LK
In a world obsessed with technology, the easiest and arguably most effective way to reach the masses is through digital media. It is in this digital age that commercial advertising flourishes. Politics have taken to the technological world to speak to and influence voters, and commercials are a common avenue for political advertisements. The Affordable Care Act has recently been introduced to US legislation by Barack Obama in an attempt to provide a nationally-funded healthcare system. It is a hot topic in America right now, and has understandably stirred interest and conflict both within politics and on the Internet. Two of the popular commercials circulating are against the Affordable Care Act, and were created by Generation Opportunity, a conservative interest group designed by and for younger generations. By relying heavily on pathos and scare tactics and ignoring any ethos and logos that could support the central argument, the Affordable Care Act commercials by Generation Opportunity play on humor and fear to push a political agenda.
Government Playing Doctor
There are two versions of the commercial− a male one and a female one− designed to reach multiple audiences. In the female version, a woman goes to the doctor for a routine pelvic exam. Instead, she is greeted by Uncle Sam, who is menacingly wielding a speculum like a gun. In the male version the same thing happens except the man is getting a prostate exam and this time Uncle Sam just has rubber gloves. The commercials are undeniably disturbing and unsettling, with Uncle Sam’s permanent horror-movie-style grin. At the end of the commercials, the messages “don’t let the government play doctor” and “opt out of Obamacare” flash across the screen. True to the commercial genre this is the only text. Most people watch TV to relax, and they do not want to read long messages on commercials, so this snappy sentence summarizes the entire point of the advertisement. The first sentence in itself is loaded with buzzwords, like “let,” “and “play.” The word “let” implies that the viewer is handing control of their life over, and “play” suggests that the government has no idea what they are doing. The second sentence about opting out of Obamacare is subliminal in nature. The real name of the law and program is the Affordable Care Act, a title that implies a good thing− less money spent and more money saved, which is something almost every American likes. By calling it “Obamacare” Generation Opportunity strips it of this agreeable title and replaces it with something that solely represents Obama. If the viewer already had a bad experience with his administration or has a negative opinion of Obama, the name Obamacare will associate this negativity with the Affordable Care Act. Even the name of the organization, Generation Opportunity (which appears on the lower part of the screen) carries a bandwagon implication with it− no one wants to lose out on an opportunity.
An important aspect of the commercials is the invasion of privacy, specifically by the government. Opening centerfold in the beginning of the commercials is the mosaic of televisions, all showing various medical examination rooms. The camera focuses on the television in the middle, where the main story is happening. This establishes the focal point of commercial. “It is difficult to take our eyes from the center and move them around the page. They are trapped, pinned to the center,” Molly Bang declares (Bang 234). The televisions play on fear and paranoia themselves− the government is always watching, invading privacy even in the most private and reserved situations. All of the people on those televisions have no idea they are being recorded or even watched at all. It sounds like the irrational suspicion of a garden-variety conspiracy theorist, but in reality everyone has these fears whether they realize it or not. It is an uncomfortable thing to be watched. The scariest part about the government “playing doctor” and invading such a sensitive procedure is that it takes away control from the person upon whose rights are being infringed.
Privacy and control are so important in most societies, maybe even more so in the United States. These fears of being watched and controlled are pervasive in the media. Countless books have been written and movies have been made depicting this loss of control, usually taken away by a figure of authority or an authoritative office itself. The government is often the culprit in these Hollywood stories. Arguably one of the most popular ones is George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, a story of privacy invasion and government mind control. It even led to the creation of the term “Orwellian,” which means destruction of or a threat to free will and thinking. The collage of televisions at the beginning of the commercials is very reminiscent of this novel and its points about the extent of governmental power. Every day on the news is another story of nations or societies without the liberty that Americans have. For example, North Korea has become a hot topic for their communist regime and limited power of citizens. Recently news of governmental abuse of power in Syria, widely known as the Syrian Crisis, has launched America into many debates about human rights. With these events, comes the “we are next” fear. When face to face with stories of people stripped of their rights, societies tend to hold on tighter to their own rights, especially freedom and privacy. America is a nation founded on liberty; it is an important value in today’s society. It is the idea that the government works for the people to protect and ensure their liberty and personal confidentiality, not that the government works against them to take that all away. Doctor visits are an intimate thing between a person and their doctor to which no one else should be privy. Generation Opportunity’s commercials imply the government is taking away that privacy and confidentiality. Sturken and Cartwright comment that “ideology is manifested in widely shared social assumptions about not only the way things are but the way they should be” (Sturken & Cartwright 246). To the audience of these commercials, liberty and privacy are the “way things should be.”
To some the commercials may be slightly humorous just for their ludicrousness, but to others the commercials are frightening. The uninvited Uncle Sam about to perform these intimate and uncomfortable procedures on people is a blatant exploitation of rape culture. The commercials are not gender specific either− both men and women are targeted. They are normal people just like viewers in the audience, but they are undergoing this horrific experience. The commercials aim for discomfort so that that distress can be associated with the Affordable Care Act, however it is poking fun at a very serious thing. This is where the pathos comes in, as this is the most obvious scare tactic used. It plays on fears of rape and domination but there are no facts, no credibility given. It is a political campaign focused so much on pathos that it ignores all logos and ethos, hoping the viewer is too “creeped out” to pay attention.
To a voter on the fence, easily influenced, or uninformed, the scare tactics might be effective since the commercials depict such an uncomfortable experience no one wants to go through. However these commercials show only a “single story,” as Chimamanda Adichie talks about in her Ted presentation (Adichie). It is an “either/or” argument in that it doesn’t show the other side of these procedures. The options presented are either have “Obamacare” and be essentially raped and lose all privacy or to “opt out,” and never even have any uncomfortable procedures. The commercials do not acknowledge that most people will have these preventative exams and screenings done even if they have another type of medical insurance. They will be the same procedure, no matter who the health care provider is. They can even save lives, and the commercials ignore this fact. Even doctors and nurses themselves would not tell a patient “oh, you signed up for Obamacare.” Not only would that be professionally inappropriate, doctors and nurses are dedicated to saving lives and most likely would not influence someone to shy away from a potentially life-saving procedure just because of their type of health insurance.
These political ads from Generation Opportunity make use of a digital medium to convince people of why their side of the argument is the better one. However, their strategies are triggering and filled with fallacy. Only emotional appeals are presented to the audience, as the commercials play on fear and paranoia. There are no facts to support the “opt out” claim, only pathos and loaded language. There are no opposing sides presented and refuted. The commercial is a single story, and although it is a powerful one, it misconstrues the goal of the Affordable Care Act to convince the audience to lean a certain way on the issue. There are only scare tactics designed to look out for and promote the agenda of the company, not the health and well-being of the viewer.
WORKS CITED
Adichie, Chimamanda N. "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story." Speech. Ted Talks. Oxford. July 2009. Ted: Ideas Worth Spreading. Web.
Bang, Molly. “Excerpts from ‘Picture This: How Pictures Work.’” Everything’s a Text. Eds. Dan Melzer and Deborah Coxwell-Teague. Boston: Rearson Education, Inc., 2011. 227-44.
Feldmann, Linda. "Creepy 'Uncle Sam': Scaring Students Away from Obamacare – or from Conservatives?" The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Listitude. "Two Creepy Obamacare Ads." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
Organizing for Action. "Impact of Obamacare Ad." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 14 June 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Sturken, Marita and Lisa Cartwright. “Excerpts from ‘Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture.’” Everything’s a Text. Eds. Dan Melzer and Deborah Coxwell-Teague. Boston: Rearson Education, Inc., 2011. 244- 51.
On Privacy
The cover of Nineteen Eighty-Four
On Rape Culture
The Other Side
Related Content
Generation Opportunity's most recent Affordable Care Act commercial
Article containing Evan Feinburg's (president of Generation Opportunity) comments on the Uncle Sam ads
Advertisement by Organizing for Action supporting the Affordable Care Act
A screenshot from the beginning of the commercials, depicting multiple televisions all "watching" different parts of a hospital.
Three screenshots of the only text in the Generation Opportunity commercials.
A screenshot from the female version of the commercial showing Uncle Sam holding the speculum.
A screenshot taken from the male version of the commercial showing Uncle Sam putting on a rubber glove.