JOE BIDEN: “CHARACTER MATTERS”
ANALYSIS BY NICOLETTE SMITH
Terror management is used in political advertisements in order to sway the voter and use their unconscious thoughts to manipulate their ways of thinking. Politics tend to center around issues that threaten cultural values and are often related to social or physical death (Burke, Kosloff, & Landau, 2013). This creates a lot of anxiety in the voter and they look to mitigate the effect of this by looking towards a political leader who is going to defend their values. Political ads aim to do just this by instilling fear in the voter, then showing how the political candidate is going to support their American values and mollify that fear.
Joe Biden’s “Character” 2020 political ad aims to sway the American people’s vote in his favor by making them unconsciously think about death. His election strategy is based on Terror Management Theory in order to invoke fear and mitigate the anxiety about death that follows by showing Biden is invested in the same culturally-derived system of meaning. He starts off the ad with a black and white photo of the White House claiming: “It is said, in here, character matters.” In this opening shot, only the red flowers in front of the white house and the American Flag have color. By emphasizing the color red, it can remind the viewer of war, death, blood, or danger. Then by having the next object shown in color be the American Flag sitting behind the oval office desk, this can reinforce the values of the United States unconsciously in the voter, making them question Donald Trump as the United States’ President. The ad also gives the idea that there is a current Threat to the Values of the United States due to our political leadership. The ad then shows a picture of Trump at a Presidential rally pointing his finger and making an unpleasant facial expression. Once again, the only color emphasized in this black and white photo is red, which happens to be Trump’s tie. Next is another black and white photo of Biden in front of the American Flag, where once again the flag is the only thing in color. The narrator then says “it’s in life where your character is formed.” This brings up death anxiety; it reminds the voter that their legacy and what they do in life matters when they die. This image is also a subtle manipulation of Holy Longing since it is insinuating that Biden represents the American Values and it is appealing to our desire for transcendence and connectedness. There are also social Death Reminders throughout the ad by showing Biden giving money to a homeless man and banners in the background that unconsciously activate thoughts of death. For instance, in one photo, Biden is standing in front of a large cancer organization banner. The narrator throughout these images continues to talk about how character matters while showing Biden doing good deeds for the community, wielding a potent one-two punch of Death Reminders and Holy Longing. This manages the voter’s anxiety because it gives the sense that Biden is someone who can deliver connectedness, social hopes of the American people, and, ultimately, happiness. By showing that Biden is invested in the culture of the United States, it can sway the voter to choose him on election day and begin to question the legacy and cultural values of Donald Trump.
References
Burke, B. L., Kosloff, S., & Landau, M. J. (2013). Death Goes to the Polls: A Meta-Analysis of Mortality Salience Effects on Political Attitudes. Political Psychology, 34, 183-200. doi: 10.1111/pops.12005
Nicolette Smith will graduate from Fort Lewis in 2020 with her Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Pre-law and Sociology & Human Services. She then wants to attend Arizona State University to get her master’s in Social Work and licensure, and intern at Crossroads Safe House as a Youth and Family Advocate in Fort Collins. Nicolette would like to be the Safehouse manager and help families from multiple backgrounds, including domestic violence victims, runaways, and families that need financial assistance.