Thank You for Arguing

Heinrichs shows us that rhetoric has been along ever since the founding of this country, and even before than in ancient Greece.  I believe it is very important to keep the spirit/teaching of rhetoric alive.  It is very important to know about rhetoric because advertisements and companies are using it all the time and if we are immune to it we can make our own choices about certain products or topics.  Without productive arguments this world could turn out to be a pretty boring place, and really not too much would get done.

How John Adams Used Rhetoric.

In the television show John Adams, we see John Adams trying to persuade the continental congress that a declaration for independence is the only way to go.  He uses storytelling (pathos) when he recreates the events of the British killing his friends and fellow townspeople.  John Adams also incorporates belief into his speeches by showing all of the animosities that the colonies have already been through, and what they believe will happen after that, things will only get worse, again playing on his audience's emotions. Towards the end of his final speech of the episode, John Adams uses volume control when he drops his voice to a quieter tone and underplaying his own emotion.

World Wild Life Foundation brings out the best in visual rhetoric!

I found an advertisement on the internet, produced by the World Wild Life Foundation, that does a great job of trying to get their message of global warming across. http://bestphotoshoptutorials.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/wwf-homeless-polar-bear.jpg

When we think of somebody or something being homeless we do not normally think of a polar bear, in an alleyway, in what looks to be some major city.  Polar bears are usually thought of being happy up in the subarctic conditions of the north pole.  The message that the rhetor (WWF) is trying to get across, is that if we do not do something to stop global warming, the polar bears will have their homes destroyed.  They might not end up in the an alleyway in downtown Iowa City, but none the less it does a good job of getting the point across.  The audience is whoever sees this advertisement in a magazine or checks it out online.  The rhetor is constrained though by the fact that not everybody knows the ins and outs of global warmed, or maybe does not even know what global warming is.  If this is the case, the audience probably has no idea what is going on in this advertisement and probably thinks the rhetor is crazy! The exigence of this message is a big deal because global warming is getting worse and worse by the day, and WWF believes something needs to be done about it.

WWF uses large amounts of pathos in this advertisement.  Tugging on the emotions of the audience, they try to achieve that same effect as the sad wildlife commercials we see on television, only they do not take it too far.  Instead, they put a "lighter side" on it, by showing something that probably will not happen but still drives the point home.  

A Great Example of Rhetoric

While out to dinner with a few friends last week, I came across a great example of rhetoric.  Sitting at our table, with cold drinks all around, and the hot Summer air all around me, I realized I was in bad need of a coaster for my drink. I asked our waitress for one and instead of a generic run of the mill bland coaster, I was brought a coaster with a "Avoid the Stork" website advertisment on it. My first thought about the coaster was total surprise at the thought of putting an advertisement on coaster! The back of the coaster has a stork with flight goggles on (like from old school open air planes) with a huge circular cross-out going through him.  The front is orange and states "It is commonly known that unexpected deliveries have ended many air guitar careers before they have matured to their full potential. Don't put off your pipe dreams avoidthestork.com" 

 The rhetor (the Avoid the Stork campaign) does a great job telling the audience (the individuals using these coasters)  about their website where you can get information about avoiding the stork until they are ready for a child. In their message they offer plenty of humor and a not so tense look at birth control techniques (or at least where you find resources for them).  Although a great message, the constraints faced may be a bit of a hurdle for this rhetorical artifact.  First off, just because you see this coaster does not mean you will go to the website.  Secondly, there is not a big enough surface on the artifact to put down any amplifying information about the website. This space is used instead for a little bit of birth control humor. I felt in the message their was a great deal of Pathos used, because it was catered towards a younger crowd that maybe had no idea what the Avoid the Stork foundation was all about, which brought about the lack of ethos.  The lack of Logos was brought on mainly by the lack of space for any real facts and documentation about birth control. 

  Context and culture pretty much go hand in hand for this rhetorical artifact.  This coaster would not have a very large effect if it were placed in a nursing home or in a childhood daycare.  Instead, it is placed in a Downtown Iowa City bar, where they amount of sexually promiscuous individuals probably outweigh the amount of sexually promiscuous people in a nursing home...well hopefully.

  I am excited to see everyone else's great rhetorical artifacts!

My 1st post!

I have to make a blog for class and I am super excited to do it because I have heard it is a really good way to talk about life but have never really gotten around to making one...here it goes!