Saturday, October 3, 2015

Analyzing Rhetorical Strategies in "Natalie Portman, excellent special effect?"

In this post, I will be analyzing and sharing examples of rhetorical strategies in the article "Natalie Portman, excellent special effect?"
Aquino, Christopher. "Black Swan movie poster." 10/3/15 via flickr. Fair Use.


Appeals to Credibility or Character
  • Which items on the bulleted list of "Appeals to Credibility and Character (Ethos)" on page 182 can you recognize in your text?
- references credible sources 
" The brave new world of digital effects that movie ushered in was described recently by David Denby in The New Yorker:"

- has an elevated word choice 
"snarling death mask" "another level of centrifugal force" "Hollywood's acting style du jour"

- acknowledges counterarguments 
"Today's actors have definitely found a way of adding pleasure to the awesomeness" 

- appeals to the values of the audience 
"What price your dedication to performance, if the only person you end up playing with is yourself?"

  • How and why would the author(s) use these strategies?
Shone uses these strategies to connect with the emotional experience that people have when watching films. The industry is all about making audiences feel something, and Shone seeks to use this emotion to make his argument seem valid.


  • How do these strategies affect the audience’s perception of the author's/authors' credibility and character?
Elevated tone makes the author seem incredibly knowledgeable and rational. Regardless of his credentials, it makes readers feel as though he is an expert in his field.


  • How does the use of these strategies impact the effectiveness of the text’s overall message?
Due to the effective use of credibility appeals, the text is incredibly effective. The audience trusts the authors opinion because they trust in his expertise.



  • Does/do the author(s) seem to have any biases or assumptions that might impact their credibility?
The one major flaw in his reasoning is that he assumes the audience to value his definition of acting over CGI enhancement. This is a very personal opinion that could be taken either positively or negatively by readers.



Appeals to Emotion
  • Which items on the bulleted list of "Appeals to Emotion (Pathos)" on pages 182-3 can you recognize in your text?
-repetition of key words 
"CGI" "special effects" "great acting"

-humor
"'The posters might as well read "Come see Natalie Portman earn her Oscar."' " which should serve as a warning to all the Mickey Mouse Club refugees who will doubtless follow in Portman's footsteps" "You give us exploding planets, we give you a ballooning Robert De Niro"

  • What emotional responses is the author attempting to create?
The author is lighthearted with the article because he mentions movies that are classics to many. Insulting a person's favorite movie is not a way to get them on your side, and Shone recognizes this.


  • What is the actual result?
Some of his jokes sound a little cruel to those that admire what he's poking fun at. It seems as though he is degrading the movie because it centers around a physical change that is drastic.


  • Are these emotions effective or ineffective for this particular audience and rhetorical situation?
Since the audience is generally movie buffs, I think that the authors emotional approach is a bit off. His caustic humor towards some of the classic movies may turn many off of his arguement.


  • How do these emotional appeals affect the credibility of the author(s) or the logic of the text?
The repetition of key words like "great acting" affect the logic of the text because it makes readers start to question what that term actually means. His constant reference to this idea strengthens his argument that technology can not take the place of real human-centered acting.


Appeals to Logic
  • Which items on the bulleted list of "Appeals to Logic or Rational Decision Making (Logos)" on page 183 can you recognize in your text?
-expert opinions
 "By the end it became evident that much of Raging Bull exists because of the possibilities it offers De Niro to display his own explosive art," wrote Richard Corliss in Time, although precisely whatexplosive art he was displaying was another question. "What De Niro does in this film isn't acting, exactly," wrote Pauline Kael in The New Yorker. "Though it may at some level be awesome, it definitely isn't pleasurable."

-arrangement of text for sequence
"During last year's debate" "Movie stars had transformed for their roles before"

-effective organization
  • What response is the author attempting to create by employing these strategies?
By making his text clear and easy to follow, as well as creating a history of film making and transformation along the way, Shone attempts to make his argument seem valid and logical. People are much more likely to agree with something that is well mapped out and adequately supported.


  • What is the actual result?
The audience does feel that the article is well supported due to the amount of evidence and the clean formatting of the information.


  • Are these strategies effective or ineffective for this particular audience and rhetorical situation?
This is extremely effective for the audience/rhetorical situation, because if someone is going to make a grand statement about the film business, they need to have plenty of popular examples to make their point.



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Reflection:
I found it interesting that in Clay and Annelise's posts all categories of rhetorical strategy were present in some way. This showed me that, no matter the subject matter, every author uses a mix of ethos, pathos, and logos to convince others of his/her argument. I feel that my post is just as developed as that of my peers, and I think that the strength in mine is that I address all of the bullets present in the piece when discussing the questions at the end. In reading the posts of my peers, I found the disconnect between what the author intends and what the reader gets is almost comical at times. I think that this is due to the authors inability to look at his/her own work objectively.

1 comment:

  1. Overall, your analysis is awesome! One thing I noticed was that under effective organization, you didn't really explain or illustrate what their organization method was.This is the only issue that I found with your analysis, keep up the good work!

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