Analysis of Speeches from Films

Greed Is Good

Oliver Stone's Wall Street monologue "Greed is good" is a speech that will rise above time, and forever be associated with the ultra-wealthy." Greediness, for lack of a more courteous and respectful word, is good. Greediness, in all its forms; greed to live, greed for money, love, and information has marked the sudden powerful rise of human beings" (Stone, 1987).This theatrical and insightful speech was given by Gordon Gekko who plays Michael Douglas an aptly-named wealthy businessman and unscrupulous broker. He influences the market by using confidential information to keep his to his slogan. Through this monologue, Gekko tries to express his thoughts that greed is the primary cause of general, individual, and economic development. On the other hand, many people wonder if this is accurate and truthful. Indeed, can greed ever be a useful attribute? Moreover, is the director Oliver Stone trying to pass across a message about the corporate life in the United States and the high net worth individuals?

In this perspective, Gordon Gekko is using greed to describe the constant craving for more whether somebody else has it or not. He compares it to a revolutionary and transformational drive, that the desire for more makes enables us to find a way on how to get it quicker, more proficiently, and eventually more comfortable. And that in the long run, it results in benefiting everybody. Regarding this context, greed is a simple urge that drives benefits beyond the particular player. Mostly, it is an argument where the end justifies the means.

The speech from the film is meant to be persuasive and has a strong influence due to some reasons. First, it uses the word "greed" repetitively. Naturally, greed has a negative connotation; however, in this circumstance, it is used in a positive perspective. The audience immediately pays attention to this juxtaposition. Considering the elaboration likelihood model (Petty & Cacioppo), the viewers may process this information via the central route. To understand why greed is deemed to be right in this context, the audience must use a lot of thought. Hence they are likely to interpret the speech as convincing.

Constant use of the word "greed" encourages the audience to embrace the idea that greed is good since it is emphasized and repeatedly used. Also, it promotes clarity and understating. For instance, repetition leads to increased agreement and decreases counter-argumentation. Furthermore, repetition of message offers more opportunities to elaborate on them and recognize they have positive impacts. As such, this provides clarification as to why the central route is likely to be used in speech processing.

Repetitive use of the slogan "greed is good" could also be used to develop a good feeling towards something that a person is frequently exposed to. It is projected that the audience may feel more positive towards the message due to the repetition of "greed." The word is repeatedly used with rising momentum until the last striking statement is left to the viewers to visualize." Greed will not only be of benefit to Teldar Paper but that failing operation known as the United States. In this regard, the speaker's goal was achieved as the audience is left with the feeling that greed is indeed good. The use of "mark my words" when concluding the speech signifies an assurance and public accountability for the statements made by the speaker and in turn, offers a convincing argument.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a known series of J.R.R Tolkien, a British author who devoted his life to creating a fictitious world of Middle-earth. It is vital to mention that the film has significantly influenced the travel and tourism industry in New Zealand and pop-culture media. Considering the plot of the story, Sam's monologue to Frodo which takes place at the end of the movie series will be examined. The film is an account of how Frodo Baggins, a hobbit of the Shire, who is tasked with destroying the One Ring that will forever free the Middle Earth of the Dark Lore Sauron. Eight friends set out with Frodo, and all of them play a part in determining the fate of the middle earth.

The orator of this speech is Frodo's best friend and farmer, Samwise Gamgee. Sam tries to remind Frodo why they set out on this mission very far from home to get rid of One Ring. The circumstances under which Sam gives this motivational speech comes after they had been imprisoned and sent to the crumbling town of Osgiliath. While there, Frodo once again escapes from being caught by Saurons followers. As such, Frodo begins to wonder as to whether he can finish this assignment or not. The speech delivered by Sam is as follows:

"I am aware that it is all wrong. We should not even be here in the first place. However, we are already here. Just like in the great stories Mr. Frodo. They were full of agony and danger, and at times you did not care about the end of how could it end happily? How could the world revisit all the bad things that happened before? In the end, everything will pass. Even darkness will come to pass, and a new dawn will come, and the sun will shine out brighter (Jackson, 2002).Those were the stories that were significant even if you were too young to understand. But Frodo, now I think I do understand. Folk in those tales had many opportunities of turning back, but they kept going since they were holding onto something."

Numerous cinematographic techniques are employed; for example the view at 01:05:26 allows the viewer to perceive the world through Frodo and Sam's eyes. Moreover, low and high angle shots are used to create the differences in height between short Hobbits and tall. This monologue mainly employs the use of rhetoric, and it is by far one of the most emotional speeches in the series of the Lord of Rings. Regarding pathos, Sam, the orator, appeals to emotional sentiments such as hope-affirming that ultimately, the shadow is only a short-lived thing and that good will conquer evil. Sam also encourages Frodo to continue with his quest saying that the world has some good that is worth fighting for. This statement, in particular, is enough to motivate Frodo to carry on with the journey and also instills a sense of patriotism to go on until the task is completed.

Overall, Sam's delivery of this speech is efficient and served its purpose since, in the beginning, the audience can see the sadness in his eyes, a depiction of the level of stress and pressure they are under. Similarly, there is a rise and fall in his voice depending on the tone of the words used. He speaks a little softer when an adverse situation arises, and his voice is stronger and authoritative when there is hope.

Captain America, the Winter Soldier

This speech is given in a movie produced by Marvel Cinema Universe. It is provided by actor Chris Evans, who is characterized as Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America. The location of the speech was at The Triskelion which served as S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. The occasion of the address is on the launch of Hydra's Hellicarriers. These carriers were linked to spy satellites and programmed on an algorithm that could determine people who were threats to Hydra. The Hellicarriers, was a Project Insight initiative, and would search worldwide, and terminate said risks using satellite-guided guns. The reason for the speech was to notify S.H.I.E.L.D agents the truth that Hydra had taken over it, they had agents within S.H.I.E.L.D and needed to be stopped.

The speech was meant to be a combination of persuasive and informational. Steve aimed at passing information that Hydra had penetrated S.H.I.E.L.D and working against its mandate. Project insight was a "kill" mission rather than protect as S.H.I.E.L.D agents thought. By giving this speech, he was able to notify S.H.I.E.L.D agents of this fact and that strike agent, Hydra's force group, were within the building, operating incognito. The speech was also persuasive. Steve aimed at persuading S.H.I.E.L.D agents to fight for freedom. He also convinced them not to allow the Hellicarriers to leave the Triskelion. This would help their cause and let Hydra kill anyone who stood in their way.

Steve's main point was stopping Hydra. This was his mission, which he made clear he would do even if he were the only one to fight. Despite this, he tried to rally S.H.I.E.L.D agents, to join hands and fight for the greater good and stop Hydra's mission. Steve's audience was everyone at the Triskelion. He was able to get into the main communications room, and he broadcasted to every part of the Triskelion so that everyone would hear him. This was to notify S.H.I.E.L.D agents of Hydra's presence and to notify Hydra agents that they had been found out. His audience was divided. Hydra had overrun majority of S.H.I.E.L.D. In the recent past, Hydra's agents, masquerading as S.H.I.E.L.D, made Steve a fugitive, despite having worked with them as S.H.I.E.L.D. They were more inclined to believe in his cause.

Steve's audience was trained to rely on facts as agents, it therefore significantly affected his rhetorical strategy. He used minimal appeal to emotion, incorporated dramatic pauses within his speech to drive the point closer to understanding through curiosity. He also used voice inflections to communicate the seriousness of the matter. Since he used a broadcast method, the use of hand gestures and body language was unnecessary because it would not be seen.

Steve did not make logical flaws in his arguments since it was based on facts and hopes rather than false accusations that could not be proven. It was a fact that Pierce, who pretended to be head of S.H.I.E.L.D was indeed heralding Hydra, and that he was focused on, sowing chaos with the aim of making humankind surrender its freedom in exchange for security. Steve used a multimedia system to push his message to everyone at the Triskelion to listen to his word. This helped a lot as it created awareness of the impending situation and eventually he was able to stop Hydra with help from loyal friends at S.H.I.E.L.D.

Steve's speech was well founded. It was based on the higher functional theory. Through his speech, he showed that he was prepared to do anything and everything to stop Hydra and its mission of killing individuals who were viewed as a threat. Eventually, after enough fighting and bloodshed, Steve was able to get the Hellicarriers to destroy each other and crash the Triskelion, killing Hydra agents and arresting others working for Hydra, thus, efficiently achieving his goal to stop Hydra.

300 Rise of an Empire

This speech is given in a movie produced by Legendary Pictures. The address is provided by actor Sullivan Stapleton who acts as Themistocles, a seasoned Greek soldier. The speech is given aboard a battleship on the Aegean Sea. The soldiers are headed for a battle with the Persians in the Battle of Artemisia. The reason for the speech was to motivate the soldiers. Themistocles was the army's general, and it was his job to drive his men and get them to be battle ready psychologically. This was inclusive of the possibility of death during the war which he urged them not to be afraid of.

The speech was meant to be solely motivational, as it only got them to look into the future that he compelled them through his words to see, a victory in the war, and to be brave and fight for their freedom and dignity. Themistocles' central thesis during the speech was bravery throughout the battle. The statement was to get them to be fearless in combat, be united in the struggle to win the fight, to fight strong, for their families and their country.

Themistocles' audience was solely his soldiers. He was giving a speech to his soldiers who were more than likely, ready to believe in his cause. This was because he was their general and disobedience at such a crucial...