John F Kennedy’s audience during his Moon Speech was student
and faculty at Rice University in Houston Texas. Anyone viewing the speech on
television or the radio was also part of his audience. Kennedy chose to speak
to them specifically because he believed Rice students and faculty to
proficiently represent “knowledge, progress, and strength”. He believed
targeting people that encompassed those qualities would best help guide America
through the fearful and challenging times brought about by the Cold War. Also
since Rice is amongst the most prestigious universities, Kennedy believed it
would be a suitable place to implement the new techniques and tools of learning
brought about from developing space travel. While addressing his audience
Kennedy used pathos to link their emotions with his desire to improve space
exploration. He notes how the state of Texas was conquered by those who “moved
forward – and so will space” to instill a sense of pride into the crowd at
Rice. The choice to make his audience college students in Texas proved to not
only to target young and innovative minds but also develop pride across the
nation.
I agree with your analysis of the audience being students from Rice University, but I think you should talk more about the audience in a larger sense (all Americans). How did he appeal to those watching on television/listening to him on the radio?
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job mentioning university students as the target audience and how they embrace a patriotic mindset that supports space exploration. I think you could also discuss the other perspectives including the older American public that watched the speech. Those people may have more conservative and traditional views that might not have agreed with the innovative perspectives.
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