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*Gender Rhetoric*

In this entry, I will examine the critical question: What gender norm is constructed or undone in this artifact? How does it promote a dominant ideology over a marginalized group?

This rhetorical artifact is an image I found of an activities book I found online. I came across the book when at Target and later tried to find it online. This book is supposed to help girls recognize drama and how it impacts others. Within the book it says that it is helpful for individual and girls group counseling.  

This activities book promotes the gender norm that drama is created by women and that if there is drama being spread, it must not be done by men. This shows that women need to be taught at a young age what drama is so that they do not negatively impact others. Within this section at target there were tons of books for kids, left side being for girls and the right for boys. The majority of the books on the left side were pink and had cartoon designs over them, but this book was different and was the only one to single out a gender by putting the word "girl" on it.

Butler explains in her article, "Undoing Gender," that gender is a social construct and not all a biological science. With this she uses the words saying it is not automatic or mechanical (Butler 1). It is something that comes with time and thought where you can decide over your lifetime. With this being said, in today's world, people are influenced by society and identify gender and gender stereotypes. Social influence creates gender norms and pressures people to fit into those norms. This pressure can be seen in many advertisements around the world that helps shape the norm. Butler talks about this saying that gender should be decided by individuals and calls out the "agency of "I" and how it is surrounded by society views.

When this artifact includes the "girls group activities," the dominant ideology sorts girls as the causes of drama instead of boys and girls creating drama together. Drama can happen between anyone and anywhere, it does not have to be gender specific. This artifact does in fact go against everything Butler argues. The design of the book itself chooses which type of gender can own/read it by the way it looks. With this cover it talks about how girls stir the pot when it comes to drama and depicts them as a witch. An activity book that is supposed to help teach kids about how to prevent drama and help give alternatives should not be gender specific. It is harmful to society to keep this ongoing stereotype that a book for girls is about how to prevent drama. Drama comes in all forms from both genders and should not be put on one gender. Kids should be allowed to explore all types of books and also know that burdens like "drama" do not come with their gender.

Kyounghee highlights in his article, "The effect of non-stereotypical gender role advertising on consumer evaluation," that throughout advertising advertisers depend on gender roles to market their products. "Advertising messages are created through the portrayal of idealized, stereotypical individuals" (Kyounghee 107). With his research he was able to find the negative and positive effects of gender neutralness to marketing products. "Social responsibility is a concern in the design of advertise- ments (Furnham and Mak 1999) because advertising’s social influence is quite influen- tial (Chang 2012; Taylor 2013). Typically, change follows a phenomenon. If a cross- gender phenomenon in advertising can alter gender role stereotyping in society, the positive social impact of NSGR advertising would be significant" (Kyounghee 131). He was able to find that consumers who seek individual uniqueness found this to be more appealing while those who couldn't care much for individualism showed little impact. This helps show that advertising can be gender neutral and help alter the societal norms we have today.

In conclusion, gender roles that promote stereotypes can become harmful to society and especially children. With products/subjects where gender should not be focused on, society should not name a gender to it. Everywhere we go, there is an opportunity to spread gender equality while spreading a free and open environment. Gender roles should be broken down where the norms of society do not dictate choices for our youth.

Butler, Judith. Introduction: Acting in Concert. Undoing Gender, by Butler, Routledge UP, 2004, pp. 1-4.

Chu, Kyounghee, et al. “The Effect of Non-Stereotypical Gender Role Advertising on Consumer Evaluation.” International Journal of Advertising, vol. 35, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 106–134. Communications and Mass Media Complete, doi:10.1080/02650487.2015.1110942.

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*Rhetoric Within 300*

*Rhetoric Within 300*

In this entry, What is the main purpose of this artifact's message and how are ethos, pathos, and logos used in this rhetorical artifact to achieve that purpose? Is the way that these rhetorical appeals are used ethical?

To investigate this question, I examined Queen Gorgo's Address the Spartan Apella in the movie 300. This artifact conveys a message using ethos, pathos, and logos to say that King Leonidas needs to be protected for the sake of everyone and not just themselves, doing so in an ethical way because it emphasizes a focus on the community as a whole.

This is a speech about King Leognidas, King of Sparta, and the 300 men that he took to battle against the Persian King Xerxes and the Persian army. King Leonidas is severely outnumbered and the Queen of Sparta, Queen Gorgo, addresses the councilman of Sparta about this ongoing battle and decision on whether or not to send King Leonidas and his men reinforcements. The whole purpose of this speech is to persuade the council to send the entire Spartan army to defeat the Persians.

Herrik's explanation of Aristotle and his three proofs, ethos, pathos, and logos will be used to explain this artifact. Herrick writes, "In order to establish ethos, the speaker must exhibit phronesis, arete, and eunoia" (80-81). He explains how Aristotle emphasized that an effective rhetor must understand what the community thinks makes up a believable person. Herrick also speaks of Pathos and how it is often used to refer to emotional appeals that give persuasive messages their power to move an audience towards action (79). Finally he speaks of logos. His explanation of logos talked about how logos is the logic of the speech and was the study of inference making or reasoning.

Within this artifact Queen Gorgo builds her ethos as a caring Spartan by not relying on her status of Queen. Within the speech she states, "Councilmen, I stand before you not only as your Queen. I come to you as a mother. I come to you as a wife. I come to you as a Spartan woman. I come to you with great humility". This shows that Queen Gorgo knows that in order to gain the council's attention she must not throw her title at them and make them listen. She builds credibility by saying who she really is a mother, wife, and citizen of Sparta. She, like the rest of them, lives in Sparta and wants the best for it and in doing so this credibility can help sway the council to push towards sending the full Spartan army.

Queen Gorgo also uses a pathos appeal by using an appeal based on feelings, beliefs, and values. "I am here for all those voices which cannot be heard: mothers, daughters, fathers, sons -- 300 families that bleed for our rights, and for the very principles this room was built upon. We are at war, gentlemen. We must send the entire Spartan army to aid our King in the preservation of not just ourselves, but of our children" (Queen Gorgo). She wants to point out that she is just like the rest of the citizens of Sparta but has a voice to speak for them. She has strong feelings to send an army to aid her husband and the 300 soldiers to preserve the Spartan people. Queen Gorgo has belief that the mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons of the 300 would want the same as her and that is why she is trying to give voice to this matter. Also, she uses an appeal based on values when she states that they are at war. They need to preserve not only the city of Sparta but the children who will be soon a part of it.

Within this artifact, Queen Gorgo uses logos to set up an argument for sending aid to King Leonidas. The Queen claimed, "I am not here to represent Leonidas. His actions speak louder than my words ever could." and later said "We are at war, gentleman". This helps capture the attention of the council by highlighting the fact that actions speak louder than words. Queen Gorgo needs and wants to remind the council that they are at war and that they must act on her words. With this being she wants to point out that without sending aid to Leonidas, everything may be lost.

This still leaves the question of whether or not the appeals used are ethical. Queen Gorgo is not looking out for just herself and her husband but for Sparta as a whole. She knows that without trying to plead with the council to send aid, the war will be lost and Sparta will fall. She is looking out for the good of the people and wants to preserve what they have for the children, fathers, and mothers of Sparta. Striving to this goal is an ethical standpoint and even if the listener disagrees with her plea they would know that Queen Gorgo is not doing any wrong.

In summary, Queen Gorgo's speech within the movie "300", displayed a message using ethos, pathos, and logos in an ethical way. She argued that the 300 men and King Leonidas need to be protected for Sparta's well being and not just themselves. Queen Gorgo states her credibility, gives an appeal of feelings, values, and beliefs, and highlights the logic being said with her every word, in an effective way, to the council of Sparta. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeech300queengorgo.html

References:

Eidenmuller, M. E. (n.d.). Queen Gorgo Address the Spartan Apella. Retrieved April 5, 2020, from https://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeech300queengorgo.html

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*Rhetoric as Narrative*

In this entry, I will examine the critical question: In what ways does this artifact depict a narrative that promotes U.S culture?

To investigate this question, I examined Lee Greenwood's music video of "God Bless the USA." This artifact depicts a narrative promoting freedom and patriotism, through examining characteristics provided by Foss, it shows a productive promotion of patriotism in a positive way because the advantages of this artifact outweigh the disadvantages.

This is an American patriotic song written and recorded by American country music artist in the year 1984, but grew massively in popularity after the events during 9/11. This video promotes the idea of freedom and how the American people should be remembering those who fought for our freedom. It shows images of historical events, the U.S. flag, and the United States itself. These images go along with Lee Greenwood's lyrics such as "I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free and I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me".

Foss explains, "Narratives organize the stimuli of our experience so that we can make sense of the people, places, events, and actions of our lives" (333). He explains how this helps people decide what a designated experience is about and how various elements of our experiences are connected. Foss discusses how there are four characteristics that distinguish a narrative and those are that it is comprised of events that may be active or stative, organized by time order, must include a relationship among events in the story, and must be about a unified subject.

The video images itself prove to be a narrative that promotes U.S culture by following Foss's four characteristics. Within the video, it displays images of the past such as 9/11, an American family, American Flags, and the Statue of Liberty. This helps give a relationship between the viewer and America. This relationship promotes a specific U.S. culture revolving around patriotism. These images were presented in an order to explain U.S culture by starting with the tragic event during 9/11, showing a happy American family, and by giving images of flags and the Statue of Liberty that symbolize patriotism and freedom. These images help give a story to the lyrics, one can see the towers burning and relive/reminisce on memories of that time and know that their country was always there. The unified subject would be that, with the promotion of U.S culture, the American people must never forget and show patriotism in times of need. This helps highlight that there is a positive promotion of U.S culture.

Along with the images depicted, they tell a story in an order that goes along with the lyrics within the song. Greenwood sings within the video, "If tomorrow all the things were gone I worked for all my life And I had to start again With just my children and my wife I thank my lucky stars To be living here today 'Cause the flag still stands for freedom And they can't take that away And I'm proud to be an American Where at least I know I'm free And I won't forget the men who died Who gave that right to me And I'd gladly stand up next to you And defend Her still today 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A." This shows that there is a unified subject within this song that promotes U.S culture. It is that Greenwood remembers how other Americans had lost so much and how they had American soldiers who have died to secure freedom. He states that he will gladly stand up and fight because he loves this country. With all he says, this creates a positive culture that promotes patriotism and unity among Americans.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to this narrative, but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. An advantage is that this artifact helps bring America together promoting goodwill and respect towards each other and America. This is great to believe in because with a unified front, the American people can do anything. At the same time, however this can give a false representation of America. The images displayed were of more recent events of when the song was written and when it shows a happy family it displays an all white family. This can show people that with America being free and for the people, not all are included in the ideal image of that culture. Another advantage for this artifact is that it remembers those who served this country so that the American people never forget their great deeds for this country. This helps show that our people love this country and will stand up for it no matter what. At the same time, however this can be a disadvantage because there are times America goes into unpopular wars that Americans felt that they should not be a part of. An example would be the Vietnam war and how there are people who refuse to remember times like that, due to the unnecessary deaths of soldiers.

Robert L. Scott further explains how narratives work by analyzing events and how people gather information from them. "Facts do not speak for themselves, nor do events. Not even those events filled with talk tell themselves. We constantly interpret. Some of our tellings are more patently interpretive than others...narrative imbues events with morality and makes an accounting for authority possible" (Scott 198-199). This helps establish that Scott agrees with Foss that a narrative is comprised of events that involve relationships that serve a main purpose. Scott goes further to explain that everything in life has been built on interpretation in order to create a narrative that can either promote something or not. As applied to "God Bless the USA", much if not all of the artifact can be compared to multiple events that involve numerous relationships. It is important to recognize what multiple parties say on narratives because it is all based on interpretation of something that was once interpreted itself.

In summary, Lee Greenwood's song, "God Bless the USA" and the images displayed in the youtube music video creates a narrative that promotes U.S culture by following Foss's four characteristics and creating advantages that outweigh the disadvantages for American culture. Greenwood's narrative is unifying and promotes a patriotic culture that surrounds freedom. Other sources like Scott have dived into the meaning of a narrative explaining how interpretations of narratives are constantly changing and adapt with relationships over time, but this artifact shows that it can connect to other ideas like Scott's and not just Foss's definition. "God Bless the USA '' will forever remain as an example for American patriotism displayed within music not only in the past but also the present and future.

References:

Littebrat672, "God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood" Youtube, singing by Lee Greenwood, 10 July. 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E.

Foss, S.K. (2004). Narrative criticism. Rhetorical criticism (3rd ed.) (pp. 333-341). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.