Rhetoric

The king of rhetoric: John Stewart

John Stewart has a show on comedy central called, The Daily Show with John Stewart. On his show he talks about issues that occur daily whether it be about scandals, news reports, or the election, he always has something to say. He finds any situation possible and is able to find the available arguments necessary to tackle the situation, thats why I call him the King of rhetoric.

Today, I want to talk about a specific episode of John Stewart's show. 

This is a scandal my fellow penn staters are very familiar, but then again, this is a scandal that is very familiar to many people since it made the headline news. What John Stewart does is take a situation and uses rhetoric in a comedic approach. 

In the beginning he mentions on the witness who walked in on Sandusky raping a child, and he says in a comedic light: 1) the person could have stopped it and called the police or option 2) the person could have called the police to stop it. In both cases, it could have been stopped. This was an excellent way of approaching the situation, he was not pointing fingers he went around it by using rhetoric through comedy. He continues to go on with the scandal, and again, he does not point fingers, he simply uses comedic rhetoric to express how he feels about any given situation.

Moving on from this episode, now that the republican primaries are going on, John Stewart is also exercising his use of rhetoric by not being biased to one party. He is very skillful in how he presents his exigence.

Another T.V. show that I think does an excellent job of using rhetoric is SNL. Just the other night SNL did a skit about Newt Gingrich and his "moon colony". SNL made a joke about something serious that Gingrich keeps talking about. It was hilarious

I think there are many shows that have been entertaining us for years that simply use comedic rhetoric. 

Wheres my water?

Yes, this is a Disney App, but I LOVE IT! I am absolutely obsessed with my new purchase. I purchased it the other night and have been playing it ever since. Now you're probably wondering how does this have to do with rhetoric? Well, just today, I tried persuading my roommate to get it. I was using rhetoric and I didn't even realize until she said "Jeez, Karen. Relax. I'll get it, but you sound like a commercial." 

Then it hit me. Everything that I had just learned about commercials and their arrangement, appeal, style, purpose, and argument; I was using. 

I started asking myself, how did I come off as a commercial? Then, I thought back to the three specific conversations I had with my roommate, Anna, today. 

Conversation 1: 

Me: Anna! When you get the iPhone over spring break the first app you have to download is Where's My Water! 

Anna: What is it?

Me: Its a Disney app--a disney app? Yes, a Disney app. 

Anna: Uh..I don't know its probably an app for a fourth grader 

Me: Fine, your no fun.

As I went about my day, I continued to play my game in all the crazy levels it contains. 

Conversation 2:

Anna: How was class?

Me: Silence..

Anna: ..Karen 

Me: Oh! Sorry I didn't hear you. I've been trying to beat this level since my first class today 

Anna: Let me see 

Me: This is the alligator that needs the water. The green slime breaks through the dirt quickly so I have to find a way around that. Oh and this purple lava can take over the water! 

Anna: Hmm..Try This!

Even with her help, still I couldn't pass it. 

Conversation 3: 

Me: YES!!

Anna: What happened?

Me: I finally beat the level!

Anna: Can I try the next one?

Me: A-ha, and you said this was a game for children. . .you goon.

You can distinctly see the progression as I am persuading her just like a commercial would do an audience. I begin by simply mentioning the product (Wheres My Water). By me just mentioning some information about the App, in this case, just the name, it was perfectly planted in her memory. Then I moved on and talked about specifics of the app, like how it works, and what you have to do. She instantly engaged in the conversation by saying "hmm, try this!" Lastly, when I expressed excitement about the app and my accomplishment, she strayed from her original opinion of the app and asked to play. She was hooked!

Simple rhetoric at its best.

Valentine's Day

http://www.annehelenpetersen.com/?cat=5

If your married with kids, this is a day to dress your child up with red and re-read the Valentine's day cards they received at school. 

If your married, this is a day for a candle light dinner with your husband. 

If you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, this is a day to spend time with them, treating each other to a wonderful day together

If your single, this is a day to spend with family.

Regardless what your relationship status may be, Valentine's Day is a situation made for exigence. 

Some may be ready to tell the one they have been dating for five years, for their hand in marriage. Others, may be scared to tell the one they have been with for a year, that they love them for the first time. 

Most people are able to say what they have to say with a flower, chocolate, a ring, or with the three words; "I love you" 

Whatever you say, it must be said before the special day is over! Thats 24 hours too short. 

However, some miss this opportunity of exigence for love, and this is how we end up with our love stories and songs.

Below, are some examples of love songs where those in love, missed their chance. 

"If we ever meet again, I'll have so much more to say" - This is from Timbaland's song, If we ever meet again. A perfect example, of how someone might have not said what they needed to say and now that person is gone.

"I get so many things that I wanna say to you, I guess this mean that I'm missing you" - This is from The Black Eyed Peas "Alive" song. Which is about, no other than, a boy missing his girlfriend because he never told her how he felt. 

There you have it, Valentine's Day is a perfect day excuse to tell someone you love them!  

Black Mamba

When someone says Kobe Bryant, most people know of him. Whether it be from his incrediable basketball career in the NBA, or from his infamous sexual assault case, the fact is, you know his name, and you recognize his face.

google.com/images

And there it is. The million dollar face of Kobe Bryant. He has been and is the face of many products. Products such as Mcdonalds, Sprite, and Nike.

google.com/images

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyXzzxB0wqs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wTkjxz3bnk

He appears in each one of the ads above. However, have you heard of the black mamba? The Black Mamba is the longest and most venemous snake in Africa. Some of you who read the title of this post knew instantly who "The Black Mamba" is referring to. But if you didn't,  "The Black Mamba", is the one and only, Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant gave himself this nick name because of the way he "attacks" the other players on the court. However, this nick name has transended into an amazing form of Ethos. 

Kobe got the attention of Nike with the nick name he coined, and ultimately created an entire  short film, clothing line, and products.

Nike ended up launching the "Black Mamba" worldwide. 

http://wsuent.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/the-new-black-mamba-shoe/

These are sneakers apart of the collection. They have "Black Mamba" imprinted on the tip of each shoe.

http://theshoegame.com/articles/the-black-mamba-invades-nike-beijing.html

This is a photo taken of the black mamba snake in a nike store in Beijing. 

What is interesting to me (and hopefully you) is that in the Beijing store there wasn't a picture of Kobe himself presented to promote the brand, just the snake. Also, on the sneakers, it does not say "Kobe Bryant" on the tip, rather it says, "Black Mamba". 

I think this is an interesting approach to appeal when it comes to ethos. They are using solely the image of the snake itself rather than Kobe Bryant. For those who walk in the Nike store and simply see the snake, might say "WOW, sweet, a Black Mamba snake thats Nikes' new line." They have no background that the new Nike line is in fact Kobe Bryants. 

On the other hand, for those who use the nick name interchangeably with Kobe Bryant, know who the brand/product is appealing to and why the "Black Mamba" (Kobe Bryant) is a credible figure to be endorsing Nike sport clothing, shoes, etc. 

What do you think? 

Persuasion

I watched this episode last night and I thought it would be a perfect example to show effective use of persuasion.

In the beginning Phoebe explains to Ross that she doesn't believe in evolution, Ross is baffled. Throughout the clip Ross explains his argument of why Phoebe should believe in evolution, backing it up with factual information. This is a technique most useful in trying to persuade an audience. Supporting your beliefs with factual information will give your audience a moment of clarity, "Oh, this is not only she/his belief, it is actually proven."

Phoebe persists on her beliefs. Frustrated, Ross tries a different approach and brings in visual aids. While Ross is still trying to convince Phoebe that evolution is real, he now engages her to use her sight to see fossils that prove evolution. Using visual aids can also be helpful when trying to persuade an audience. Sure mentioning the facts has an impact, but, when an audience is shown a graph, photo, or artifact of proof, you have successfully engaged two of their senses, hearing and seeing. Phoebe is shocked and admits she didn't know you could see the work of evolution on fossils. However, she continues to stand by her view.

Even more frustrated than before, Ross uses a current example of evolution; opposable thumbs. This is another effective way to persuade your audience. Drawing in current events or in this case a current use of thumbs brought on by evolution, allowed Phoebe to relate. If the audience is able to relate to your beliefs, they can better understand your point.

Ross is beyond fed up and brings in a brief case full of scientific facts. Presents it to Phoebe, and Phoebe is not buying it. This is the amazing part. Phoebe takes Ross' argument and flips it on him. She makes him question his own beliefs by implicating her beliefs on him. Phoebe ask Ross, "Is there any chance you could be wrong?" And Ross uses that one ounce of doubt that he could be wrong and disregards everything he was trying to persuade Phoebe on. What Ross tried to accomplish in a matter of days, Phoebe accomplishes in a minute. This is a great way to show that you need to stick to your belief in order to persuade others.