Film Elements for Visual Rhetorical Analysis For my assignment four visual rhetorical analysis I choose the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. My thesis is this paper will analyze the directors use of ethos, logos, pathos to reach his intended audience. Rhetorical appeals that I plan to use in my paper include ethos, logos, and pathos. I believe I have enough information for all three and that it will help me support my thesis. For ethos, I can write about how he was the vice president of the United States for 7 years and that he is a very well known politician. For logos, I can write about how he uses real events such as hurricane Katrina, different graphs, pictures, and animations, and all the different places of the world he mentions and
In today’s society, we are exposed to countless amounts of compositions such as novels and films. However, when an individual reads a book or watches a movie, they subconsciously create connections to the plot as they relate it to their own lives. After the movie is completely watched one is able to sit down and ask himself, “Did I like that movie?” While an average person could give a simple yes or no answer, a professional in the field of reviewing movies and novels knows that the quality of the movie is directly related to its rhetorical effectiveness. If one were to attempt an analysis of a film or book’s rhetorical effectiveness, they would need to reference what is called the “Rhetoric Triangle” which is comprised of Ethos, Logos and Pathos. These three devices can be classified as tools for persuasion, thus, a great piece of work will have each of these tools. An excellent example of a novel that successfully incorporates each of these forms of rhetoric is titled The Lightning Thief and was written by Rick Riordan and published in 2005. Riordan made this book so successful through his vivid portrayal of a Greek mythological world hiding within reality all across America. The written genre of The Lightning Thief provided the foundation for Chris Columbus to create film adaptation of the novel in 2010. Chris Columbus’ film representation of the novel The Lightning Thief (2005), while proving to be disappointing in regards to the plot when compared to the novel, both representations were able to clearly create connections to Aristotle’s three ingredients for persuasion: Ethos, Logos and Pathos.
Furthermore, a rhetorical analysis shows/exposes to the varying degrees, the success Mooney had with balancing the rhetorical strategies of logos, ethos and pathos.
In the “180” movie Ray Comfort outstandingly used rhetorical appeal throughout his argument in a thorough way to further grasp his audience’s attention. He used pathos, ethos, and logos during the course of his dispute of abortion and the Holocaust. Comfort uses pathos more frequently than the other two appeals, to plea to the audience’s heart strings. An example of when pathos was used was when
Effectively communicating an idea or opinion requires several language techniques. In his study of rhetoric, Aristotle found that persuasion was established through three fundamental tools. One is logos, which is used to support an argument through hard data and statistics. Another is ethos, which is the credibility of an author or speaker that allows an audience to conclude from background information and language selection a sense of knowledge and expertise of the person presenting the argument. The impact of pathos, however, is the most effective tool in persuasion due to the link between emotions and decisions. Although each of these tools can be effective individually, a combination of rhetorical devices when used appropriately has the ability to sway an audience toward the writer’s point of view.
Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, who initially came up with the three different sections of rhetorical appeals and the act of persuasion. The three appeals include ethos, logos and pathos, all three different means of persuasion. Michael Moore’s, Capitalism: A Love Story will be used and examples will be taken from throughout the movie to analyze his rhetorical techniques when reaching out to the audience. Examples from “The Qualities of the Prince” by Niccoló Machiavelli will also be analyzed for the three appeals. Moore’s movie relates exactly to the rhetorical appeals because he is persuading the readers to realize all the corrupt and unjust happenings that are going on all around us without even knowing it. He is trying to explain to the readers that it is going on everywhere and steps to educate their selves to gain awareness in the corruption of America. His video shows many examples of the “behind the scenes” into the political world and cites all the events back to how and why it is ruining our country and what we can do to prevent and/or help the cause. Machiavelli’s piece also was a form of persuasion and rhetoric’s, using all three appeals as well. “The Qualities of the Prince” is a piece by Machiavelli in which he is trying to explain how a prince should act and what traits they should possess to be a successful leader. Machiavelli is using the rhetoric appeals and explaining his experiences through which he has learned what it takes to be a great prince.
Moore uses a great deal of data and logos strategies to alarm the reader. Michael Moore’s overall essay is based on his pathos arguments. He is highly irritated and in disbelief of the education system. The author uses one of the most common and easy to read strategy. First, he makes a logo standpoint and then supports his argument with pathos. He does this so that the reader is engaged and taken aback by his logo argument then is in agreement with his pathos argument that follows.
This photograph, taken in 1967 in the heart of the Vietnam War Protests, depicts different ideologies about how problems can be solved. In the picture, which narrowly missed winning the Pulitzer Prize, a teen is seen poking carnations into the barrels of guns held by members of the US National Guard. This moment, captured by photographer Bernie Boston symbolizes the flower power movement. Flower power is a phrase that referred to the hippie notion of “make love not war”, and the idea that love and nonviolence, such as the growing of flowers, was a better way to heal the world than continued focus on capitalism and wars. The photograph can be analyzed through the elements of image as defined by ‘The Little Brown Handbook’ on page 86. There are a total of nine elements that contribute to the communicative quality of an image. The message that this particular image tries to convey is the strong sense of way that conflict should be handled; by way of guns or by way of flowers. The ‘way of guns’ is violence and excessive force which heavily contradicts the ‘way of flowers’ which is a more peaceful and diplomatic way of handling conflict or disagreement. This photograph depicts these ideologies through its use of emphasis, narration,point of view, arrangement, color, characterization, context and tension.
Though rhetoric is an art, and though effective rhetoric demands attention to style, timing, and knowledge, there are other elements that require attention. There are numerous ethical and emotional dimensions that function within rhetoric. These dimensions are immeasurably important, particularly given the epistemological and relativistic nature of rhetoric.
...n a way that allows for analysis and interpretation of our society’s beginnings. The evidence presented builds a foundation for present-day societal practices and beliefs. Rhetorical devices involve the viewer more directly with the story and help to convince that this point of view is accurate and superior to other interpretations of events. The goal of non-fiction documentaries, according to Nichols, is to “instill belief. This is what aligns documentary with the rhetorical tradition, in which eloquence serves as a social as well as aesthetic purpose. We take not only pleasure from documentary, but direction as well” (2). Greeks argues on behalf of the Athenians, using historical evidence to present their side of the story, contending for the viewer’s belief. It provides us with information from the past, relating to the present, that could help us in the future.
In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman, the author utilizes repetition to showcase the growing frustration of the main character towards her husband’s ineffective treatment. Gilman repetitively asks herself “But what is one to do?” Her repetitive questioning conveys to the reader that the treatment that her husband is giving her for her illness is obviously not working. In reality, her husband is unable to figure out what she has and he only puts her in isolation to hope she gets better. This puts an emphasis on the growing frustration the main character is feeling; she knowns that the treatment is not working and she knows her situation is only getting worse. She is frustrated at this, which is evident through her questioning.
Visual rhetoric is the ”persuasive power of images that shapes our impressions and understanding of events” (Ramage, et al. 57). It is tough to guide a reader’s mind into the circumstances that we expect to with simple words, so we need to use some techniques to attract audiences’ eyes. For instance, a strong thesis statement can surprise readers easily and even change their views of our subject, so it is necessary for us to imagine how the audiences would view the subject before reading our articles.
The first rhetorical device that Amy Chua uses that is effective is logos. “Logos is a statement, sentence or argument used to convince or persuade the targeted audience by employing reason or logic.” Amy Chua uses statistics and
Visual rhetoric can be very powerful in today’s digital world. It is seen in advertisement persuading people to buy goods and services. It is seen urging the public to right wrongs in society. It is even seen bringing to light issues society may not be aware of. Crisis Relief Singapore is an organization located in Singapore to help soften the blow of war and natural disasters. In their advertisement, they urge people that, “Liking isn’t helping”, with a woman who is holding her seemingly dying child. Around her, a large group of people are holding up their thumbs in a “like” position. Using powerful imagery, rhetoric, and lighting and coloring, the advertisement provides a powerful message that is easily seen by the intended audience.
Fried, Gregory. "True Pictures." Understanding Rhetoric. A Graphic Guide to Writing. The Basics. Visual Rhetoric. Readings. Ed. Dore Ripley. Pleasant Hill: DVC, 2013. 91-93. Print.
The purpose of this memo is to reflect on and contemplate my learning experiences this semester. I am classified as a junior and am majoring in psychology and minoring in legal studies. Rhetorical Criticism was one of the elective options to fulfill the communication requirement for my legal studies program. I chose to enroll in this course, instead of the other elective choices, with the intention of improving my ability to analyze rhetorical strategies and develop persuasion techniques.