Rhetoric = the deliberate use of language, images and other media techniques to persuade an audience to think, feel or act in a particular way.
Rhetoric → persuasion → influence → power
Rhetoric focuses on how an author communicates their message rather than the content of that message itself.
| Techniques | Rhetorical appeal |
|---|---|
| Authority/expertise | Ethos |
| Emotion/fear/hope | Pathos |
| Statistics/evidence/reasoning | Logos |
Rhetoric isn't necessarily lying.
A media message can contain completely accurate information and still be highly rhetorical.
MEDIA PRODUCER
↓
constructs message
↓
RHETORIC
↓
persuades audience
↓
AUDIENCE INTERPRETATION
↓
may influence attitudes/beliefs
↓
POWER
Theoretical link
- Rhetoric persuades people.
- Hegemony explains how particular ideas can become normalised.
Therefore:
Rhetoric can contribute to hegemony when persuasive media messages repeatedly present particular values, beliefs or assumptions as normal, natural or common sense.
Activity
Watch this clip from Covid. Use this as a basis for discussion around the idea of the POWER of rhetoric in relation to audience, institutional power and essentially influence. What rhetoric tools are used here and how are they effective at creating a narrative?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J-QhdOW-5U
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