JOE BIDEN: “IMAGINE”
ANALYSIS BY TAYLAR MOORHOUSE
According to Terror Management Theory, “the sophisticated human abilities to think casually, to anticipate events that have yet to occur, and to take the self as an object of attention give rise to an awareness of the inevitability of death and the ever present potential for pain and averse experience” (Greenberg et al., 1992).
The human ability to fear death and terror has controlled individuals, organizations, and cultural groups in ways we have never thought possible. Terror has the ability to attack and amplify our values, feelings of connectedness, and even our self-esteem unconsciously. We find that companies and other big organizations use this fear to their advantage—and perhaps especially our own U.S. Presidential Candidates.
Anticipating the inevitability of death is subtly but firmly present in this Biden ad. Whereas Biden’s “Imagine” advertisement does not directly show or remind us of death, it instead illustrates and invokes what we call “Holy Longing.” This term directly relates to something in Terror Management Theory that describes symbolic immortality (Solomon et al., 2015). Individuals who fear death compensate by trying to live and survive with a purpose, such as by leaving a legacy. This is the main idea this ad is pushing. We see hopeful images of newborn children, smiling teenagers, and happy faces along with dialogue that conveys that a change needs to happen in order for a better world to be possible, a world we want to leave behind for the next generation. Feelings of significance that are shown in this video also play into this idea. Feeling significant and maintaining self-esteem has been a huge contributor to human terror management processes (Solomon et al., 2015). This taps into our basic human need to feel connected and non-isolated. Community, public safety, and common humanity are just a few things this ad is presenting that fuel this need for togetherness.
Another way in which political candidates try to unconsciously use the fear of death is via a Threat to Values. In this ad, it is again not explicit but rather implicit in the context. Biden attempts to garner support for his candidacy in this ad with an attack on one core American value: Being the best. This ad directly contradicts this perhaps subliminal American value by showing how the U.S. is currently lacking its former superiority. Biden says plainly in this ad that, in order to be the best (country), we need to make changes—and, of course, instilling the idea that he is the only one to lead us there. Showing blatant contradictions to these cultural values that many Americans prize can be quite anxiety-provoking. This idea can be explained further by Greenberg et al. (1992): “Likewise, the mere existence of people with dissimilar world-views threatens the individuals faith in his or her own worldview, thereby undermining its effectiveness as an anxiety buffer.”
Our 2020 presidential candidates have shown us the strong influence that connectedness, self-esteem and protection of values have on voters through terror management theory, based on Ernest Becker’s prescient observations that death haunts the human animal like nothing else.
References
Greenberg, J., Simon, L., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S. & Chanel, D. (1992). Terror management and tolerance: Does mortality salience always intensify negative reactions to others who threaten one’s worldview? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.63.2.212
Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (2015). The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life. New York: Random House.
Taylar A. Moorhouse will graduate from Fort Lewis College in Summer 2021 and wants to be an independent clinical counselor specializing in treatment for sexual assault survivors, substance abusers and domestic violence survivors. After her undergraduate career, Taylar wants to pursue her master’s degree in School Counseling from Northern Arizona University, North Valley campus. Her research experience during her time at NAU will be primarily focused on substance abuse and treatment effectiveness, as well as looking deeper into the world of treatment for sexual offenders.