Yes We Can -- Barak Obama music video

Cafe Society
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I became aware only yesterday of the Yes We Can Barak Obama music video. Has it been discussed here? I searched but didn’t find anything.

I am struck by this music video’s powerful emotional effect. It was released, I learned today, Feb 2 and its “lyrics” are entirely quotations from Sen. Obama’s concession speech in the New Hampshire primary Jan. 8.

Jesse Dylan – Bob and first wife Sara’s oldest son, born 1966 – directs it. Here’s a picture.

I’m not familiar with the performing artist, will.i.am, or the genre but the whole package seems to exhibit a fair amount of originality. I have viewed it seven or eight times and find its power increasing with each viewing.

I would be curious to know, has it had any effect on the presidential campaign? Are people generally familiar with it? Three people I have mentioned it to today were unaware of its existence. Wikipedia says it’s had 17 million views though.

I’m a Republican and it won’t have an influence on how I vote, but I can see how it might impact many voters in the primaries, and for president.

The youtube version I linked to says “Updated 3/17/08.” Does this mean there is more than one version? How different are the versions if so?

If the video is not generally well known among this or that group, what is the reason? With 17 million views it must be well known among at least some segment.

If this has all been covered before, a link would be appreciated.

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I am a conservative Republican, and I intend to vote for John McCain, but I find the “Yes, We Can” video very moving. If I were a young person (with the political views that I had when I was young), I think this video might influence me to choose Obama.

The only previous thread I found was this one.

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I’m a college aged Obama supporter, it’s mainly aimed at people like me, I think.

It has a lot of power, and is something I have written up on my whiteboard. Maybe I shouldn’t be so idealistic, but I think he can change the world - and I want to be part of it.

will.i.am is part of the Black Eyed Peas.

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Hillary of course refuses to be outdone:

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Thanks for the link to the other thread, pinkfreud. Not much there though.

I had not known anything about Jesse Dylan, director of this music video. Apparently he is very accomplished in his profession. Jacob Dylan, of the Wallflowers, I had heard, does not have an ideal relationship with his father. I’m wondering about Jesse.

I communicated overnight with my 28-year-old nephew who is knowledgeable about pop music. He is unfamiliar with this music video. I’m beginning to think it is not widely known.

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No, it’s not really widely known in the “real” world - but for those that get political info from the web it was very widely circulated.

For me, the big payoff is this McCain version - plays up the contrast quite nicely:

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Oh, Good Lord. :: shakes head :: I couldn’t even finish watching that. Ugh.

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[George Takei]Oh my…[/George Takei]

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I like Obama, but didn’t think this video was anything special. It’s a nicely done rah-rah, but doesn’t really go any deeper.

Instead, I rather like his Philadelphia speech on March 18. It’s intelligent and inspiring, and points out the sensational and low-brow behavior of the media. Barack seems like an adult in a sea of children.

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It didn’t have an impact on how I intend to vote (I’ve been planing to vote Obama anyway) but it’s a really slick video. I agree, though, that it’s poetic, inspiring, and moving, but not very substantial.

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I posted a thread about it but it didn’t take off. Yes we can - Will.I.Am Obama speech song - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board

The youtube version says that the description was updated on 3/17/08. There are two versions but the only difference is that the first has a blue dipdive logo and the newer one has a gray one.

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I’m very grateful for this link. As a knee-jerk Republican, I had never taken the time to actually listen to Mr. Obama. This is a very impressive speech on a number of levels. He is an extremely polished speaker and there seems to be real depth to his intellectual capacity. He convinced me his sticking by his Pastor Wright is not politically motivated in some backhanded way. He convinces me he’s patriotic and his religious sentiments are genuine.

The speech makes me want to know more about him. I think I may vote for him, in fact.

I did not get his ‘Audrey’ story at the end. Specifically, why does the old black man in the conference room say “I’m here because of Audrey”?

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To me it meant that you don’t have to be poor or young or black or downtrodden to want change. You can be an old white dude with everything going for you and still want change for the benefit of others.

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Thanks for the info. Had trouble posting this. Will post another in a few minutes.

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I understood it as showing how a young, highly-motivated Caucasian girl could knock on doors, make phone calls and gather a group of volunteers together in a room - even in a predominantly all-black neighborhood. I think the man was basically trying to say that even though he and Obama are black, the fact that Audrey, a young white girl, had worked so hard to get volunteers in that neighborhood impressed him enough to get off his butt and attend the meeting. For him it was no longer just a black group working for a black candidate - it was people getting together for the best candidate.

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Thanks, DMark (and earlier JipperJJ), for the explanations. I really was not clear on that story.

I have now watched Sen. Obama’s Mar. 18 speech in Philadelphia, his Jan. 8 concession speech in New Hampshire, and his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. The Philadelphia speech is the most impressive from a polished-public-speaking point of view. It mainly deals with Pastor Wright.

The New Hampshire concession speech throws some light on the music video. Jesse Dylan, its director, to his credit uses none of the “Obama! Obama!” chanting that erupts twice during the speech. He shoots in black and white. The lyrics are taken almost entirely from the last 4 minutes of the 13-minute speech.

The music video starts out with quite a bit of content that begins to appear in the speech at 10min 45 sec, but then the director reaches back to about the 9min 15sec mark for the line that, I feel, he uses as his climax, at 2min 50sec (of 4:30) of the music video:

Obama turned his head sharply from right to left – from one side of his audience to the other – on the words “anything false,” at about 10:53. It’s interesting how this movement is enhanced with – I wish I knew the cinematic term – the slow motion freeze frame-type filming. It adds decisiveness to that quick turn of the head, emphasizing the words “anything false.”

The video gets almost silent on those words. Then the following two words, “about hope,” break the tension and begin the resolution. They’re spoken by two performers joining Obama’s voice but replacing him on the screen, along with music resuming and white letters H O P E appearing one by one between the two performers. It sends chills up my back. Very well done.

There are imperfections. At 45 seconds Kate Walsh speaks simultaneouly with Obama the line, “Women who reached for the ballot.” Only she says, “Women who reached for the ballots,” robbing the phrase of its sense. I didn’t get the line’s meaning until I listened to the speech itself and realized she got the last word wrong. And there are some lines which, when spoken simultaneously by two or three people, become somewhat garbled and indistinct. But it’s a large project put together in a short time and overall works very well.

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The timing should read “9:53” instead of 10:53. Sorry.

And in the previous paragraph the timing should read “9min 45sec” instead of 9min 15sec.

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The one from McCain fans isn’t any better…

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Please excuse me while I puke.

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Are you sure that is by McCain supporters?