One Small Step Leads to Many Big Reactions The moon landing of the space mission Apollo 11 in 1969 was one of humanity’s most prodigious achievements. This event affected every single person in the world, from the children watching on their black and white televisions, imagining a galactic future, to the presidents watching on secure channels, postponing an atomic war. Four media outlets handled the event in different ways. The Times of London, in an un-credited news article, focuses on the facts of the day and the reactions of world leaders. In Event of Moon Disaster, by William Safire, displays the heartbreak of the nation in a presidential speech that would have been given if the astronauts had died rather than achieved success. Ayn
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Speaking in the voice of the people who were there, the Times uses specific details to engage the reader’s imagination, such as the fact that there were “nine rungs” on the lunar module’s ladder. The Times also uses the words of the astronauts themselves to make the reader feel as if they were listening in on the radio transmissions: Buzz Aldrin’s first words from the moon, “Tranquility base. The Eagle has landed” as well as Neil Armstrong’s now famous “that’s one small step for man but one giant leap for …show more content…
Their ability to speak to these individuals allows the reader to experience a multicultural reaction to the moon landing. The Times quotes men as prestigious as the pope, who declaims, “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will!” as well as the lesser-known director of the Jodrell Bank observatory, Sir Bernard Lovell: “This moment of touchdown was one of the moments of greatest drama in the history of man.” The range and quality of the responses from the world’s greatest leaders shows the Times’ commitment to portraying the event in the most holistic way possible. To avoid bias, they note the reaction of the president of the United States, as well as the response from the greatest political enemy of the United States at the time: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The “space race” was a direct competition between the United States and the USSR; with the Soviets putting the first man into space, the US knew the moon would be the ultimate conquest. The fact that the Times elucidates both reactions, capitalist and communist, shows their commitment to
Speaking in the voice of the people who were there, the Times uses specific details to engage the reader’s imagination, such as the fact that there were “nine rungs” on the lunar module’s ladder. The Times also uses the words of the astronauts themselves to make the reader feel as if they were listening in on the radio transmissions: Buzz Aldrin’s first words from the moon, “Tranquility base. The Eagle has landed” as well as Neil Armstrong’s now famous “that’s one small step for man but one giant leap for …show more content…
Their ability to speak to these individuals allows the reader to experience a multicultural reaction to the moon landing. The Times quotes men as prestigious as the pope, who declaims, “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will!” as well as the lesser-known director of the Jodrell Bank observatory, Sir Bernard Lovell: “This moment of touchdown was one of the moments of greatest drama in the history of man.” The range and quality of the responses from the world’s greatest leaders shows the Times’ commitment to portraying the event in the most holistic way possible. To avoid bias, they note the reaction of the president of the United States, as well as the response from the greatest political enemy of the United States at the time: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The “space race” was a direct competition between the United States and the USSR; with the Soviets putting the first man into space, the US knew the moon would be the ultimate conquest. The fact that the Times elucidates both reactions, capitalist and communist, shows their commitment to