Michael Moore Rhetorical Techniques

In 2004, Obama walked up to the podium at the Democratic National Convention as a political novelty. The speech he delivered established Obama as a natural leader and transformed him into a future presidential candidate. Rich in demonstrative rhetoric, its purpose was to unite the American people through nationalism. The exploration of his rhetoric and style throughout this paper will cement why the speech was beneficially identity transforming for Obama's political career.

Socialism in the United States tends to keep itself hidden and rarely show. Although it is something huge according to Scholars like Louis Hartz’s , David Montogmery, E.L. Godkin and Werner Sombart. David Montogomery says “ the American form of Socialism has centered on control of the workplace rather than creating a

However, this system has been a part of a never ending healthcare debate. Many argue that this system underperforms habitually as the deliverables are in no match to the amount of spending. The discussion has largely been based on government-mandate of universal health coverage plan and the costs of the healthcare in the country. This structure has repeatedly been questioned on it access, efficiency and quality. Several feel that the beneficiary is not the average American but insurance companies and health care lobbyists. Like everywhere else, where there is refute; there is reform. In the year 2004, the First Lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s attempt to reform the healthcare scene by criticizing its basis and offering remedies was defeated by the Congress. In 2007, filmmaker Michael Moore’s, Sicko; denunciated the American healthcare system and how it affects its people.

Everybody’s felt it. That tingling sensation making all the hairs stand on the back of your neck. The sweat slowly rolling down the spine. The consciousness that everyone is staring at you, and knows the horrible deed you’ve committed. The guilty conscience of a six-year-old is a terrifying experience, and Gary Soto portrays it perfectly in his short autobiography reminiscing on when he plundered an apple pie many years ago. As we follow young Soto through the pressures of being a young criminal, he enhances the readers understanding of what it was like by using many different rhetorical devices and strategies. Soto uses a combination of imagery, symbols, and intriguing diction that allows the reader to peer into the life of his younger self.

As Commander-In-Chief of a nation emerging from a recession, President John F. Kennedy addresses the hike in steel prices to the American public and steel companies to stigmatize the nation’s leading steel companies for their unnecessary decision to increase steel prices. Within his speech, Kennedy’s use of rhetorical strategies to enhance his purpose is dominated by his dichotomous diction to separate himself from the affluent and align with the suffering American people, parallelism and anaphora to emphasize the equal magnitude of previous American crises to the rise of steel prices, and cause and effect organizational mode to highlight the numerous detrimental effects on the American public caused by the steel companies’ hike in steel prices.

Sicko is a 2007 documentary produced, written and directed by the American filmmaker Michael Moore. The film investigates the United States health cares system, focusing primarily on health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. Moore does not in fact pose questions as to how America should reform its health care however it does suggest many solutions.

The latest health care reform has done what few policies manage to do – sicken both republicans and progressive democrats. While we can all agree that a reform of the health care system is sorely needed, we must also acknowledge that “Obamacare” is not the cure-all we so desperately require. Rather, President Obama, like a medieval barber, prescribed a health care reform that treated the symptoms of our flawed system rather than the actual disease. The subsidization of health insurance providers has proven ineffective at providing affordable coverage for all. Certainly one is likely to hear the various incendiary talking points of both the proponents and opponents. Whether it’s the republican candidates blaspheming Obamacare as socialism, or the administration praising the success of health care for all, it is difficult to actually find constructive dialogue. We are purview to many sound bites, but few actual solutions. We have witnessed heated debates, but rarely do we witness intelligent discourse. If beneficial reform is to be crafted and implemented, we must first acknowledge the issues and inconsistencies of the current system and begin to explore alternate methods of providing health care to the American people.

Brent Staples, in his literary essay “Just Walk On By”, uses a variety of rhetorical strategies. The devices he uses throughout his essay effectively engage the audience in a series of his own personal anecdotes and thoughts. He specifically shifts the reader's perspective towards the unvoiced and the judged. Within the essay, Staples manipulates several rhetorical strategies, such as perspective and metaphor, in order to emphasize the damage stereotypes have caused against the mindsets and perceptions of society as a whole.

Analyzing communication messages through late-night shows varies. Mixing humor with specific news stories provides an interesting message, depending on the audience. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver uses specific news segments and analyzes it through the use of extensive research and humor. This includes his segment on the New York Yankees, where he makes it very clear which position he is taking on the issue. This segment dives into the elitist practices of the Yankees organization, which include not allowing fans to print out tickets at home and opening the elite Legends Club with expensive premium seats. Through the use of effective theories and

A method that resonates the best for my artifact is Neo-Aristotelian, an “original method of criticism” (Newbold & Scoot, 2017). This method can best help analyze not only speeches, but also advertisements, novels, public service announcements, etc. Deliberative genre, outlined by Aristotle, is demonstrated in this speech as an attempt to “persuade [young adults] to take some action” to become successful in their future (Nordquist, 2017). Thoroughly invested in the future of young adults, success is what Eric Thomas strives for his audiences to reach and works at gaining their initiative to do so.

On September 11, 2001, the Islamist terrorist group known as al-Qaeda launched a series of terrorist attacks on the United States of America, specifically in the New York City and Washington D.C areas. Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes with the intention of using them as suicide attacks that would crash those planes into designated buildings, or targets. Two of the four passenger jets were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, both of which collapsed entirely within two hours of being hit. The third plane was crashed into the Pentagon, and the west side of the building, which is the

The solutions suggested by the movie are clear, attainable, fair and fiscally possible. Money will keep driving the issue and we can make a change in the game of healthcare by becoming aware of the issue and lobbying against the status quo, which is clearly not working for the greatest country on earth.

Terry Moore presented a Technology, Education, Design (TED) Talk in May of 2011 entitled “How to Tie Your Shoes.” During which, he humorously explained the best way to tie one's shoes to a group of highly intelligent individuals. He displayed the age-old ways of how to tie shoes, and shows why his way is the best. Moore tries to show everyone that the processes people do every day have the possibility to be improved. Moore does a fantastic job delivering information about a seemingly silly topic, tying one’s shoes, through his own personal experiences and the informal words he used during his speech.

In the episode “Scientific Studies” on the tv show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”, he employs a plethora of rhetorical strategies to depict his point that not all “science” is necessarily science as most might assume; and how we as a people have become blinded and misled because these scientists are contradicting each other's’ findings. He does so by using humor, making comments that some people might be able to relate to, and by presenting basic logic and common knowledge.

Thus as a means to educate the viewer, Moore could have highlighted the positives of socialized medicine (health care for all, subsidized drugs etc.) and the negatives and opened questions as to what aspects of socialized medicine can be adapted to the U.S. Health Care system. It would also have been interesting to see how some of these countries are now taking measures to reduce wait times by increasing transparency and actively adopting privatizations.