'Star Wars' Revisited: An Analysis of Ronald Reagan's Rhetoric On The Strategic Defense Imitiative

Ronald Reagan has been one of the more popular and beloved presidents in American history, and a number of polls and surveys continue to laud him as one of the greatest political figures of all time, especially when it comes to foreign policy communication. Thus, it is only natural that his speeches have often been the subject of academic discussion. This study analyzes President Ronald Reagan’s discourse advocating the Strategic Defense Initiative of the early 1980s (otherwise famously known as “Star Wars”) by focusing on the use of language, motivational appeals and speaker’s character and addresses how he rhetorically justified the apparent change in American foreign policy. The study also illustrates how he was able to deal with such sensitive issue as nuclear weapon and come out with highly persuasive speeches for the public during the Cold War era. The timing of the study is highly intriguing because of the program’s rekindled interest in popular culture as of late, especially with the highly touted screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the latest installment in the film franchise.