Rhetorical Analysis Of Maquilapolis

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Look down at your shoes, shirt, or pants; all these products you use everyday have a high chance they were produced in Maquiladoras located in Mexico. These Maquiladoras provide cheap labor for big name companies, which provides inexpensive products for the consumers. In consequence of the cheap labor, the workers and residents that live near these Maquiladoras are negatively impacted everyday. The film Maquilapolis is arguing that the practices of Maquiladoras are unethical and inhumane. The clip 0:26:00-0:29:00 of the film argues that the pollution and waste created from the Maquiladoras come with negative consequences for the workers and nearby residents. The film supports their argument through the use of expert testimony, juxtaposition …show more content…

In the beginning of the clip, the speaker describes the birth defects children are born with due to the exposure of the pollution created by the Maquiladoras. For instance, the speaker discusses children being born with hydrocephalus, which results in them having to put a shunt in the brain. While discussing hydrocephalus the film cuts to the scene of a little girl playing in the polluted waste water. Showing this scene while discussing hydrocephalus appeals to the audience’s emotions. The audience feels a sense of sympathy and grief for the children with birth defects. The audience’s logic understands that it is not at all the children’s fault for being born with these defects, and it is something that can be preventable if the Maquiladoras took better waste disposal actions. Showing the little girl playing in the polluted water also appeals to the audience’s emotion of guilt and shame. A majority of the products being produced in these Maquiladoras are items U.S consumers use on an everyday basis. Since Maquiladoras negatively affect these children’s lives, it creates the audience to feel guilty for using these products that were produced in the Maquiladoras. Furthermore, ethos is being established through visual elements. In 0:27:26 Madgalena Cerda is introduced with a title in bright orange text on the screen. The visual elements of the text give her credibility since they state the environmental organization she works with. In 0:29:04 the film shows a San Diego newspaper article of the owner of Metales y Derivados not wanting to clean up the toxic mess created by his company. The newspaper article proves that the film’s credibility and facts being stated in the film are valid and

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