Rhetorical Criticism: Spring 2018

For this posting I will be analyzing the movement “March For Our Lives,” where on March 24th there were rally’s protesting guns all across America. Below are some images from the rally’s.

According to the Pentad, here is how this event would be viewed.

Agent: People who want there to be striker gun laws. School children, teachers, young women, American Citizens, men, and many more groups of people.

Act: Peacefully chanting, holding signs, walking, hosting speakers, speeches, gathering in masses near parliament buildings, having petitions and more.

Purpose: to raise awareness about the lack of gun control in America, and how this can effect school children.

Agency: Using the Florida shooting massacre on February 14th, 2018, as an event to evoke emotion and change in American Citizens.

Scene: Rally’s all over America, and North America. The most notable and numerous one was in Washington D.C.

The Dominant Term of these rally’s and this movement was when Emma Gonzalaz gave her speech in Washington D.C to promote restrictions on guns in schools, and with people under the age of 21.

One Ratio that can be discussed  in this Pentand is that between Act and Purpose. It is intriguing that to achieve change in government the only thing school children, teenagers, and teachers can do it protest peacefully. It is interesting that there is not  citizen vote on the matter, or disclosure of information as to why these laws continue to remain the same. It is worth considering that protesting is the most effective form of resistance and yet is it really making a change?

Another Ratio that can be considered is that between Agency and Act. It is ironic that something so violent is fought back with something so peaceful. It is interesting how this violence continues to occur and all we can do is again host rally’s and protests, with nothing else being done. Soon, perhaps the people that want a change will resort to more drastic measures.

*******For my secondary analysis paper I wish to expand on my first paper using metaphoric criticism. I want to discuss why Judge Antiquella’s speech is effective in terms of her exact comparisons*************

1. I am doing my metaphoric analysis on the motivational speech “The Grind.” I have listened to this speech a multitude of times to inspire myself in athletics, and I have shown this video to inspire others. I think that it is so inspirational because of the poetic language and resonant word choice throughout.

Link:

Transcription:

Rise and shine: 6am and your hand can’t make it to the alarm clock before the voices in your head start telling you it’s too early, too dark and too cold to get out of bed. Aching muscles lie still in rebellion pretending not to hear your brain commanding them to move. A legion of voices are giving you permission to hit the snooze button and go back to dream land.

But you didn’t ask their opinion.

The voice you chose to listen to is one of defiance. A voice that says there was a reason why you set that alarm in the first place. So sit up, put your feet on the floor and don’t look back because we’ve got work to do. Welcome to the grind.

For what is each day but a series of conflicts between the right way and the easy way. 10,000 streams span out like a river delta before you each one promising the path of least resistance. The thing is you’re headed upstream. And when you make that choice and you decide to turn your back on whats comfortable, safe, and what some would call common sense, well that’s day 1. From there it only gets tougher. So just make sure this is something you want because the easy way out will always be there ready to wash you away. All you have to do is pick up your feet.

But you aren’t going to are you? With each step comes the decision to take another. You are on your way now but this is no time to dwell on how far you have come. You are in a fight against an opponent you cant see but oh you can feel them on your heels can’t you, feel them breathing down your neck. You know who that is? That’s you. Your fears, doubts and insecurities lined up like a firing squad ready to shoot you out of the sky. But don’t loose heart. While they aren’t easily defeated they are far from invincible. Remember this is the grind. The battle royal between you and your mind, your body and the devil on your shoulder who is telling you this is just a game, this is just a waste of time, your opponent are stronger than you.

Drown out the voice of uncertainty with the sound of your own heart beat. Burn away your self doubt with the fire underneath you. Remember what we are fighting for and never forget momentum is a cruel mistress. She can turn on the dime with the smallest mistake. She is always searching for the weak place in your armor; the one little thing you forgot to prepare for.

So as long as the devil is hiding the details, the question remains is that all you got? Are you sure? And when answer is yes and you have done all you can to prepare yourself for battle then it’t time to go forth and boldly face your enemy. The enemy within.

Only now you must take that fight into the open, into hostile territory. You are a lion in a field of lions all hunting the same elusive pray with a desperate starvation that says victory is the only thing that can keep you alive. So believe that voice that says you can run a little faster, you can run a little harder, and that to you the laws of physics are merely a suggestion.

“Nobody can judge effort. Because effort is between you and you.Everyday is a new day. And every moment is a new moment. So now you got to show them you are a different creature than you were five minutes ago.”

So rise and shine.

2.  The extended metaphor of the stream is one of the most effective throughout the speech, because of its explicit nature: “For what is each day but a series of conflicts between the right way and the easy way. 10,000 streams span out like a river delta before you each one promising the path of least resistance.” It is explicit in that it presents the idea that we must choose to do what is easy, and what is right. However, this statement is also implicit in that it suggests many people choose the easy way, using the river delta comparison.

3. An example of a vehicle and tenor in this speech can be found in the comparison “momentum is a cruel mistress.” In this situation momentum is the vehicle because it is what is being compared and discussed, and a cruel mistress is the tenor. Or, what momentum is being compared to on a secondary poetic level.

4. I think in this speech there are many metaphors and comparisons used but overall the narrator is using hostile predatory language to vocalize  that the athletic, intellectual, every-day grind is the battle of most resistance. That is the overarching metaphor that I am reading from this speech.

1. The selected artifact I will be discussing falls under the category of print materials from a particular campaign. This is technically a political controversy, as Canada’s current prime minister (Justin Trudeau) and his family visit India. Instead of acting as a typical Canadian family, they decided to adopt Indian customs into their visit. Many Canadian citizens found this act embarrassing, and unorthodox. I will discuss the implications of this action and viral print images.

2) a. Presented Elements these are the basic, obvious messages that the photos are portraying. For these pictures it is obvious that:

• Justin is in India.
• They are not in Canada.
• He is with his family, wife and three kids
• He is not visibly Indian.
• He is wearing Indian clothes.
• There is no one from Indian decent that is encouraging this behavior.
• They are wearing something around their necks.
• They are adopting Indian customs of prayer.
• Justin is praying with his family.

b. Suggested Elements: these are not so obvious, sometimes opinion based observations that can be made from photos, and knowledge about the situation. They are inferences.

• Justin is being ignorant by wearing traditional Indian clothing, and not being Indian
• Justin is praying at an Indian mosque, although he is not part of the religion. This can be perceived as ignorant.
• Justin is not doing this by himself, his whole family is doing this. This is thus a larger scope of ignorance, since it is multiple adults who have committed this decision.
• Justin is embarrassing Canada by wearing this outfit, and acting in this way.
• Justin is simply emerging himself into Indian culture.
• Justin is trying his best as Canada’s prime minister to keep international trade at peace.
• Justin is wrecking international trade relationships.

3. This photo collage of Justin Trudeau’s trip to India creates a multifaceted ideology involving the controversy that it is potential ignorance of another culture, or simply international trade relationship building through circular actions. By analyzing the presented elements, and suggested elements, it becomes clear that there are two opposing sides to  Justin Trudeau’s actions, that both have detrimental effects on Canada as a country.

1. Find at least two artifacts that you feel might comprise of a genre

This is a trend occurring for TV channels everywhere: reality football. Primarily supported by Netflix, reality football started becoming popular after other, more feminine, reality shows became popular. Some of these shows are, for example: dance moms, pageant kids, the bachelor, the bachelorette, final five (gymnastics competitions), skin wars, and so forth. All of these pre-existing shows laid the ground work for this revolutionary ‘manly’ genre to occur. Reality football is sweeping the nation… but what traits do these shows hold? What commonalities to they really have?

Well, Here are a few artifacts I think have some similarities:

=

Last Chance U is a documentary series produced by Netflix. The series focuses on the football program at East Mississippi Community College. The title of the series refers to the fact that many of the players recruited to play at EMCC have been removed from Division I rosters due to academic or disciplinary issues, and playing at the junior college (JUCO) level is their “last chance” to prove themselves and return to Division I. This focuses on the coaching style, and the players.

Coach Snoop is a Netflix show about Snoop helping under privlidged children through athletics, because of his own rough upbringing. He created a football league for inner city children to keep them off the streets and out of trouble. This show follows his journey through the creation of this program.

Friday Night Tykes is a docuseries about youth beginning their journey through football. It is based in the cutthroat world of Texas football and demonstrates the demands that elite football players endure through a young age.

All of these shows have the following in common:

1. They are about Americas favourite past time! Football!
2. They have an aggressive coach.
3. There is adversity to over come.
   1. Parents.
   2. University.
   3. Being from the inner-city, and growing up poor.
4. There is an issue regarding race at some time or another.
5. There are wins, and there are losses
6. There are difficult teammates that have to be dealt with.
7. These shows are relatively in the same time period.
8. They are documentaries, meaning they are about real people
9. They are episodes (not movies, and they usually have more than one season)
10. Girls screw it up somehow (annoying, but a constant in this genre)

But what does this mean… 

To generic descriptive criticism, there is only one thing left to analyze, which is the viewer/audience:

This genre has gained popularity through its inspirational nature. It is a pathos appeal (to pull from Aristotle’s rhetoric) in that it uses true heart-wretching stories to captivate viewers. There is no doubt this genre is gaining popularity because of this. New shows are getting released monthly with the same theme: football and reality. The viewership is what makes this genre so interesting, often most viewers support it, but in turn other viewers find it disgusting that people invest this much of their lives into a sport, yet, they continue to watch the show!

Reality football is taking America by storm, but honestly, I’m more of a hockey fan…

#GoOilers

Word Count: 523

Rhetor

The rhetorician of my chosen speech is Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. She is a mother of 5, attorney, and judge in the case of Larry Nassar. She has brothers who are doctors, “dedicated to healing,” and thus has no sympathy for Nassar, as he has sexually assaulted over 150 young girls in medical practice. This speech from her is 23 min long, and discusses his full sentence and her thoughts on such.

Audience

The audience she is speaking in front of is whoever is in the court room: victims, Larry Nassar, police officers, other attorneys, and the press. Judge Aquilina knows the press will be releasing her statements to the world, so she is speaking to more than those just in the court room.  She does address the media in her speech, and says: “this story is not about me, it never was about me, I hope i’ve opened some doors.” She does not want to be the focus of this case.

Topic/Purpose

The topic of this speech is a call to action for why law enforcement had inaction on multiple accounts of sexual assault. It is also a call to action for young females to speak up. This speech thanks certain branches of law enforcement for working hard to get Nassar is jail, and many like Nassar. This speech is an inspirational notion for the #MeToo  movement, and encourages every woman to have a voice and be given the opportunity to speak up against their predators. Since mostly improvised, the topic of this speech waivers back and froth between the wrong doings of Nassar and what people can do to prevent sexual assault.

Context

January 24, 2018 Judge Aquilina spoke in court against Larry Nassar   for his final sentencing. She gives an impromptu speech for why Nassar will be sentenced to over a lifetime in prison with no bail or parol (175 years). Since his sexual assault of over 150 women, including women athletes, children, family friends, and so forth Judge Aquilina has made Nassar listen to every victim statement that wants to speak in court, a controversial move since it took over four full days of court room time. Women began to speak against Nassar during the #MeToo movement, and more and more emerged once Olympians began to speak out. Currently Nassar is in jail, and is also on trail for another account of child pornography.

“I just signed your death warrant” – Judge Aquilina

Hello everyone!

My name is Charleigh Kondas, and I am a senior English major here at Longwood University.

The purpose of this blog is to explore the foundations of the criticism of rhetoric, and all of the different theories the rhetoricians have come up with. Through these skills, I will begin to analyze text and speeches through a rhetorical lens, to further understand what the speaker is trying to persuade his/her audience to do, why there is a need for persuasion, and how effective the speaker is at persuading! Whew. 

I will be writing specifically about Neo-Aristotelian criticism, Generic criticism, Ideological criticism, Metaphor criticism, and Pentadic criticism! In that order! 

If you are a student at Longwood interested in studying rhetoric, or a student anywhere that wants to follow my journey in understanding the foundations of rhetoric, feel free to check out my posts. I will be posting bi-weekly, and whenever my professor (Dr. Elif Guler!!!!) requests me to.

I will try to relate this material to current events that interest me, to show how rhetoric can be used practically, in every day scenarios. There is something to be said about the rhetorical situation in mass media, and in controversy. I am interested in exploring how rhetoric works in this century.

My dream is to attend law school after my undergraduate degree, so rhetoric is something I am not only interested in, but very passionate about. The study of rhetoric can spark actual change in the world, which is what I intend to do.

That is it for now! Cya next time

~ Charleigh

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