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Corona de Sombras - Imagery in Spanish Theater

This week, to finish my Rhetoric and Civic life blog up, I thought I would do something slightly different. In my Spanish 253W class, we are currently reading the play Corona de Sombras by Rodolfo Usigli. The play tells the story of Emperor Maximilian and his wife, Carlota. The couple travelled from their home in Italy to rule Mexico when it was conquered by European forces. However, opposition from the local indigenous forces, namely opposition from Benito Juarez, as well as pressure from the French crown to surrender the Mexican territory to them, placed both Max and Carlota in a tricky situation. The play, told from an elderly Carlota's point of view, discusses their first year in Mexico, as well as the declining political climate that, ultimately, results in Maximilian's execution and Carlota becoming insane.

There are multiple images present in the play, the most dominant being the recurring image of "luz" (light, in Spanish). Carlota continuously asks for light and, this constant desire for light reflects her desire to understand the events that had taken place (of which she has vivid memories) and, the lack of light was used to symbolize Max's untimely fate, as well as her confusion about why Max had to die.

As with many plays, the main characters appeal to the pathos of the audience. Demonstrating a strong marriage that is challenged by war, distance, and the pressure to live up to the expectations of the people, Max and Carlota's characters win the audience's support and, when Max's death is discovered at the end of the play, the audience is left devastated. The only consolation that they have is that, when both Max and Carlota die, they will meet in the forest that represented their love.

a photograph of Max and Carlota

Corona de Sombras is a play that expands on a well-known historical tragedy, playing to the emotions of the audience and using imagery to get the audience to truly understand Max and Carlota's story and the essential part that they played in making Mexico what it is today.

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

This week, we started discussing effective persuasive speeches and so this week, I thought it was most fitting to discuss one of the best known persuasive speeches of all time: Patrick Henry's Speech to the Virginia Convention. In this speech, as you history buffs will know, Henry argues for the American Revolution. He argues for liberty from the oppression of the British, and states that he cannot wait any longer for such freedom.  There are several reasons why Henry's speech is so effective. The two biggest things that Henry does to stimulate his audience are (1) he asks rhetorical questions and (2) he uses imagery to convey his point.

One of the first things that Henry does to create a memorable and effective speech is that he uses rhetorical questions. An example of this is when he says, "Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty?" By asking this question, he gets the audience's attention by causing them to think about the implications of the struggle for liberty, as well as what their role, as wise men, is in relation to this struggle. Furthermore, his use of rhetorical questions is strengthened by the fact that he follows each of these questions with a declarative sentence that answers the question.


 Henry also makes use of  imagery to convey his point. He describes the "gale that sweeps from the north" that will bring the "clash of resounding arms." Using this imagery effectively captures the forthcoming struggle for freedom. Henry also uses a recurring image of slavery to describe the condition that the colonists are in. This subtly evokes an appeal to pathos, as the colonists wish to break free of such chains.  Henry also evokes an appeal to pathos through his description of the outcome of waiting until the colonists are stronger by asking if they will be strong when British guards are stationed in every house. He makes his call to action an urgent one, saying that they should take action before it is too late, and the British are even more aware of the colonists' plan for rebellion.

Patrick Henry's speech, especially his line "Give me liberty or give me death!" motivates his audience and it is this ability to stir the colonists to action (ultimately leading to the establishment of the United States) that makes it so memorable.

If you have time, listen to a reading of the speech below:

New Era Commercial

Continuing with my current streak of analyzing commercials, I decided to analyze the New Era Commercial featuring Alec Baldwin and John Krasinski. What makes this ad different from many of the others that I have previously discussed in the blog is that, while many of the other commercials employ a variety of appeals, including logos, ethos, and pathos. This commercial focuses entirely on its appeal to pathos and, I might add, does a great job of giving the reader a good laugh.

Before beginning, it is good to note the commercial does make an indirect appeal to ethos, especially in reference to the ethos of both Baldwin and Krasinski as well-paid actors and renowned funny-men. However, this ethos isn’t highly emphasized in the ad itself; the majority of the focus revolves around the humor of the character’s behavior.

The commercial begins with Baldwin running to Krasinski's apartment, and decking him in the face. The initial action of this character brings about chuckles and, Baldwin's justification for his actions adds all the more to the hilarity of the commercial. The two characters banter between each other, and it is later revealed that Baldwin’s actions were a result of a major lack of communication, in which he believes that the Yankees lost their game. Krasinski, a die-hard Red Sox fan is demonstrated as being far from pleased with the outcome, and even less pleased with Baldwin’s hot-headed actions.

While the commercial was full of comedy and gags, it is important to note, however, that the actual product that the company was advertising for, baseball caps, was only briefly mentioned. The advertisement leaves the viewer laughing but also very unclear as to what its purpose was.

Overall, while this commercial was entertaining, there is no doubt that its rhetorical appeals could be greatly strengthened. Still, if you like the humor in both 30 Rock and The Office, I would definitely recommend checking out the advertisement below!

The Man YOUR Man Could Smell Like

                I went down to McLanahan’s this past week, and on my way to pick up a new bottle of Shampoo, I passed the deodorant aisle. As I was walking past, I noticed the considerably large collection of Old Spice men’s deodorant and aftershave. And so, when searching for an advertisement to analyze this week, the first one to pop into my mind was the Old Spice “Man your man could smell like” commercial. As I watched the commercial on YouTube, one of the many things that caught my attention, other than Isaiah Mustafa’s well-toned upper body, was the large number of rhetoric appeals – appeals to pathos in particular.

                One of the things that sets the Old Spice commercial apart in particular was its target audience.  While many aftershave and deodorant commercials – Axe commercials in particular – target male audiences, and guarantee that these males would get the woman of their dreams if they use the advertised product. The “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” ad is set apart because it cleverly targets women, the ones who generally purchase both aftershave and deodorant for their husbands and sons.

                Old Spice’s marketing team cleverly named the commercial campaign “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.” Isaiah Mustafa – the star of the commercial – argues to his women viewers that, if their men use the Old Spice product, their men will both look and smell like Mustafa himself. And, by cleverly including imagery of wealth and luxury, he suggests that the ladies – and their men – will have a life of class if they buy this product. The final scene, of Mustafa riding a white horse on a beach into the sunset, appeals to pathos by implying that if they purchase this product, they will have a romance even stronger than before.

The commercial’s use of imagery, clever choice of an audience, and appeal to pathos make it extremely strong and a pleasure to watch. Check out the video below!

Academy Award Commercials

"And the Oscar goes to..."
The Academy Awards are a time of glitter and magic, as most of Hollywood's biggest stars wear elegant dresses and tailored suits to stroll down the Red Carpet. Viewers from around the world tune in to watch their favorite actors receive the awards that they worked so hard for. The Awards are also a time for major spending sprees. People and firms spend hundreds, thousands, and even millions, of dollars on hair, make-up, dresses, and, as with all major public events, commercials.

According to USA Today, thirty-second Oscar spots were going for $1.75 million. The biggest sponsors of the red-carpet event were Hyundai, JC Penney, Procter & Gamble, and Best Buy. The large number of sponsors generally results in large numbers of commercials to analyze, which definitely made my job for this week easier. The one that immediately caught my eye, as I was flipping through YouTube, was Procter & Gamble's commercial for its Venus line of women's razors that featured Jennifer Lopez.

As with many celebrity endorsed advertisements, this commercial greatly played upon Lopez's ethos as a musician. The commercial had various scenes of the Latina singer, performing at a concert, arriving at a red carpet event, practicing choreography, recording an album, playing on the beach with children, and, of course, shaving with a Venus razor. It shows Lopez in her full glory and, at the same time, also shows her completing everyday tasks, like taking a break and playing with kids. And, in every shot, she is featured wearing shorts, mini-skirts, or short dresses, showing off her cleanly shaven legs.

Procter and Gamble takes the approach that many companies lately have also chosen. By endorsing Jennifer Lopez, they appeal greatly to her ethos. They also make her feel relatable, by showing her completing everyday tasks like shaving and playing with kids.  Furthermore, the advertisement includes inspirational words, such as goddess, confidence, fabulous, radiate, and smooth. The commercial appeals to pathos, asserting that if women use Venus razors, these words will describe them as well.

Procter and Gamble’s use of celebrity endorsement, appeal to pathos, and appeal to ethos are all reasons why this commercial an effective and entertaining commercial. Check out the link below:

Nike: The Brand of Champions

This week, especially because the focus of our class was on textual analysis, I thought it was only fitting to complete another textual analysis of a commercial that I thought did a great job of convincing viewers to purchase their product. If you cannot already tell from the title of the commercial, the commercial was produced by Nike marketers and their main rhetorical appeals revolved around ethos – building the ethos of the Nike brand by associating it with soccer players of high levels of ethos.

The commercial featured a variety of athletes that participate in variety of sports. These include Kobe Bryant, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Manny Pacquiao, and Xiang Liu. The commercial shows the aforementioned athletes preparing and completing rigorous training, lifting weights, boxing, and jumping rope to prepare for their respective competitions. The athletes regularly change clothes, displaying an array of Nike workout gear and uniforms. The athletes are shown exercising both indoors and outdoors, in a way indicating that the products are reliable and can be used in virtually every climate.  They work out sometimes with a coach and sometimes alone.  The commercial then shows a calendar quickly flipping through dates, fast-forwarding until the date of each competition. Bryant, Ronaldo, Federer, Sharapova, and the rest of the all-stars are then shown finishing and winning their respective competitions.

Nike shows the audience that its product chain can fit the needs of virtually every athlete, whether a track star or boxing master. The company demonstrates its ethos by showing that even the top athletes – with repeated victories tucked under their belts – use its products. It gives off the message that anyone, with determination, practice, preparation, coaching, and – of course – Nike products can become a champion and, ultimately win.

Check out the commercial below!

Be Mine, Valentine

Since this Tuesday was Valentine's Day - and because one of the topics that we discussed this week was the appeal to pathos - I thought it was only too appropriate to make my post about something slightly romantic. Initially, I was hoping to find a commercial from this year’s Valentine’s Day but caught my eye. So, I resorted to the one place that anyone can find a sappy, pathos-filled commercial: YouTube. And, voila, the third commercial on the page – a Nokia commercial seemed to be the perfect one to discuss.

The commercial tells the story of a young man overseas and a young woman, presumably his girlfriend, staring out into the rain, missing him. The man, in a sunny, tropical-looking city, snaps photos with his Nokia phone (a model that, nowadays, seems extremely outdated) that, when pieced together, form the sentence “Will you marry me?” and sends the message via text to his girlfriend. And, as in all feel-good commercials, she responds with a very predictable. “Yes.”

Nokia did several things right in the construction of this particular advertisement. The entire commercial revolves around an appeal to pathos. From the opening scene, with the girl staring out the window, it is clear that her mind is far away, and the audience cannot help but with that she is with the one that she is thinking so intently about. When the man is running around, taking pictures, it's initially not quite clear what he is trying to spell out. But, when the viewers realize what he is doing, they are excited to see how it will play out.

The slogan, “Nokia, connecting people,” is a fitting conclusion to the advertisement, suggesting to single viewers, that purchasing a Nokia phone could result in them finding their soul mates. And, for the viewers in relationships, Nokia assures it’s users that they too will have a happy ending, most likely with that picture-perfect proposal. The perfect advertisement to set the Valentine’s Day mood!

If you have time, check out the commercial below"

Halftime in America

This past weekend was the Super Bowl XLVI and while I was indifferent about the two teams playing (the Steelers - the only team that really matters - weren't on the field). The advertisements that aired during the game, however,provided for some interesting material to discuss in my blog post for this week.

One of the most popular advertisements this time around was on that played during half-time. "It's Halftime in America," released by Chrysler, serves as an example of kairos and also as a piece with exemplary use of logos, pathos, and ethos. Please watch the advertisement before continuing.

Immediately, one of the things that sets apart this advertisement is Eastwood's cool, raspy voice. Without the imagery in the advertisement, his voice alone makes his monologue extremely effective. And, as evidenced by Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address, his speech doesn't need to be long to be effective. Coming in at 247 words, Eastwood still conveys a powerful message with a few well chosen words.

Eastwood also makes use of several rhetorical devices. An example of this is the use of an anaphora (the repetition of an initial phrase). How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And how do we win? He also includes several metaphors within his piece, describing "the fog of division, discord, and blame," and asserting that "this country can't be knocked out with one punch." The first metaphor in the piece occurs in the first line of the advertisment with the quote "It’s half time in America."

Other methods that Eastwood uses to create a powerful argument include the use of repetition (especially when he repeats the word 'we') and the use of dramatic pauses (which are, conveniently filled with inspirational music).

The advertisement as a whole makes significant appeals to pathos, especially with references to American patriotism and powerful images of people with solemn faces, but unmistakable looks of determination. The ad draws the audience in, using images and video clips of routine activities that the average viewer completes daily.

The ad's use of pathos and his inspiring tone instill a sense of hope among the viewers and gives across the message that Chrysler and their branch motor companies in Detroit, Michigan will endure and that, if car owners buy Chrysler cars, they will endure as well. A powerful half-time message that, in my mind, set the  Super Bowl XLVI apart.

An Unsatisfactory Proposal

Having just watched one of my favorite movies of all time, Pride and Prejudice, this past week, I thought it was only too perfect to refer to one of the worst proposals of all time in my Rhetoric and Civic Life Blog this week. For all of you english buffs out there, that's right. I'm referring to Mr. Collin's insincere, infamous proposal to Elizabeth Bennet. 

Now, I'm certain that a proposal from a short, socially akward man, with the manners of a two year old would be the last thing that any female with a minute romantic notion would want. What makes things worse, is that Collins's proposal is heartless; he proposes solely out of duty.

In class, we recently discussed the term kairos - an ancient Greek term referring to the right or opportunte moment. In my opinion, Collins' proposal is an example of what kairos  is not. He approaches his cousin the morning after bustling ball, when she is evidently enamored by another Mr. Wickham. Already the scene is set for disaster.

Furthermore, Collins's appeal to rhetoric has much to be desired. He makes a heavy appeal to logos, beginning by listing his reasons for why she should accept his proposal, instead of complementing her and describing his feelings for her. By getting married, he, a clergyman, can set a good example, can make himself (again not showing concern for her feelings) happy, can fulfill the wishes of his patroness, and, finally, can allow the Bennet property to stay in the family. He speaks condescendingly of Elizabeth's meager dowry, even though he claims that it is inconsequential to him. He evidently has no real affection for her and, being the romanticist that she is, it is most evident that she doesn't either, and most definitely won't accept him.

When Elizabeth first rejects his proposal, Mr. Collins, the bumbling fool that he is, interprets her refusal as an attempt to cause him to share more of his sentiments with her. He is certain that after rejecting him twice, she will surely come around.

Elizabeth rejects Collins at least five times, yet he is still unable to believe that she doesn't want to marry him. At that point, he turns to insult, arguing that she may never receive a proposal, and continues to argue that she "isn't serious in her rejection of (him)."

Elizabeth has to resort to running out on Collins to turn him down.

Collin's inability to appeal to kairos, his excessive appeal to logos, and his ineffectual attempt to refer to pathos are all indicators of an ineffectual, hopeless proposal, one that, hopefully, will never be emulated in the real world.

Check out the proposal below:

I Believe in Sunday Afternoon Family Naps

Powerful Words from Father to Son

Joseph Vincent Paterno passed on Sunday January 22nd, 2012. His life and death spoke immeasurable volumes about the impeccable character of a man who was loved and revered by many. And no tribute more accurately captured Joe’s essence than the one that Jay Paterno presented in remembrance of his father. Jay honored his father in a way matched by none during the memorial service held in Beaver Stadium today (January 27, 2012). He touched on Joe’s role as a son, husband, father, and coach and produced a powerful image of a man whose legacy goes beyond his accomplishments as a football legend.

Jay’s eulogy was filled with powerful rhetoric, and he made use of pathos in a most powerful way. By referring to specific memories, painting vivid images of his father, and making use of direct quotes, Jay caused his listeners – both those in the stadium and those watching television sets – to feel his father’s aura. When sharing his last words with his father, he channeled raw emotion that added to and intensified the mournful sentiment already felt by the audience.

“Dad, you won. You did all you could do. You’ve done enough. We all love you. You won. You can go home now.”

Jay’s description of his father’s determination and his success in making an impact on society were extremely touching, but nothing came close to the emotional appeal he made when describing Joe’s relationship with his other half, Sue Paterno. Jay recounts Joe calling Sue the opera in his heart. As Joe eloquently phrased it, “Their artistry of love and skill became a driving force on this campus, benefiting all aspects of this university. Together they created a masterpiece in their lives.”

To finish, Jay appealed to Penn State’s sense of community by referencing one of his father’s favorite prayers: the “Our Father.” He asserted that Joe’s insistence on praying the “Our Father” reflected the thoughts of the Penn State community’s “We Are” mentality. The prayer never had “I” or “me.”

Jay Paterno’s eloquence and pathos moved all listening to his powerful words. His speech will never be forgotten for as long as Joe’s name is remembered. Jay's use of rhetoric conveyed a message that all Penn Staters and fans of JoePa can agree on. To all of us who know of Joseph Vincent Paterno, he will always be more than a coach. He will always be our hero.

Neutrogena and the Art of Ethos

As I was watching the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars, one of my many favorite television shows, I was extremely frustrated as another advertisement interrupted the program. Neutrogena, one of ABC Family’s many sponsors, played yet another one of their facial cleanser advertisements.  And, as Vanessa Hudgens’s smiling, flawless face popped up on screen yet again, I realized that the quick, thirty-second add was inundated with rhetoric.

The ad primarily made use of the logos (logic) and ethos (ethic) appeal. When analyzing the advertisement itself, it seems like a good idea to start with Hudgens herself. Made popular by her role as Gabriella in the Disney movie series, High School Musical, Vanessa is an idol to many of the adolescent girls that most probably also watch the drama. Vanessa’s appearance, most notably her clear, glowing complexion and her hair – pulled back to emphasize her face – already speaks wonders for the Neutrogena product that she’s endorsing. If anyone is qualified to talk about face washes, it would definitely be someone with an appearance like hers. And, anyone with even the slightest traces of acne – a relatively common condition among teenage girls – will be only too willing to take her advice and try one of Neutrogena’s latest products.

In addition to an appeal to ethos, the ad appeals to the audience’s logos as well, providing the viewer with a list of symptoms that the medicine treats and adding in a comment that the product that Neutrogena is “recommended most by dermatologists.”

Neutrogena’s marketing team knows exactly how to target its adolescent audience, by including a famous face with flawless skin and demonstrating dermatologist approval. This effective rhetorical argument for Neutrogena’s Oil-Free Acne Cleanser is sure to win at a few new customers.

Welcome

Welcome to my Rhetoric and Civic Life blog for LA101H.