Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

encourages viewers to always remember Noble team; a group of soldiers that sacrificed their lives to
protect humankind against an alien invasion (Halo: Reach). A second fantasy theme can be seen between
the characters portrayed: the soldiers of Noble team and the alien race they fought. These character types
portray the soldiers as heroes that gave humankind the freedom to live and the aliens as enemies who
threatened humankind’s right to life. Finally, an action type fantasy theme is seen in the campaign’s call to
remember (Halo: Reach). It is a call for the viewers and consumers to partake in the video game and
remember the sacrifice these soldiers gave so that humankind could continue to live.
Collectively, these fantasy themes form a rhetorical vision. A rhetorical vision is “constructed from
fantasy themes that chain out in face-to-face interacting groups, in speaker-audience transactions, in viewers
of television broadcasts, in listeners to radio programs, and in all the diverse settings for public and intimate
communication in a given society” (Bormann, “Fantasy and Rhetorical” 398). These visions spark an
emotional response similar to the original emotional chain construed by the various fantasy types found
within the drama of the communicative message (Bormann, “Fantasy and Rhetorical”).
This can be seen in the promotional campaign by Bungie. With the fantasy themes previously
mentioned, tied with the audience that was presented with the message, a rhetorical vision of remembrance
is created (Halo: Reach). This vision calls consumers to partake in remembering Reach and the heroism and
honor these soldiers earned through their sacrifice in the same way that Americans remember Texans giving
their lives for independence at the Alamo along with the firefighters and police officers who sacrificed their
lives for those caught in the flames and smoke of terrorism within the World Trade Centers. It is within
this vision that the emotional appeal of remembrance within the fantasy themes now calls for consumers to
purchase the video game in order to pursue the same heroism and honor these historical events call us to
bring to mind.
Building upon the historical background and theoretical approach to these secular messages, I will
now analyze the billboard campaigns and their effects upon American society.
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