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pattigrod-blog · 5 years

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*Ideological Criticism*

In this entry, I will examine the critical questions: What is ideological criticism? How can a speech be used to create an ideology? What is (ethically) productive and/or limiting about this type fo rhetorical method, and is it more productive or limiting?

To investigate these questions, I examined a scene from NBC’s American mockumentary sitcom television series The Office, in which Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) gives an acceptance speech. Through the use of unintentional fascist speech methods and enacting the persona of a dictator, Dwight promotes the value and power of salespeople and even hints at a possible revolution in order to change the occupation’s perception by others, and, therefore, counters a traditional acceptance speech’s intentions and objectives. Although Dwight and other dictators were promoting very different causes, the rhetorical strategies used by both are unethical, as they take advantage of and manipulate the audience.

Dwight Schrute works as a paper salesman at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He is the top salesman at the company, and in this particular episode of the series, Dwight was awarded Northeastern Pennsylvania Salesman of the Year. After revealing that he is not the strongest public speaker, Dwight receives some tips from fellow co-worker and salesman, Jim Halpert (John Krasinski). Little to Dwight’s knowledge, all of Jim’s advice was based on rhetorical strategies of Italian fascist leader, Benito Mussolini (“Dwight’s Speech”).

Foss, S.K. (2004) explains that ideologies are, “... a system of beliefs that reflects a group’s ‘fundamental social, economic, political or cultural interests... It represents ‘who we are, what we stand for, what our values are, and what our relationships are with other groups’” (Foss, 239).

Dwight’s acceptance speech suggests that salespeople are wrongly perceived by others. He says, “Some people will tell you salesman is a bad word. They’ll conjure up images of used car dealers and door to door charlatans. This is our duty: to change their perception” (“Dwight’s Speech”). Through his unintentional dictator persona and powerful language, he is able to create an ideology for the salespeople in the audience, that they are a strong and powerful group. He ignites an anger within them when he says that other occupations look down on salespeople, and who essentially take away the job’s validity.

Even though Dwight does not necessarily mean much of what he suggests in his speech, he begins to insinuate a possible revolution. He goes on to say, “I say salesmen... and women of the world unite! We must never acquiesce for it is together, TOGETHER THAT WE PREVAIL! We must never cede control of the motherland! For it is together that we prevail” (“Dwight’s Speech”)! He tells his fellow salespeople that by joining together, they can prove they are more powerful than what others are giving them credit for. The audience was called to feel motivated by Dwight’s speech and take action, and they all chanted and cheered with him, which further demonstrates that they believed in similar values and beliefs within their group.

Although the type of rhetorical strategies used by Dwight in his acceptance speech were successful in uniting the audience to believe in the same ideology, it is not necessarily the most ethical. Dwight had no idea Jim was giving him pointers from Benito Mussolini, who was the founder of the fascist party and believed in authoritarian ultra-nationalism. Mussolini’s ultimate goal where giving speeches was to take control over his audience by taking advantage of environmental circumstances and manipulating people, whether they were aware of it or not. From his fist-pounding on the podium, his booming voice, suspenseful pauses, and choice of words (ex. our duty, change, unite, together, prevail, etc.), Dwight was captivating his audience and demonstrating that he was a powerful figure himself; that he would be able to lead salespeople to have a more prominent presence in the business world.

A leader typically has the people’s interest at heart and want to do what’s best for them and their country. But for many dictators, including Mussolini, they just wanted to seize control. What mattered more to them was the amount of support they could gain from their speeches and discovering new ways for how they could continue building their “empire”. By being presented with a speaker who portrays themself as powerful, the audience cannot help but believe they are trustworthy and put faith in them.

Iezzi (1959) further explains Benito Mussolini’s rhetorical strategies and how he was able to capture his audiences and instill his ideologies within them. Iezzi’s article describes Mussolini as a “crowd psychologist” because was extremely successful at understanding his audiences and using emotional appeal to move them. Once he became a more prominent figure, it was said that Mussolini was no longer just giving speeches. Rather, he thought of them and presented them as “theatrical productions” because most of his speeches were staged. According to Iezzi, Mussolini as an orator relied on three “ingredients” to create and develop a successful speech: “... an atmosphere of suspense, physical and psychological discomfort, and elaborate spectacle” (Iezzi, 167).

These “ingredients” can also be seen in Dwight’s acceptance speech. He creates a suspenseful atmosphere by at first being too nervous to give his speech. So, to stall, Michael Scott (Steve Carell), Dwight’s boss, goes up on stage to crack some jokes before Dwight runs up. To create the physical and psychological discomfort, Dwight starts off his unorthodox acceptance speech by breathing heavily into the microphone and pounding his fists repeatedly on the podium before any words have even been spoken from him. The audience has no idea at this point where Dwight’s speech was going to go, so the elaborate spectacle comes from the sudden persona of a dictator he takes on, and the powerful tone of voice he uses throughout his speech. With these three “ingredients”, Dwight was able to successfully captivate his audience, just as Mussolini was able to.

Dwight Schrute is far from a fascist leader and was promoting a very different cause than one Mussolini might have. However, in his acceptance speech, Dwight was able to successfully create an ideology of “giving more power to the salespeople” with his audience. Since his speech was inspired by Mussolini, he was also able to (unintentionally) utilize the Italian dictator’s “three ingredients”: suspenseful atmosphere, physical and psychological discomfort, and an elaborate spectacle. Although Dwight and Benito Mussolini were successful in capturing their audiences, the rhetorical methods and strategies they used are not ethical, as they manipulate and take advantage of their audience members.

“Dwight’s Speech.” The Office. Writ. Paul Liberstein. Dir. Charles McDougall. NBC, 2006.

Foss, S.K. “Ideological Criticism.” Rhetorical Criticism, Waveland Press, 2004. p. 239-248.

Iezzi, Frank. “Benito Mussolini, Crowd Psychologist.” Quarterly Journal of Speeh, vol. 45, no. 2, Apr. 1959, p.166-170.

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syntheticsewing · 3 years

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Coming Out

hey, i just made this account + have never used tumblr before and have no idea what i'm doing. this is kind of a stupidly long rant/explanation and i probably should just cut it down, but i feel like talking. (tldr at the end, do i need to specify there is one at the end? i don't know the internet too well)

i'm 15 and a lesbian, i've known this for some time and i think i'm ready to come out. seeing all the cute pride clothing and pride month things, i feel motivated. i'm not worried about people not accepting me, my parents are pretty open, despite being religious and i think my friends suspect it already and have dropped hints about being supportive.

i told one person before and i talked with him about it and we decided that i would come out on march 16th 2023, which was the anniversary of the day we met, and since we used to be such close friends it seemed perfect. we got into a big fight and are not friends anymore, so i don't see a reason to stick to my original plan of march 16th. this is not relevant at all, but oh well, ignore this paragraph i guess.

to get to the bulk of what i should have just said in the beginning, i don't know how to come out. i think coming out with an item is so cute, especially with cakes and stuff, but i suck at baking and don't get enough privacy in a kitchen even if i didn't. what i really like is sewing and my parents leave me alone long enough in my room if i'm sewing and understand that my projects are private, so i should be able to sew something without them knowing. it seems like a good idea, but i'm not imaginative and have no idea what to make. i don't feel close enough with my friends right now to confide in them what to do, and i can't ask the one person i told because he won't respond, so i'm turning to the internet? i've heard tumblr is really accepting and helpful, so this is what i'm trying out i guess.

i'm going fabric shopping in two days (yay joanns) and i have like a few basic ideas? maybe like a bag or a pillow, but i feel like those things wouldn't be very much in use especially if they had some tacky saying like "hey! diana's gay!". should i just skip the random sewing project and instead pull out a bulletin board or use the heart-felt speeh tactic?

god this turned into a rant, i'm sorry, i'm adding a tldr

tldr: i'm coming out as lesbian and want to come out with a sewing project, but don't know what project to do

#lgbtq #wlw #lesbian #sewing #crafts #comingout #pride

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