Rhetorical Analysis: the Influence of Television

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Have you ever considered the rhetorical properties within a television commercial? This paper will not only analyze a commercial for rhetorical content, but persuasive value as well. The commercial being analyzed was an ad for the satellite television company, DirecTV. It appeared during a commercial block on Comedy Central, a popular television channel. It can also be viewed on the popular video streaming website, YouTube, by using the following link. The commercial opens with a conservative-looking man watching television. He appears too struggle with the controller, in an attempt to change the channel. When his efforts fail, he slams his hand down on the arm of the chair out of frustration. The camera pans to a young girl who slams her hand onto the coffee table in a similar manner as her father did. The scene then cuts to a school cafeteria where a crowd has gathered around an older version of the girl in the previous scene. She is seen standing in front of a teacher that has a tray of food in his hands. The narrator then says "When your daughter imitates, she gets thrown out of school;" in reference to the man's actions in the previous scene. The girl proceeds to slam her hand into the tray of food, knocking it to the floor. The clip picks up in a seedy looking arcade where a group of teens in dark clothes and heavy makeup are gathered around an arcade machine. The speaker mentions "When you daughter gets kicked out of school, she meets undesirables." The camera then zooms in on the girl from the previous scene, and the boy playing the arcade game. From there it fades into a wedding scene where the guy and girl previously pictured are kissing furiously. Then the commercial cuts to its final scene. Father and daughter are sitting in the kitchen of her childhood home. She hands her father a baby that is wearing a leather vest and a studded dog collar. The

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