last piece of intertextuality that Obama used is present in the closing of his speech. Obama ends his speech by saying “Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America” (“President Obama's Inaugural Address” 1). As elegant as this ending is, it is not original. Ever since Richard Nixon concluded his Watergate speech with “God bless America and God bless each and every one of you,” saying some form of “God bless America” has become a staple of conclusion for presidential speeches (Rauch 1). By ending speeches this way, every president, including Obama, use a form of “God bless America” to wish the grace of God on the country, which can be construed as an indirect way of telling Americans that the country has God on its side, therefore they will make it through tough times because of his aid.
Barack Obama uses intertextuality in a way that it could be argued that his speech was a mash-up or remix in certain parts of it. By making well-known historical and religious allusions, as well as by mentioning things that are dear to Americans, like its military and diversity, Obama is able to deliver a successful first inauguration speech. The point of using the intertextual elements that Obama took advantage of was to inspire his audience by explaining he would help lead America through its current tough times. The biggest crutch for his argument lies in the history of the country. Obama states to his melting pot of an audience that America has a history of facing and overcoming hard times by working together, and if the country works sufficiently again together, then they will overcome the problems at hand once again, and they will do so with the help of God. Despite not being 100% original, the intertextual elements of Barack Obama’s speech greatly contribute to it being a successful one.