| Rhetorical Appeals |
To me, the most accessible and systematic way of approaching film for discussion is to examine it as rhetoric and to do so through the three rhetorical appeals. You may have been asked to do this before in analyzing a piece of writing or a speech. What types of appeals does the author make to support his claim? It may suprise you, but you can do this with film as well. This site divides film discussion into these three types of appeal, so in order to follow it, you should have a decent understanding of those appeals.
Logos: The Logical Appeal
This is "the obvious argument." When you are talking about written arguments and speeches, these are the fact- and logic-based claims the author makes. Are they supplying you with facts acquired through research? Statistics? Walking you through the steps of logical reasoning to show you why they are right? These are all examples of logical appeal.
When conducting a rhetorical analysis of a text, be it written, oral, visual, multimedia, or otherwise, the logical appeals are usually the easiest to pick out. These are the main thing an author wants you to take note of because these are the least manipulative of the three appeals. Overt appeal to the emotions of the audience or overt claims of being trustworthy are quickly seen as manipulative. So when you are looking for what constitutes logical appeal in a film, I suggest considering this to consist primarily of plot and chronology. If a film is an argument, these are the most obvious of what it is saying.
Ethos: The Ethical Appeal
The ethical appeal being made in any argument should be difficult to pick out. This is because we tend to trust people less if they are actively trying to convince us to trust them. Think about it -- if you were buying a car, who would you trust more: the salesman who keeps trying to figure out what you want to hear, or the one who tells you the facts about the car you're looking at and says, "If this is what you are looking for in a car, this one may be right for you. If not, you should think about something else"? For most people, the second seems more trustworthy because he is establishing himself who puts truth and accuracy ahead of making a sale.
In language-based arguments, ethical appeals are usually made through the arguer's credentials, the knowledgability with which they present themselves, their use of credible sources, and their use of the appropriate tone. If they are delivering a speech, they should seem genuine and passionate. In a movie, ethos is established through similar means. First, the movie should be believable (not necessarily in our reality, but within the world created by the filmmakers), and the characters should have believable reactions to their circumstances. The movie should choose an appropriate tone and stick to it. The acting should not seem like acting. Special effects should be high-quality. All of these are part of your trusting the filmmakers in the experience they are attempting to create for you.
Pathos: The Emotional Appeal
Just like the ethical appeal, emotional appeal in any argument should be subtle. Just as we see overt claims of being trustworthy and credible as suspect, we see overt attempts to elicit emotional response from us as manipulative. Therefore, any attempt by an arguer to get an emotional response from his audience should occur naturally and without his drawing attention to it. Therefore, these elements of an argument can be difficult to pick out. You have to know what you are looking for.
Anything in an argument designed to get an emotional response from the audience, be it anger, sadness, fear, happieness, or otherwise, is an emotional appeal. In language-based arguments, emotional appeals are usually made through the arguer's use of example stories of things that have happened to him or others. He might invoke images of things that have common emotional connections to them. An example of this is the frequency with which speakers referred to the events of 9/11 during the speeches at the Republican National Convention in 2004; they did this because they knew they could count on a particular emotional response from people, in this case anger and sadness. Spoken arguments an also acheive emotional appeal through delivery, such as a speaker getting tearful or shouting in anger. Though not as easily, this can be emulated in written arugments through word choice and tempo.
In a movie, pathos is acheived primarily through editing techniques, cinematography, music, and acting (again). Most of these things, and particularly cinematography, are things we are not usually aware of on a conscious level as we watch a film, but they effect us on an emotional level nonetheless. In subsequent pages, you will find out how this happens.
Still unclear on the appeals?
Here are some links to give you more information and examples:
- An Introduction to Rhetoric by Annie Olson, LeTourneau University
- Rhetorical Appeals by Mairin Barney, Northern Arizona University
- Rhetorical Appeals by Don Olson, Northern Arizona University
- Three Rhetorical Appeals by George H. Williams, University of Missouri-Kansas City
- Rhetorical Appeals at "Virgil: A Writer's Resource," University of Texas
- Rhetorical Appeals by Dr. Karen Sunde, Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute