As someone who is constantly anxious on what the future holds after graduation or if I will even strong enough to be in a graduation, I was touched by Jim Carrey’s perspective of life in his commencement speech. Even though he is known to be a comedian, he still has an incredible power to use his charisma and slight seriousness to motivate others. In his speech, he mentions how his father’s dream was to be a comedian, but to took the safe route and became an accountant instead. However, he was eventually laid off and his family struggled financially. According to Jim Carrey this is what made him realize that “you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” That was what stroke me the most. As …show more content…
a freshman who still has to declare a business major, I am constantly torn between the safe choice of finance or accounting where I can more easily obtain a job and pay off my debt, and marketing where I can be myself in a creative environment risk not finding a job and remaining in debt. Although I still carry those worries, by the end of the speech I believe I was able to see the bigger picture more clearly. I imagine the graduating students experienced a similar feeling since they are just starting off their career path where they have to make decisions of taking the safe path or the one they desire. Therefore, I believe that successful figure such as Jim Carrey who loves his job would definitely have an impact on the future actions of the graduates. At the time Jim Carrey made the speech, the audience was living in a world of uncertainness and anticipation.
However, those two things do not always have a bad connotation. In this example, the graduating students were putting an end to an era of school expendabilities and the entering a world they had spent four years preparing for. He successfully portrayed that state of the audience through his charismatic mindfulness and inspirational message to keep looking forward. He acknowledged the graduating class would feel uncertain and fearful in future times, but it is all part of …show more content…
life. Legendary Jim Carrey did an exceptional job expressing his commencement speech.
He took imagery to the next level by actually painting his feelings about the future and showing it to the students. His painting, titled “High Visibility after its size, shows different character being attracted to a light. Each of those character portrayed feelings such as misery, unconsciousness, loneliness, and fear. Jim Carrey explains how everyone will confront individuals such as those character or will sometimes be those characters themselves, however it is their responsibility to risk being vulnerable to get to the light. Furthermore, he mentions how achieving fame and wealth is not where we find our sense of completion. Our sense of completion is within ourselves. In other words, we will never be satisfied if we keep comparing ourselves to others. In my perspective, this lays a vison for the future by focusing on our skills or abilities that make us feel accomplished and how we can use those same skills to help others. Ultimately, Jim Carrey graphically and verbally shows a future where we are not afraid to loo vulnerable and act based on wat makes us satisfied and not on what makes us look better than
others. In the present, the students are starting of their life weather they know their desired path or not. The speech gives a personal example of someone who took the safe route and ended in a risky situation, and an example of the man who took the risky path that made him happy. By doing so, Jim Carrey highlights the difference on how what the graduates choose in the present can affect in their future. In other words, the graduates are being encouraged to choose the that that they love since they will be more passionate about and have higher chance of success rather than taking the safe path they dislike and giving it minimal effort. In order to go from our present selves to our desired possible future selves, he suggested being more vulnerable and open about who we really are. Only then, will we realize what we really want and be satisfied with ourselves. Although he does give the students specific steps to accomplish that, he gives the students the ability to see their power and freedom in their world. For instance, he uses phrases such as “I have no limits! I cannot be contained because I’m the container” that lets the audience feel of sense of power within themselves. Furthermore, he also mentions how essential it is to be present. By being present, we can overcome our ego and fears to achieve the plan or goal we want. Jim Carrey uses his charismatic creativeness and years of wisdom to lift of the audience’s spirits so they can leave with a sense dominance on their own lives. He does so by sharing with the audience a painting that took him one thousand hours to complete, personal life experience, and endless waves of wholesome metaphors. He uses one of my favorites phrases, “life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you”, in a realistic way in which he admits to audience that he does not if that statement is true, but still chooses to believe so because it is the best way perceive life in challenging times. The ending remarks on his speech remind me of The Alchemist, one of Paulo Coelho’s most motivational books. In the book, the author mentions how if you really want something, the universe will conspire you help you achieve it. In his speech, Jim Carrey shows similar beliefs when he speaks about how he prayed to have a bike as a child and days later won one in a raffle. He also mentions how we can’t plan our exact future, but we should instead be mentally prepare to walk through the door when it opens. Ultimately, I was just fascinated on how two of my favorite people think alike.
Some people dream of wealth, happiness, or genius, but is any of that easily attainable? An intellectual young man from the movie Good Will Hunting has an unusually high IQ that is shrouded by emotional problems. Will Hunting is arrested after yet another case of physical assault in Boston, and this time it was a police officer. When he is arrested, his genius is discovered by a college professor, Gerald Lambeau, who sees potential in Will despite his flaws. Instead of jail time, Labeau offers him a fair bargain. As long as Will attends mandatory therapy, he will be allowed to work alongside the professor. But education isn’t everything, because under Wills sarcastic wit and mathematical genius, he hides his true self. Will scares off five different therapists before he finds himself stuck with Sean Maguire, who ends up using personal and profound forms of therapy to crack Wills shell. Sean delivers this speech to help Will realize his ignorance of his insecurities and other people by using ethos, logos, and pathos appeals; Sean addresses that true knowledge and perspective can only
On February 19, 2010, Tiger Woods spoke to his fans, supporters, and non-supporters in search of forgiveness. In the speech, he apologizes for his acts of cheating on his wife, Elin. He hopes to change and gain support from his audience in doing so. Woods issues a strong apology by showing his respectable character, establishing culpability in the audience, and utilizing first-person point of view.
A town, a team, a dream. Friday Night lights document the 1988 football season of Permian High School in Odessa, Texas. Bissinger explores the various themes of the novel and uses conceit to colorfully describe the contrasting attitudes towards sports and academics. In the small town of Odessa bases Fridays nights in the fall are dedicated to Permian football. As a result of the obsessive attitude towards football a ridiculous amount of pressure is thrusted upon the coaches and players. Bissinger tackled the many problems in the town such as extreme pressure to perform, racism, and the relationship between parent and child. While Bissinger had several preconceived notions, he was ultimately proven wrong and through analysis of themes and incorporation of comparisons in the form of conceits he was able to develop his understanding of the town and accurately depict the events that transpired.
To regard the importance of the bigger picture, he maintains parallel structure and utilizes the repetition of words in the body of the speech. “The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life” occurs when one seizes the day—when one finds the joys in life by realizing “you are not special”. The pauses and short sentences also adds to the conversational aspect and pace of the commencement piece. To continue, he notes how in this moment of time, every single one of them is dressed “exactly the same” and their diplomas are “exactly the same”. The unification of these prospective seniors further augments the message of settling. McCullogh further critiques the phrases that defy logic. High school students have perceived that “good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C”. The goal into doing one’s best has been shaped into doing the capabilities of another, in which McCullogh responds metaphorically to only focus on the betterment of the self: “climb [the mountain] so you can see the world, not so the world can see you”. All of these seniors have fallen into the preconceived mindset of superiority, unifying them together but it is their personal capabilities that distinguishes one from another, successes from failures. The support and inspiration he is aiming for is clearly portrayed in proposing to the students to, “[d]ream big. Work hard. Think for yourself”. He inspires them to experience life instead of accomplish
Comedian Jon Stewart gives a speech on the Daily Show during the “Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear”. He wants the viewers of the Daily Show to realize the difference between the real and fake threats and to take a humorous perspective on most of America’s “problems”. Stewart also emphasizes to his audience not to take every person on the media by his word and not to overreact to everything they hear. He uses metaphors, comparisons, and hypothetical examples to get his point across.
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” This mantra from Margaret Mead is a somewhat humorous yet slightly satirical spin on how people tend to think of themselves as one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable human specimens. However, one English teacher from Wellesley High School takes this critique one step further with his polemic presentation at the school commencement. David McCullough, a Massachusetts English teacher, gave a seemingly somber sendoff to his graduates in 2012, with a speech that contained some unapologetically harsh sentiments. However, by looking past the outwardly dismal surface of the speech, the students can infer a more optimistic message. By incorporating devices of asyndeton, paradox, antimetabole, and anadiplosis, McCullough conveys to each student that even though none of them is unique, their commonality is not a fault they all have merit and should strive to view the world through a more selfless lens.
But, coming to a conclusion via logic reasoning can be seen in the speech. Carrey uses the logical appeal as he follows the format of an epideictic speech. He first acknowledges the students, faculty members, and parents attending the graduation ceremony. Then, he states the central value of dreaming big and choosing love rather than giving into fear. In order to logical appeal to the audience, he shares different examples to support his claims. One of the most memorable supporting evidence was when Carrey shared personal anecdote about his childhood. He said his father could have been a comedian but chose to be an accountant because he wanted a stable job. Carrey's father later lost his job, which taught Carrey an important lesson. "I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which, was that you can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love," Carrey said. In the context of rhetoric, logos here appeals to an audience’s sense of logic, reason, and rationality. Following the epideictic speech format, he ends the speech by challenging the audience to live by the central value, “after you walk through those doors today, you will only ever have two choices: love or fear. Choose love, and don’t ever let fear turn you against your playful
This is a very emotional song because it is a tribute to the late Paul Walker. It is especially emotional if you have seen the movies or are a fan of Paul. However it is still evocative even if you have never seen Paul Walker before because of how the video is formatted. The director uses cars as an rhetorical tool in the video because Paul was most known for his role in the Fast and Furious series, and he was killed in a car crash because he was speeding. The cars in the video help remind us that he died doing what he loved and that even though he left this world to early he was most likely enjoying himself in the moments before his death.
I found O’ Brien’s speech to be extremely educational as well as entertaining. He used his profession as a comedian to incorporate pathos (humor), which positively affected the graduates. “When I got the call two months ago to be your speaker, I decided to prepare with the same intensity many of you have devoted to an important term paper. So late last night, I began (O’Brien, 2011)”. O’Brien is making a joke, based on the common stereotype that college students procrastinate on papers till the day before the deadline. “Behind me sits a highly admired President of the United States and decorated war hero while I, a cable television talk show host, have been chosen to stand here and impart wisdom. I pray I never witness a more damning example of what is wrong with America today (O’Brien, 2011).” O’Brien regularly uses humbling humor that supports the delivery of his speech. O’ Brien portrays himself as humble because he feels as if he isn’t worthy of giving a commencement speech due former president Bush, a decorated war hero was sitting behind him. O’Brien seems puzzled that they choose a television comedian, over a president and war hero because he is arguably much more qualified and respected. O’ Brien then jokingly states, that there’s a problem with America if the...
Meaghan Ramsey believes in business growth that stems from real social change. She has origins in nutritional science and has worked across FMCG and multiple organizations dealing with media, charities, and pharmaceuticals. Ramsey was also the Global Director of the Dove Self-Esteem Project at Unilever in London. Her TED Talk, “Why Thinking You’re Ugly Is Bad For You” occurred in September of 2014 at TED@Unilever in London. The audience that Ramsey is trying to target is the parents of young men and women who are struggling or may begin to struggle with body image/low self-esteem. She speaks to the parents directly about what can be done to minimize the use of the internet and social media at such a young age. Ramsey’s talk is affected by the audience in the sense that she uses
Famously known for his sarcastic and awkward humor, Conan O’Brien’s late-night talk show, Conan often depicts witty, satirical skits that often have larger social and even political significance. On one specific episode entitled, “Conan Korea,” Korean-American actor Steven Yeun of the critically-acclaimed AMC Drama The Walking Dead joins O’Brien in his skit. As O’Brien’s “cultural ambassador,” as he states in the recording, Yeun’s role is expanded into more than simply being a celebrity guest on O’Brien’s show. By being the representative for this culture and the performativity associated in his interactions with O’Brien, Yeun is thus identified as the “native informant” whose duty is to negotiate the relationship between O’Brien/American audience
President Obama’s Address to the nation was presented on January 5, 2016. His speech was shown on all of the major network stations. The main goal of his speech was to get the point across to the nation about the increasing problem of gun use. His speech really focused on the issue of gun control and if it would benefit the country. Overall, the biggest idea of his Address was that gun control is a large issue in the United States. The way to prevent deaths caused by firearms can be prevented in other ways than taking peoples guns away. The examples brought up in this Address really stood out to me. The use of personal, national, and global examples really made his speech stronger on the topic of effectiveness.
On January 20, 2017, the forty-fifth President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, stood on the steps of the U.S. capital and delivered a speech for the beginning of his presidential term. Trump delivers his speech by briefly discussing the changes he will carry out to “Make America Great Again”, and he vows to always put America first. As Trump gives the people an outline of what he will do to change America, he delivers that he will continue to keep his key promises that he has stated throughout the presidential campaign. President Donald Trump approaches broad issues associated with politics and the economy in his inauguration speech by implying that he will make a positive change to the country.
The idea of visual perception plays a vital role in how we as humans view the world. Because how we perceive things determines if we like or dislike them. This idea of perception plays a big role in the 1915 film, Birth of a Nation, by director D.W. Griffith. In this film the viewer relies on their senses to infer and understand the many rhetorical contexts that are present in this loosely based historical film. While watching this film the viewer will find themselves making connections to certain historical events through the rhetorical images and words that appear on the screen.
I’m not going to tell you to go on and do well, become the doctors and lawyers and teachers of tomorrow. This isn’t a speech to tell you how to live or how to go on, but to remind you how you have for the past eighteen years of your lives. We’re all eighteen! Seventeen, seventeen and a half, who cares! We all grew up together. I’ve walked into school every day for the most part for the past thirteen years of my life and I’ve seen the same people, the same faces with the same old stories.