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<essay>
<docHead>
<title>Volkswagen Beetle -The People's Car</title>
<author>Name
<!--deidentified element--></author>
<date>October 2016</date>
</docHead>
<body>
<intro>
<p>The Volkswagen Beetle is a two door production car that was made from 1938 to
2003. With approximately 20 million produced, the beetle is the longest-running
and most-manufactured car of a single platform ever made. Under Adolf Hitler’s
orders, the car was designed by Ferdinand Porsche, who would later create the
Porsche brand of automobiles a few years later. <argument type="main">Considered
by many to be the most influential car of our time, this essay attempts to
analyze the very flexible genres of historical, cultural and economical
changes that made the Volkswagen Beetle achieve its status of “the people’s
car”. </argument></p>
</intro>
<bodyPara>Historically, this car is important not because of its age or its popularity,
but because of the purpose it was created for. Picture Germany in early 1930s, with
its crippled economy after the great depression. Germany was devastated after the
First World War, and the great depression in 1930 was the last nail in the coffin.
Unemployment was high, and the economy was in shambles. This was the scene for the
Beetle. Amidst political turmoil, economic collapse and war, the car was conceived.
The political situation paved the way for creating a genre of automobiles that was
more accessible to the people. It is important to note that Hitler did not have
complete power in the early 1930s, so he wanted to prove to the German people that
he wanted to make Germany great again by revamping the economy. So in April 1934,
Adolf Hitler gave the order to Ferdinand Porsche to develop a ‘Volkswagen’, which
literally meant peoples car. However, this was more of a political move for Hitler
to boost the German economy, so that he could create millions of jobs in the
manufacturing industry. He intended to reverse Germany’s poor economy by creating
infrastructure projects which would require a lot of labor (hence jobs), machinery
and resources. And for Hitler, his plan worked.<argument type="main">He used Kairos
to perfectly time his project. By definition, Kairos <citation>“a time when
conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action, the
opportune and decisive moment”</citation> (Merriam-Webster dictionary).
Hitler analyzed the scene and realized that if he proposed the idea at a
different time the people would not have supported him. The situation and scene
were ideal for the car to be successful.</argument> Hitler saw the opportunity
and timing, and decided that such a project would work wonders. Post war Germans had
little money to spend on cars, and hence many could afford the affordable Beetle
(costing 900 Marks). The car played a crucial role in the economic setting and sold
in the millions that gave Germany the economic stability it needed, drastically
improving the economic scene and situation for the country. These results
corresponded with the situation the preceded it. In this complex political mess, the
idea of reaching out to the people with an affordable car seemed to be the most
appropriate response. </bodyPara>
<bodyPara>Perhaps a different perspective would be the cultural impact in the
international setting of the Beetle, focusing on its impact in the US. To analyze
the interaction of genres (uptake), it is important to represent the context and
tone of the era. In the US, the Beetle was famously associated with the hippie
movement and surf culture. Because of its unique design and low price, it was truly
a car for the masses. The media often portrayed the car in a good light, and the
lemon advertisement was a fitting representation of the setting. The advertisement
talks about the stringent quality checks in Volkswagen, and then says <citation>“we
pick the lemons, you get the plums.”</citation> This is an important quote
because it presents an interesting rhetorical situation. In the 60s, people were
interested in thinking big. <argument type="supporting ">The American dream in the
1960s setting led people to believe that bigger is better, so people strived for
big houses and big, ostentatious cars like Cadillacs. Volkswagen intended to
compete with that mindset with a different tone. Volkswagen wanted people to
think small, to think Beetle. The lemon advertisement reflected the practical
and affordable persona that the Beetle represented.</argument> However, it was
also a social statement, for those who could afford it in third world nations. For example, in
India the Beetle was seen as a luxury vehicle, but in the U.S. it was seen as a
symbol of German practicality over American decadence. This presented another
interesting rhetorical situation. In the Indian context the car was seen as a
representation of wealth, but in the global market it was seen as a cultural and
artistic icon. It reflected the situation of the time. It featured in movies,
paintings, music and other forms of media. Cars were spray painted with psychedelic
designs, which created a new subgenre of street art. Spray painting was seen as a
rebellious symbol for the hippies, and the car played a vital role in the genre of
cultural expression. For example, used Beetles and Kombis (a VW Van) were
transformed. The bland black and white colours were repainted with bold and bright
colours, with psychedelic designs. Some cars even had slogans and murals. Hippies
were known for their anti Vietnam War campagin, and they painted anti war messages
on the car. Their interiors were upgraded too, with funky designs and colours.</bodyPara>
<concl>
<p>In conclusion, by analyzing the interaction of genres (historical, economic and
cultural) we can understand that the Volkswagen Beetle is truly an iconic car
that has affected the lives of many people. Its birth from a political situation
gave rise to multiple genres that in many ways shaped the way we look at motor
cars today. In a nutshell, the Beetle's incredible flexibility gave rise to
interesting rhetorical situations, and created the genres analysed in this
essay. Born from Hitler’s political intentions, the car consistently transformed
its persona starting from an affordable runabout, to a blank canvas adored by
artists and enthusiasts. with ongoing situational changes and redefined the
genre of automotive production.</p>
</concl>
</body>
<docFoot>
<title>Works Cited</title>
<listBibl>
<bibl>"A Brief History of the Beetle." - VW Type 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2016. </bibl>
<bibl>"Ad Analysis: Volkswagen Think Small (Major Essay 2)." Connorjv2. Naydan, 05
Dec. 2013. Web. 9 Oct. 2016. </bibl>
</listBibl>
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</essay>
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