Abstract
On 5 November 2008, American history was made when America elected their first black president, Barak Obama. The Democratic primary with its fierce fighting between Hillary Clinton and Obama was almost equally remarkable, for an Obama supporter posted on You Tube an adaptation of the famous Apple Macintosh 1984 advertisement. This adaptation was not created by Obama’s campaign team, but links to it were supplied on Obama’s campaign website. The original Apple Macintosh 1984 advertisement references George Orwell’s book, 1984 and both depict a vision of 1984 as a dystopian totalitarian community. In the modified advertisement, the Big Brother figure on the screen is replaced with Hillary Clinton, making a campaign speech and the 1980s’ apple logo is replaced with a rainbow striped letter “O” for Obama. In short, the message of the Obama 1984 advertisement is that Hillary Clinton would offer an oppressive Orwellian future, whereas Obama offers freedom. The dystopian vision of the future is a recurring theme in the Science-fiction genre; however, it is never really about the future but functions as a critique of the present. This paper examines how notions of dystopia and utopia function in the afore mentioned advertisement.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | N/A |
| Publication status | Published - 20 May 2010 |
| Event | Communication and Mass Media 7th Annual International Conference - Atiner, Athens, Greece Duration: 20 May 2010 → 20 May 2010 |
Conference
| Conference | Communication and Mass Media 7th Annual International Conference |
|---|---|
| Period | 20/05/10 → 20/05/10 |
Keywords
- obama
- political advertising
- apple mac