Rhetoric and Ideology Project
The project I made was a screenplay called Power Man. It's about a teacher who's committed to teaching his students about private healthcare... and why it's better than public healthcare.
The knowledge he and his students demonstrate are also where I demonstrate my own argument for why private healthcare is better than public healthcare. The story is both comical and informative, and portrays the essence of Rogerian Argumentation -- viewing both sides of a controversy to improve the effectiveness of your discourse. After doing some research on the two versions of healthcare, I provide the audience with the opinions of several credible individuals through fictional dialog.]
During the making of this project, I evolved my ideology of healthcare. Initially, I believed that to diminish public healthcare would be beneficial for people like me who are privledged Americans, and would lower our taxes extremely. Now I realize it isn't as simple as that. Public and private healthcare have proven to be extremely complicated. To take a side on which is better requires an understanding of every aspect of healthcare altogether. It isn't a question of morals, or who deserves more money; Everything is built on a very delicate and complex system. To claim that private healthcare should be expanded in America is like pulling a piece out of a shaky Jenga tower and hoping the tower won't crumble. The issue is very complicated.
One of the subjects we covered in this project was rhetoric. I've always wondered what rhetoric means and now I know. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. To have good rhetoric is to use the tools of Ethos, Pathos and Logos in your message. Rhetoric is about both the person giving the message and the person receiving it. Rhetoric doesn't exist if there isn't both a speaker and a listener. Rhetoric can be something as simple as a traffic sign, or as significant as MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. What they have in common is that they persuade their audience.
King's "I Have a Dream Speech" is persuading its audience to change their ideology. Ideology is one's set of values and beliefs. In his speech, King uses rhetorical discourse that includes, as previously mentioned, Ethos, Pathos and Logos. His Ethos -- his character and trustworthiness -- is displayed without words. It is known that King has a PhD and is renowned as the leader of a civil rights movement. He's black, and the fact that he's speaking into a microphone in front of millions of Americans is a lot of ethos, and therefore, strongly empowers his argument. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." This is pathos -- emotion and empathy. King is speaking of his concern for his children, which is something many people can relate to. He acknowledges the judgement that the nation feels, which sparks lots of emotion, and again, empowers his argument. "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation... but one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free." Logos -- Facts and logic. King opens his speech with the logic that there has been a mistake, and trusts that the people believe that mistake needs to be fixed. Ethos, Pathos and Logos are the building blocks of rhetoric and can help shape ideologies.
In a democracy, there must be great value for Rogerian Argumentation. If everyone has the power to speak their opinion, it should be more than useful to identify with someone else, and to see their side of the argument. By doing this, we instate kindness in our society. We have our own ideologies, but we still have the ability to acknowledge or even appreciate the ideologies of others, even if they contradict ours. Rogerian Argument isn't just a rhetorical strategy - It's an sign of kindness and community.
The knowledge he and his students demonstrate are also where I demonstrate my own argument for why private healthcare is better than public healthcare. The story is both comical and informative, and portrays the essence of Rogerian Argumentation -- viewing both sides of a controversy to improve the effectiveness of your discourse. After doing some research on the two versions of healthcare, I provide the audience with the opinions of several credible individuals through fictional dialog.]
During the making of this project, I evolved my ideology of healthcare. Initially, I believed that to diminish public healthcare would be beneficial for people like me who are privledged Americans, and would lower our taxes extremely. Now I realize it isn't as simple as that. Public and private healthcare have proven to be extremely complicated. To take a side on which is better requires an understanding of every aspect of healthcare altogether. It isn't a question of morals, or who deserves more money; Everything is built on a very delicate and complex system. To claim that private healthcare should be expanded in America is like pulling a piece out of a shaky Jenga tower and hoping the tower won't crumble. The issue is very complicated.
One of the subjects we covered in this project was rhetoric. I've always wondered what rhetoric means and now I know. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. To have good rhetoric is to use the tools of Ethos, Pathos and Logos in your message. Rhetoric is about both the person giving the message and the person receiving it. Rhetoric doesn't exist if there isn't both a speaker and a listener. Rhetoric can be something as simple as a traffic sign, or as significant as MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. What they have in common is that they persuade their audience.
King's "I Have a Dream Speech" is persuading its audience to change their ideology. Ideology is one's set of values and beliefs. In his speech, King uses rhetorical discourse that includes, as previously mentioned, Ethos, Pathos and Logos. His Ethos -- his character and trustworthiness -- is displayed without words. It is known that King has a PhD and is renowned as the leader of a civil rights movement. He's black, and the fact that he's speaking into a microphone in front of millions of Americans is a lot of ethos, and therefore, strongly empowers his argument. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." This is pathos -- emotion and empathy. King is speaking of his concern for his children, which is something many people can relate to. He acknowledges the judgement that the nation feels, which sparks lots of emotion, and again, empowers his argument. "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation... but one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free." Logos -- Facts and logic. King opens his speech with the logic that there has been a mistake, and trusts that the people believe that mistake needs to be fixed. Ethos, Pathos and Logos are the building blocks of rhetoric and can help shape ideologies.
In a democracy, there must be great value for Rogerian Argumentation. If everyone has the power to speak their opinion, it should be more than useful to identify with someone else, and to see their side of the argument. By doing this, we instate kindness in our society. We have our own ideologies, but we still have the ability to acknowledge or even appreciate the ideologies of others, even if they contradict ours. Rogerian Argument isn't just a rhetorical strategy - It's an sign of kindness and community.
The Screenplay: Power Man
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FSD3S6VNkwdHx1QmvLlKxtplOe_zZwUd7Km0VTj8JJY/edit
Philosophy Project: "Your Life On Earth"
The philosophy project was about exploring existential concepts with sources like Aristotle and Alan Watts. My project is a screenplay about a boy similar to Chris McCandless who learns to live life with a balance of sheer hard work and spiritual tranquility. The project is mainly inspired by John Krakauer's book, "Into the Wild," and I made it in hope to address some of our essential questions like, "What is happiness and what makes you happy?" and "What is the purpose of your human experience?"
Over the course of this project, I have learned how to think better. Thinking about existentialism and philosophies can be a great method to reflect on one's self, as I have learned to use philosophies to better live my life. One of these helpful philosophies is one described in a Ted Talk about The Four Pillars of Meaning. After learning about these pillars-- Belonging, Purpose, Transcendence and Storytelling -- all very philosophical concepts, I began to live more healthily and proactively than ever before. Writing my screenplay was another way I mentally adapted. It was challenging writing the script itself, but during the process I created themes that I could see was relevant to my own life.
But there's still things I haven't discovered yet. "What purpose am I meant to serve on this earth?" There's still so many questions to be answered. "Does life even have meaning?" My perspective on everything might totally change in the next five years, and knowing that, it makes everything I do feel so small in the big picture of things. "Is it better to have an easy life or a hard one?" Everything I learned and showed in this project was well worth it when it comes to developing my psyche, and I take pride in the work I did. Now excuse me- I think my head might explode.
(Link to my project, "Lovely Spirit"): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_NIh_AFLAuSzIpWNp_h2tmxIge65r88oyaudwesXptc/edit
Over the course of this project, I have learned how to think better. Thinking about existentialism and philosophies can be a great method to reflect on one's self, as I have learned to use philosophies to better live my life. One of these helpful philosophies is one described in a Ted Talk about The Four Pillars of Meaning. After learning about these pillars-- Belonging, Purpose, Transcendence and Storytelling -- all very philosophical concepts, I began to live more healthily and proactively than ever before. Writing my screenplay was another way I mentally adapted. It was challenging writing the script itself, but during the process I created themes that I could see was relevant to my own life.
But there's still things I haven't discovered yet. "What purpose am I meant to serve on this earth?" There's still so many questions to be answered. "Does life even have meaning?" My perspective on everything might totally change in the next five years, and knowing that, it makes everything I do feel so small in the big picture of things. "Is it better to have an easy life or a hard one?" Everything I learned and showed in this project was well worth it when it comes to developing my psyche, and I take pride in the work I did. Now excuse me- I think my head might explode.
(Link to my project, "Lovely Spirit"): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_NIh_AFLAuSzIpWNp_h2tmxIge65r88oyaudwesXptc/edit