Critical Introduction

Welcome to our blog about the Space Race! We are three freshman in the College Park Scholars program at the University of Maryland. After studying rhetoric in our english class, we took a look at the differing strategies employed by people with distinct perspectives and roles in life. All of us having a great interest in the Space Race, we came into this blog with a good deal of background knowledge. However, through research, our appreciation of the specific historical basis of these texts increased.

We decided on these sources because they both had a lasting impact on the decade. JFK was a very influential figure during the early 1960s and his ideas, expressed in his 1961 Moon Shot Speech, inspired United States ventures in space for the rest of the decade. He used nationalism to convince Congress and the American people to support the space program. The tremendous popularity of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” in 1969 showed the continued public interest in the Space Race. The song has a less divisive message and portrays humanity as a whole struggling against the challenge of space. President John. F Kennedy and musician David Bowie express differing opinions about the Space Race – while the former president argues that we must put a man on the moon, the artist had mixed feelings showing both awe and fear for the Final Frontier.

The Space Race played a major role in scientific advancements. For example, both weather and communication satellites would not have been feasible without the drive to obtain space travel. Space exploration was not only confined to the 1960s. Today we are still attempting to understand the many mysteries of space. Since the 1960s, we have continued to send missions into space, such as the Mars Rover.

Putting kairos first provides a background to the precise situation that will aid the reader in understanding the impetus for the texts. Audience is important to analyze early on because they differed greatly between the sources. JFK was specifically addressing Congress while Bowie targeted the population as a whole. Following the audience analysis, stasis theory provided the general arguments utilized by their respected texts. This is central to the reader's understanding of the rhetorical strategies that the authors chose to employ. At the end, we focused on the specific rhetorical strategies of each text, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. The appeals to both ethos and pathos differed greatly between the speech and the song. JFK had extremely strong extrinsic ethos, while Bowie was relatively unknown prior to this hit song. Due to the fact that it is a song, “Space Oddity” has an advantage at appealing to the pathos of its audience. However, JFK attempted to overcome this by appealing to nationalistic pride.

Could you imagine a world where the Soviet Union won the Space Race? Winning the Space Race had an enormous impact on the outcome of the Cold War. It enabled Americans to have a sense of pride in their nation. It was also a major factor in the many scientific advancements that we cannot live without today.

Pathos: Space Oddity

Pathos is by far the most frequently used and most effective rhetorical element in "Space Oddity". This is in large part due to the medium, a song, that lends itself to pathos. However, the statement Bowie was making also holds little room for logos or ethos. The song is slow and aims to provide the listener with the feeling of actually being in space. This causes the audience to think about the strangeness of space travel because they are imagining themselves in place of the astronaut. Then, at the end of the song, the astronaut gets lost in space. Not only is this a stark reversal from the beginning of the song, where he was a hero, the listener feels an emotional attachment to the lost astronaut. It makes people wonder whether there could be tragic downsides to this Space Race.

Logos: JFK's Moon Shot Speech to Congress

In order for JFK to persuade the members of Congress, he needed to present enough evidence and dedication for the government to be willing to fund his plan. He acknowledges that there will be some drawbacks, but knows that Americans have the capability to achieve great success. Doing this allowed for the audience to grasp the idea that it will not be easy, however can be done. JFK clearly states what his intentions are and the goals he must complete in order to achieve them. He says it must be decided as a nation and not just from him or else they won't be successful. Listing the exact funds needed for the project shows that he did explicit research on the topic and knows what it entails. He provides the logistics and reasonings behind his desire to travel to the moon throughout the speech. JFK concludes his speech by reiterating the fact that without the help of the whole nation, the project will be unbearable.

Logos: David Bowie "Space Oddity"

David Bowie's "Space Oddity" does not have a significant appeal to logos. Due to the fact the "Space Oddity" was born of the appeal to pathos found in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the song relies heavily on emotion to convey David Bowie's reaction to the film. Although the song does not offer facts to try and convince the audience, the fate of Major Tom does have some appeal to logos. Major Tom's loss of communication with ground control was a very real issue that NASA could experience, and that no matter how powerful the emotional response is to space travel there are inherent risks that should be taken into account. 

Pathos: JFK's Moon Shot Speech to Congress

John F. Kennedy does a very successful job at appealing to the emotions of the audience. In this case, the audience is 435 members of Congress. In his speech, he attempts to appeal to the egos of the members by comparing them to the Soviet Union. JFK continuously refers to the Soviets success in order to motivate and encourage Americans to want further expand their knowledge of space. His confidence and drive makes Americans want to have pride in their nation. Winning the Space Race will enable America to have a lead on the Soviet Union, which will boost their egos. In addition, JFK uses "we" in order show the nation that he is not above them and they all must work together. Imagination is a key idea when thinking about pathos. The whole idea of space is open to curiosities that JFK is confident he can diminish.

Ethos: David Bowie "Space Oddity"

Prior to his 1969 release of "Space Oddity," David Bowie had not established a significant amount of extrinsic ethos. With the wildly successful song "Space Oddity" that made the U.K. top 5 chart, David Bowie was able to increase his extrinsic ethos with regard to the Space Race. Although heavily influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey, "Space Oddity" became linked with the British Space Program, giving David Bowie unwarranted ethos on space travel. Regardless of the initial influence for the song, the linkage of "Space Oddity" to the Space Race gave David Bowie credibility as a champion of space travel.

Stasis Theory: Space Oddity

Although it is more difficult to identify specific aspects of stasis theory in a song, most of them are definitely present. In the case of Space Oddity, the astronaut was certainly a major phenomenon. It came out right before the Apollo 11 mission, at the height of the Space Race. The main character of the song, Major Tom, is a fictional character, but he represents the attitude towards astronauts at the time. The slow melody and minimization of lyrics serves to provide the audience a depiction of space. However, there is a slightly sinister ending as Major Tom gets lost in space. This shows the idea that space exploration might not be the purely good thing that was the prevalent thought at the time.