Rhetoric Analysis Of Ethos Pathos Logos

Rhetoric Analysis [Revision]

In this time in age we are constantly being bombarded with media. The question is, do we know when to distinguish logos, pathos, and ethos? Rhetoric has been around for many centuries and idea has stayed the same, but the way we receive this information is changing. When, thinking about history one can think about it as boring. However, when reconstructed in a comical sarcastic way, it takes a life of its own. The following videos that were analyzed, were very interesting to say the least. They were not what you would expect to find in an educational atmosphere. They contained profanity and narrators were inebriated to the point that their speech was slurred. Ultimately, it has been a way to progress from the original idea of rhetoric, to the new age

phenomenon that is being modernized to attract a younger more liberal audience.

The first video that was analyzed was, Drunk History: Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks. The setting starts with the narrator telling the story about Claudette Colvin, refusing to move out of her seat in the bus, when a white woman demands that seat. The argument begins and Claudette is arrested for not following segregation laws that were in effect during this time period. At this point Rosa Parks is the secretary of the N.A.A.C.P and receives dozens of letters, informing her of the brave action that was taken by Claudette Colvin during the bus altercation. Rosa Parks decides to meet with her, and they develop a very close friendship and mentor relationship. At this point it is decided that the bus boycott would begin in retaliation of the unfair treatment of the segregation laws. They need a face to be able to portray the injustice, and after careful evaluation it is decided that Rosa Parks would be a better candidate to be the face of the boycott. The bus scene is staged by Rosa Parks and this

becomes the start of the bus boycotts. The narrator has several pauses while telling the story. This in turn, causes the story to not have a smooth flow. At this point the logos of the actual scene are lost. It becomes unorganized from the beginning and continues to progress in this manner until the end. The ethos of the narrator becomes doubtful when it is realized that her drunken stupor could be causing the narration to be untrue. Ultimately, it becomes more comical and doubtful, making the audience wonder if the story is more of an opinion than actual facts. Finally, when it comes to Pathos, the video has a strong and different approach. The storyteller is uninhibited because of her intoxicated state, which causes her emotions to be felt. It is at this moment that the feelings and emotions are felt about the preposterous injustice during the times of segregation.
Secondly, we have the video Drunk History of John Adams vs Thomas Jefferson. This video talks about the election of 1800’s. The opening scene is also an inebriated storyteller, whose credentials are never told. This causes the story to not have ethos. We can only assume at this point how factual this information really is. He begins telling the story of the friendship of the two founders of America John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. This friendship was destroyed by the greed of both men. As they slandered each other reputation for the sake of winning the president election. There was no logos or pathos in this video. It was more conversational and not organized or persuasive. The attention was focused more on the comical and sarcastic part than anything else. When it comes to ethos, the narrator inebriated state causes him to lose credibility.
Furthermore, Breaking News Some Bullshit Happening Somewhere, is the third video that was analyzed. This video is starts of as any news station would begin there broadcast. It follows the same structure and the news anchors are acting as if this is real news. Correspondingly, the mocking accents the rhetoric in the daily news. The logos are used by the news to assemble each news image and information that is commonly used. The pathos is consistent to what is expected during news broadcast, which is to have credible people interviewed. This causes the pathos to be activated as emotions thought to play a huge role in persuasion. The last mockery is ethos, using credible people that are well respected in uniforms around the scenes of the news broadcast. This last video has all three pieces of rhetoric, through a comical and accented way. What once was a sacredly guarded method of persuasion, has become a mockery in this video.
In conclusion, after all three video analysis, we can make a strong argument that rhetoric has become a strong tool to pursue younger and more liberal audiences. Even if it’s at a cost of mockery and comical videos portraying injustices, factual history, and credibility of the news reports.