Overview
This week, you began learning about Aristotle's rhetoric, focusing primarily on the rhetorical situation and rhetorical modes. By the end of this week, you'll be writing your first rhetorical analysis essay, and this discussion post should be good practice.
So, for this week's discussion post, we will put our discussion of rhetoric to use. First, watch the few videos I've shared below, all of which are short ads or commercials:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSn2L9nbW2A
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2T-Rh838GA
- https://youtu.be/UYaY2Kb_PKI?si=0xsnhmEuMPFvkSY5
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY-GgzZKxUQ
As you watch these, take note of which ad you think is making the strongest argument. Also, try to figure out the following: What is the primary argument of this ad/commercial? What makes you think that? Is the argument effective? Why or why not? Who is the target audience? How do you know? What are examples of pathos? Ethos? Logos? (All three modes of rhetorical are used in all three commercials.)
Then, write a discussion post wherein you try to answer those questions about one of the videos, citing specific examples from the video, to the best of your ability. In other words, rhetorically analyze one of these videos.
Finally, offer a paragraph-long response to the arguments being made in the commercial--and, perhaps, even to the context of the commercial itself (who created it, where/when it originally aired, etc.). Why or why didn't you find the argument to be compelling? What rhetorical mode was most effective for you as a view, if any, and why do you think that is?