Masaryk university faculty of education

PRACTICAL PART

4. Reflections of American Nationalism in Coca-Cola Advertisements (1890s-1990s) Analyses

The practical part of the thesis focuses on analysing the reflections of American nationalism in Coca-Cola Advertisements. Having stated that advertisements serve as both mirrors of society and agents of changes within it, several advertisements are assessed on the basis of the visual and verbal messages – including strategies and language devices – used for their compilation and their possible changes over time. Subsequently, the reflections of American nationalism, if any, within their messages are considered. The concise summary of my findings is given in the Conclusion.

The theoretical part of the thesis covered topics necessary for the first part of the analysis concerning the language and advertising strategies used. For being able to carry out the second part of the analysis regarding American nationalism, the term itself must be given a definition first.

4. 1 American Nationalism

Merriam-Webster dictionary definition for nationalism runs as follows: “loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially : a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups” (Merriam-Webster). To define and understand American nationalism, one would have to analyse the concise history of the USA, in which the development and interconnections of the earliest manifestation of nationalism to its current form could be traced.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my Country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.

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  Someday, following the example of the United States of America, there will be a United States of Europe.
  

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  Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.
  

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  America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
  

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  If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.
  

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  We come here today to commemorate one of the epoch-making events of the long struggle for the rights of man - the long struggle for the uplift of humanity. Our country - this great Republic - means nothing unless it means the triumph of a real democracy, the triumph of popular government, and, in the long run, of an economic system under which each man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in him. That is why the history of America is now the central feature of the history of the world; for the world has set its face hopefully toward our democracy; and, O my fellow citizens, each one of you carries on your shoulders not only the burden of doing well for the sake of your own country, but the burden of doing well and of seeing that this nation does well for the sake of mankind.
  

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  Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
  

On the basis of these extracts and quotations, let me once more beg the question of the main features of American nationalism. The list of possible answers could read as follows: Values of democracy and freedom, expressions of pride, honour and capacity of self-defence (military service), belief in America’s exceptionalism (uniqueness), individualism, the capability of redeeming the rest of the world (messianism), ‘God’ veneration, hard-work, community, self-conception of being exemplary, etc.

American nationalism, as any other nationalism, has many different faces which undergo constant changes over time and this short list of its possible constituents based on several extracts and quotations does not pretend to explore them all. It serves as a list of possible concepts I might come across while analysing the Coca-Cola advertisements. At this point, I would like to stress that the assessment of the various elements is necessarily subjective since advertisements are opened to a great number of interpretations depending on the nationality, gender, age, personal experience, world views, and many other variables of their assessor.