Emily Abel
English 2630
March 3, 2016
Portrayal
and Perspective—The Gettysburg Address
An event as significant as the 150th
anniversary of the Gettysburg Address does not slip past the mass media’s radar.
News agencies across the country celebrated, remembered, or at least made
mention of this historic speech’s anniversary. NBC produced a very broad, strictly
patriotic memorial feature as part of their Sunday morning Meet the Press
broadcast in November of 2013. The segment was placed as the final story of the
show. It was preceded by four lengthy interviews on current world issues and
elections.
The story opens in the Evergreen
Cemetery where Lincoln first delivered the speech. Reporter Harry Smith pulls a
quote from the Daily Cleveland Herald
of the time to set the tone for his piece: “He should not have said less. We do
not believe any other man in the same number of words could have said more.”
With these words it becomes clear that Smith has chosen to cover the speech from
the typical American perspective—the ultimate exemplar of rhetoric, prose applauded
nationwide then and now, the very pinnacle of patriotism.
Footage
of battle re-enactments interspersed with actual photos of fallen Civil War soldiers
next fills the screen. The beat of a snare drum serves as an accessory to
Smith’s choice diction, including “brutal” and “incomprehensible carnage”, in
describing Gettysburg and its significance in the war. He calls the outcome of
the Civil War at that point in time “anything but certain.” These descriptions
combine to make Smith’s pronunciation of the address as “not so much a speech
but a prayer. A re-affirmation of faith,” more potent for viewers. The coverage
then grows more specific as to the impact of the speech on African Americans. Footage
of empty fields and wheat blowing softly in the wind are displayed. He
interviews historian Scott Hancock who says that the speech promised “the whole
ball of wax” when it came to freedom for the Blacks. It is worth mentioning
that Hancock is the only interview used in the piece. Viewers are deprived of
any differing perspectives or unique opinions regarding this crucial aspect of speech.
At this point, the coverage takes a
definite shift. Focus moves from the history of the Gettysburg Address to how
it remains applicable in America today. The footage is no longer empty fields and
cemeteries, but tourists roaming around historic landmarks. The implication is
clear: those pictured have a responsibility to the land beneath their feet
because of what once transpired there. This impression is confirmed as the news
video concludes with the reminder that Lincoln’s speech was calling for a new
beginning of liberty and that his fervent wish is a “prayer we [America] still
pray.”
Zeitz’s leading
objective is to clarify the response generated by the public immediately
following the address. He explains that it was surely regarded as an important
political moment, but not much more. A few newspapers reacted negatively to
Lincoln’s claim that the war’s moral purpose was freedom for the slaves, but beyond
that controversy little else was said. According to the article, “a search of 15 major American newspapers from 1864 through
1889 yields just a handful of mentions of the Gettysburg Address. In contrast, between 1890 and 1915, the Gettysburg Address
merits at least 579 mentions in the same group of papers.” This demonstrates
that recitation of the speech increased in commonality, but clear understanding
of it was rare. Zeitz put it this way, “Ironically, the speech became famous
just as America forgot what it meant.”
From here,
Zeitz emphasizes the address’s evolution “to represent a vague tribute to
battlefield bravery rather than a commitment to Lincoln’s new birth of
freedom.” Proponents of Women’s Suffrage and African-Americans were among the
few who grasped the full meaning. For the latter, the address was a “proclamation
wedding the Civil War to the emancipationist project.” It took the modern civil
rights movement to fully reacquaint white Americans with ideological aspects of
the Civil War. Zeitz succinctly summaries his main point with the following
words, “They would come to rediscover a speech that was first forgotten, then
remembered and finally, a century after its delivery, understood.”
In
its typical fashion, The Onion offered
a memorial that was anything but typical. The satirical website published a
word cloud graphic entitled, ‘Most Used Words in the Gettysburg Address.’ Rather
than pulling actual words from the address, however, The Onion has utilized the anniversary as an opportunity for modern
political commentary. The authors pick apart the literal meaning of the speech
and push it blatantly before readers’ eyes. Issues Americans largely ignored at
the time, instances from Lincoln’s personal life, and current world concerns
relating to values of freedom, are all included. Most prominent are the words
‘I am Invincible’ printed in large, bold print at the center of the graphic. Here,
The Onion is addressing the common
assumption that Lincoln was wholly confident in his ideologies and triumph in
the war. They imply that Americans now view him as the archetype of a stalwart
leader who never faltered in fighting for what was right. Another culturally
telling word choice, are the four references to the opening line of the speech
placed sporadically throughout the word cloud. They mock the fact that most
Americans are only familiar with the famous opening lines “Four score and seven
years ago,” and they don’t even know what that means. So many are disconnected
or uninterested from even the most historically significant events of their
country’s past.
While
varying distinctly in presentation style and angle choice, each piece of news
coverage is evenly riddled with blaring examples of American cultural values
and cliché perspectives. The manner in which the media celebrates the
Gettysburg Address significantly impacts how society views the event. Strong
illusions as to the invincibility of America and yielding to willful blindness
as a consistent culture trend can be both be observed in within these three
news pieces.
First,
Americans’ outlook and opinion of Lincoln’s renowned address comes almost
entirely from news broadcasts such as the one provided by NBC: a country
ravished from within itself clings to their esteemed leader to grasp them out
of the terror of war and into a new nation flooded with freedom. But as
observed in the New York Times
article, this scenario was simply not the case. In reality, Lincoln’s speech
received minor criticism and was then largely ignored. But when a reporter presents
heart-wrenching war photos to the beat of a snare drum, and then idealizes the
speech and the speaker as the sole savior of it all, Americans are quick to
accept it. Courageous moral stands and unyielding heroes dedicated to
preserving humanity are what culture has come to expect as a byproduct of war.
A news broadcast such as this only confirms that this perspective is accurate. When
watching television on a lazy Sunday morning it is easy for Americans to feel a
close tie to the Gettysburg Address because it embodies everything they’ve been
taught to believe about what their nation represents.
America as an invincible, united powerhouse
is one of the most widely held cultural beliefs. This is loudly illustrated by The Onion’s satirical ‘I am Invincible’
word cloud. The authors play off the fact that most Americans view Lincoln as
one of the greatest protagonists in history. Since a young age, our minds have
been drilled to see the nation and its leaders as the triumphant victors, and
never the losers. The words ‘one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all’ ring through elementary school hallways. Cultural beliefs leave little
room for classroom discussion on America’s divided, unjust past. In
consequence, a society comfortably lounging in blissful ignorance of the
realities of the past is produced. Facts presented in The New York Times article regarding misinterpretations of
Lincoln’s intent quietly settle into the background where they lay undiscussed.
While these details stand as shocking exemplars of willful blindness, they are
not in harmony with American ideals so they are glossed over.
This willful blindness is evident numerous
times in the media coverage. Zeitz explains that while at first the speech was widely
understood, people were quick to subconsciously change it to suit their own
purposes. It became “commonplace for Union and Confederate veterans to link
arms during public recitations of the speech.” It had become a tribute to
battlefield bravery, rather than to a new birth of freedom. Because people
already believed the war to be about reuniting the North and South, not over
the issue of slavery, that is what they gleaned from the speech. That tendency
remains prominent today; America hears what it wants too. Another instance of
this appears in The Onion’s word
cloud. The phrase ‘Native Americans on the other hand’ sits in the center in
bold print. America neglects speaking of the brutal nature with which the
Native Americans were treated because it does not fall in line with cultural
values of freedom and equality. NBC’s coverage omits any platform for
discussion on the darker side of American culture, and leaves only thoughts of
patriotism and heroism in its wake. Americans will hear and see what they want
to believe, and little else. This plague of blindness is hurting society as
problems are ignored or belittled on such a wide scale. Racial and gender
inequality, environmental concerns, corrupt politicians— all are uncomfortable
problems Americans would sooner quietly ignore or make light of rather than
face reality.
In conclusion, the manner in which mass
media chooses to cover events relating to war is very significant. What is
truly valued by a society is manifest in which aspects of past events are
remembered and discussed. American perspectives of power, and their tendency to
only see what is pleasing to them becomes obvious with analysis of media
coverage. Observation of the mass media will certainly continue to prove
insightful to American culture into the next four score and seven years.
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| Comment at the end of my paper. |
Works Cited
"Most Used Words In The
Gettysburg Address." The Onion. 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
Special Report: Gettysburg Address
150th Annivesary. Perf. Harry Smith. Meet the
Press. NBC News, 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.
Zeitz, Joshua. "Remembering the
Gettysburg Address." The New York Times. 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 9 Feb.
2016.
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