This is going to be my political cartoon in which I'm going to use for my paper on the rhetorical analysis. I hope to appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos in order to get across the fact that our society puts so much emphasis on reality t.v. that it actually could be used to increase something as important as a voting turnout. In America today, citizens are more influenced by reality television shows than important government issues such as voting for who will be running the country in which they live in.
Personally, in most cases the reality genre works better versus a mere statement or notice by a government entity. Reality TV tends to make people think that it appeals to the viewer more since it's generally more interesting. I know the importance of government issues. Many others know the importance of government issues, but such things are simply boring regardless of the magnitude of the situation. Even though some rare cases end up being featured everywhere like a natural disaster notice, these inevitably become forgotten to those greatly unaffected by the situation.
ReplyDeleteBut until now I'm just rambling.
After a few more reads, I somewhat disagree with the effectiveness of using the reality genre as a tool for governmental awareness. Based on the environment that I live in, most do not use TV as a source of entertainment. Therefore, members of our community are less affected than those who do use TV. We rely on the internet, which tends to provide the viewer with more in-depth information on any topic. Essentially, I'm saying the posted cartoon is outdated, or it's soon to be outdated.
I find the cartoon to be a bit historically inaccurate--for example, more people voted in the last election (Obama McCain) than they did in any previous election. The strategies being used to get out the vote were well thought through. However, in terms of the rhetorical analysis of the cartoon, whether or not folks pay attention to American Idol more than presidential politics is secondary to how effective this cartoon is. You are still discussing what the cartoon says and not how it uses rhetoric to do that. What makes the cartoon successful? What role does the image of the woman play? Does it matter that she has a nose ring, crazy hair and a tattoo? How does she represent the American Public? What about the difference between president, Congress, and American Idol? How are theses contests run differently? Isn't it a post hoc fallacy to suggest that just by being interested in voting for American Idol people will be interested in voting for government offices? Isn't a false analogy to put congress in the list when congressional delegations are defined by populations of around 500,000--now where near the sum of folks who watch an episode of American Idol? I'd also like to know the numbers involved: how many one-time voters were there for the American Idol finale? A lot of questions to be asked.
ReplyDeleteAbby, i see this to be perfect for your political cartoon. With a little bit of searching for more information, your ethos can be how many people viewed American idol vs. how many people voted. This can show how honest or dishonest the writing is. I believe you logos can be interpreted into that most people know more over what is happening in american idol than what is currently taking place in politics. Finally i think your Pathos could be the woman in the picture. The author could be trying to point out the people that this circumstance goes towards. I am sure you might have already picked out the things for your paper and you'll do just fine. Goodluck
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