The purpose of this essay is to go beyond definitional issues to the expression of a value judgment as the central argument. For this reason, we will examine the rhetorical concepts of ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos while analyzing their application in mainstream film. We will first read and interpret bell hooks’s article discussing the implications of racial ideology in popular culture and, then, apply her arguments to the critical acceptance of Crash and the cultural failure of Dave Chappelle’s Block Party. Using hooks will allow us to ask why one movie was more successful than the other, and it will allow us to explore how ideology informs standards of judgment. Your paper must be 5-8 pages long, typed, double-spaced, and Times New Roman font. The criteria for the assignment include:
You must relate Bell Hooks’s article entitled Columbus, Gone but Not Forgotten to your own argument. What is her argument and how does she support it? Does she have good ethos, pathos, logos, or kairos? Why or why not? You should use her argument to inform your own critical perspective and create your own criteria for evaluating the movie(s).
You must display a working understanding of ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos in your own argument by applying these concepts to your writing. How are you making yourself more credible? What values, emotions, traditions, or assumptions are you appealing to in order to enhance your pathos? What about your argument is “timely” or appropriate for a twenty-first century discussion of race and movies?
You must evaluate one or both of the movies based on a set standard of criteria, and you must acknowledge how you developed this criteria. Why is acting, screenplay, script, cinematography, soundtrack, etc important considerations when judging a movie?
You must work to support your thesis using sufficient grounds and backing. Sources may include other movie references, film theory, traditional library materials, internet sources, and/or other academic sources. You must have at least five sources total, and MLA must be used to format and cite these sources.
