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*Isocrates/Aristotle

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In this entry, I will examine the critical question(s): 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 these questions, I examined Belle's speech in "Beauty and the Beast" when she appeals to the mob as my rhetorical artifact. In this speech the main character  Belle, uses ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade the townspeople against violence, which is overall ethical because she is essentially advocating for nonviolence. 

In "Beauty and the Beast," Belle tries to stop a group of people led by Gaston from attacking the Beast's castle. She talks to the angry crowd, asking them not to be violent. Belle explains that the Beast might look scary but isn't as bad as they think. She urges them to think about the consequences of their actions. However, Gaston keeps influencing the mob, making the situation more intense and complicated. 

Aristotle's concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos are key principles in the art of persuasive communication. Ethos is the credibility and character of the speaker. It involves establishing trust by demonstrating expertise, ethicality, and a trustworthy reputation. Aristotle believed that “was potentially the most persuasive” because when people are willing to trust you then they are more likely to listen to you (Herrick 81). 

Pathos focuses on the emotional connection between the speaker and the audience. It aims to evoke feelings and create empathy, anger, joy, or other emotions in the audience, using the power of emotion to influence opinions.  For Aristotle, Pathos was “putting the audience in the state of mind to make a good decision” (Herrick 79). Aristotle believed that Pathos means making the audience feel the right emotions to help persuade them. 

Logos, on the other hand, is all about logical reasoning. It relies on real arguments with evidence, and facts to help persuade an audience. Aristotle uses “logos to refer to… arguments or logic of a speech” (Herrick 79) Logos persuades the audience by using clear and factual arguments. 

Belle establishes credibility by being a respected and trusted member of the community. Throughout the movie shes known as the smart and kind townsgirl and shes very well known and liked among the community. Her reputation as an honest and kind person enhances her ethos, making her a credible source of information and guidance.

Belle appeals to the townspeople's emotions by humanizing the Beast. She highlights his fear and vulnerability, creating empathy among the mob. When trying to show the mob the Beast in the magic mirror she explains that “he’d never hurt anyone” and that hes “is really kind and gentle” . This emotional connection forces the audience to possibly reconsider their violent actions.

Belle presents a logical argument by urging the mob to think about the consequences of their actions. She argues against violence and emphasizes that the Beast is not the monster they believe him to be. In an attempt to steer the mob away from killing the beast she pulls out her magic mirror to show them hes not scary and that hes actually her friend.  Her reasoning encourages the townspeople to reflect on their choices.

The rhetorical appeals applied here are ethical because it's promoting nonviolence. Belle uses ethos ethically by being trustworthy and honest her communication to help build trust with the mob. She uses pathos ethically by appealling to the mobs emotions, creating understanding and compassion, and she uses logos, by presenting an argument and evidence for not killing the beast in an ethical and thoughtful way. These three appeals, when used together, helped steer the mob away from harm and therefore make promoting nonviolence ethical. 

In conclusion, this essay has examined Belle's speech in "Beauty and the Beast," where she appeals to the mob, to answer the critical questions surrounding the main purpose of this rhetorical artifact's message and the ethical use of ethos, pathos, and logos. Belle's primary objective is to persuade the townspeople against violence and promote nonviolence. She uses the rhetorical appeals ethically to achieve this goal. Ethos, established through her credibility and reputation. Pathos, used to create empathy and understanding. And finally, logos, presented as logical arguments and evidence. These appeals' ethical application helpswith encourage nonviolence, respect, and attemptsto evoke empathy among the crowd. 

Works Cited

Beauty and the Beast. Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, Walt Disney Pictures, 1991.Herrick, James. "Aristotle on Rhetoric." The History and Theory of Rhetoric, 69-84

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*Narratives and Rhetoric 

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In this entry, I will examine the critical questions: How does this artifact use narrative elements to promote a certain ideology or constitute people in a narrative? What is (ethically) productive and/or limiting about this depiction, and is it more productive or limiting? 

To investigate these questions, I examined the song “This is America” by Donald Glover as my rhetorical artifact. "This Is America'' is a song on the various social and political issues in the United States, particularly those related to gun violence, race, and the African American experience. Thus this song and music video promotes the narrative of the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of American society through the use of social truth, and the size of the audience this video reached, made for significant social and cultural impact.

The release of "This Is America'' occurred during a period of extreme social and political awareness, with ongoing discussions and debates about gun violence, racial tensions, police brutality, and the state of American society. The video's provocative content and symbolism added to these conversations and made it a significant cultural and artistic moment. The song and video emphasize the duality of American life, where moments of joy, celebration, and distraction coexist with violence and oppression. This suggests that America can be both this amazing place of freedom and expression but also scary and dangerous. Throughout the video, Childish Gambino uses guns to commit acts of violence, including shooting a gospel choir. These scenes draw attention to the issue of gun violence in America and its impact on communities. The video also critiques the role of smartphones and social media in today's society. At various points in the video, people are seen using their phones to capture the chaos and violence, highlighting how these technologies can both document and trivialize important events. The video ends with Childish Gambino running in fear of a mob, symbolizing the ongoing challenges faced by African Americans and the danger they can encounter in American society. Childish Gambino's portrayal of violence, particularly violence against African Americans, serves as a commentary on racial injustice in the United States. This music video has over 800 million views on YouTube and caused a lot of uproar at the time because people aren't used to seeing America portrayed in this way. We as a society are used to seeing America projected as this' ‘land of free' ' and this video shows quite the opposite. 

A narrative is a form of communication that tells a story, typically involving a sequence of events or experiences, and often with a specific purpose or message. Narratives are a way for humans to make sense of the world and convey information. Palczewski explains that there's a bit of a blurred line between narratives and the truth.  He touches on a subject called “social truths'' which is “beliefs and values that do not refer to some objective reality, but to social reality – those beliefs about what is right that people have arrived at together,” (Palczewski 133). "Social truths" refer to beliefs and values that aren't based on some type of objective reality but rather on what a group of people in a society has collectively agreed upon. These are ideas about what is right or acceptable that the members of a community have developed together. Instead of being universally true or factual, social truths are constructed within a specific social context, shaped by the shared perspectives, norms, and agreements of a particular group or society.

Ideology plays an important role in understanding narrative. Ideology and narrative are closely intertwined concepts that often intersect in many ways. They both play significant roles in shaping how we understand, communicate, and interpret the world around us. Foss explains how the “size of the audience” contributes greatly to the impact that ideology has on the narrative. The size of an audience can have significant effects on the shaping of ideology. The size of the audience has an impact on how beliefs are presented, supported, and rejected in society. Large diverse audiences can be reached by mass media including radio, television, and the Internet. He goes on to say that “mass-mediated or other kinds of public discourse are likely to have more serious ideological consequences in daily conversations with coworkers” Foss (246). Mass media may emphasize and encourage existing social, political, and cultural norms when it spreads certain views because it can easily be reached through a screen. 

One of the narratives evident in “This is America” is that there's immense gun violence in America. The prominent use of guns and the chaotic scenes in the video draw attention to the issue of gun violence in America, emphasizing how it has become a pervasive and destructive part of the nation's identity rather than used to protect us. The video opens with a scene in which Childish Gambino shoots a man who is tied up. This scene immediately highlights the issue of gun violence in America and references the ongoing debate about police brutality and racial profiling. It creates fear and sadness through the use of the visuals and the song lyrics add to those emotional responses. In his lyrics he says “Yeah, this is America. Guns in my area. I got the strap. I gotta carry 'em”.  This promotes the truth that America is a dangerous place because of gun violence. In saying “This is America'', which he repeats throughout the entire song, he's implying that this is how America really is. As a society we are taught throughout our lives that guns protect us and that America is this amazing, free place but this music video represents the social truth that America is not as safe as everyone makes it seem.

Another one of the narratives evident in the music video is that there racial injustice in America. Throughout the video, there are references to racial injustice and the historical oppression of Black Americans. These references include the use of Jim Crow imagery, and references to the Black Lives Matter movement. In the song he repeats the line “This is America, don't catch you slippin' now". This line suggests that Black individuals in America constantly have to be on guard due to the systemic racism and violence embedded in society. He also represents the line, "Get your money, Black man (get your money)" - Again, this line alludes to the economic inequalities faced by Black individuals and the need to overcome financial obstacles. This promotes the social truth that America is a racist place and we aren't as free as it is portrayed to be. 

This narrative might be unproductive for society in certain ways, but overall, is ultimately productive. It might be unproductive if it never highlights the good in America. America is known for its cultural and ethnic diversity and the idea of the “American Dream. People from all over the world have immigrated to the United States to live a better life. With a democratic political system that values individual freedoms and the right to freedom of speech, America has a long tradition of fostering political and social change and has always been “the place to be''. However, the harsh reality is America is not a perfect place at all. With deep-rooted issues of income inequality, racial inequalities and poor access to healthcare continue to bring attention to systemic injustices that affect a large number of people. With that, the message this video is trying to convey is ultimately more productive than unproductive and will hopefully evoke some positive social change. 

In A Model of Competing Narratives by Krir Eliaz and Ran Spiegler it describes how most political disagreements are caused by a “clash of narratives'. In this model, different groups or individuals may construct narratives that align with their perspectives, values, or interests. Since everyone has different interests and views this creates a variety of different narratives which cause competing narratives that reflect the complexity of social, political, and cultural dynamics. Eliaz and Spiegler explain how “narratives can spin fantasies about the consequences of the policies they espouse but not about the status quo” ( Eliaz, Spiegler 3788). This quote highlights the narrative's selective power, suggesting that while it can craft imaginative stories about future policy, it might paint an overly optimistic or fantastical picture of the harsh reality of society. 

In relation to the video, it highlights the harsh reality of society with things such as gun violence, oppression, and  racial inequality in contrast to the prior beliefs that America is this amazing place that is free and where everyone gets along. Those two different narratives compete constantly in today's society because it's very hard for some people to want to  believe that America is a dangerous and racist place but that is the harsh truth unfortunately. And in making music videos with messages like this it opens up the gate to create social change and opens people's eyes to everything wrong with America. 

Works Cited

Childish Gambino. "This Is America." YouTube, uploaded by ChildishGambinoVEVO, 6 May 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY.

Eliaz, Kfir, and Ran Spiegler. “A Model of Competing Narratives.” The American economic review 110.12 (2020): 3786–3816. Web.

Foss, Sonja K. "Ideology Criticism." Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice, 8th ed., Waveland Press, 2014, pp. 233-260. 

Palczewski, Catherine H., et al. Narratives. 2012.

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