Candace Green
English 103
Professor Liu
1-25-09
“Finish the Race”
In the video I chose for my rhetorical analysis the author tries to convey the message that it is important to never give up and to always “finish the race" by using an emotional appeal with the father and son figures. The author uses pathos, narration, and music to capture the audience and encourage the viewer to sympathize with the son and the obstacle he overcame. The video shows the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. During those Olympics Derek Redmond had a disappointing race in the finals when he was forced to pull up early due to a devastating hamstring injury. Derek Redmond was favored to win the 400 meter race in the Olympics. In the video, after falling to his knees in despair and excruciating pain, Derek gets up and begins to hobble toward the finish line. Out of nowhere, his father comes out of the stands and to his aid. Once by his father’s side, the Olympic sprinter breaks down in hysterics on his father’s shoulder as his father helps him make it to the finish line.
This display of emotion is enough to capture any audiences’ attention. The author uses pathos, or “pathetic appeal”, to gain the audiences’ minds. When working with pathos, the main idea is that the reader will be receptive and be convinced by the message. This video is a perfect match for the message the author is trying to portray that you should never give up and always finish. Where most people would just give up and accept defeat, Derek Redmond did not, and that is what many people fail to do in today’s world.
The author had to first come up with an idea that he was going to portray before finding the right video. He obviously wanted to show his audience strong emotion and strong people. With millions of videos to choose from, the video of Derek Redmond’s race fit best. Once coming up with an idea it was time for the author to organize his ideas and capture the message at hand in the video. Notice that the only part was shown in the video was the beginning to the end of this specific race. The author knew that no more or no less was needed for the audience to understand the picture he was drawing for them. Now that the author has organized his thoughts he chose to take a serious fatherly-like tone in the video. The author does this by using the song “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed and playing it in the background of the video. The song matches the video perfectly because it evokes an embracing feeling that the audience can relate to. Also the video needs to have an upbeat and inspirational tone to persuade the audience to follow the message at-hand.
Along with the tone it is important that the author presents the message in a way that the viewers will be able to remember and not forget. This is achieved by insuring that the video is one that will catch the initial attention of the viewers. The message would be lost if it was not presented in a way that the audience would not be able to recall. The video is unique, making it all possible for the viewers to be able to remember and not forget the message that you should never give up and always “finish the race”. Overall, this video brings a lot of emotions to mind. As I watched the video, I found myself feeling very bad for the sprinter and when his father came to his rescue I began to water at the eyes. This goes to show that the emotions felt while watching this video is enough to make the audience not only feel a bond with the athlete but also put ourselves in that position. This is enough to make anyone want to not give up and “finish the race.”
The picture to go along with the video captures the pain and agony felt by Derek Redmond as he watches his Olympic Gold dream end. The picture is taken just as Derek breaks down to tears as his father comes to his side to comfort him and help him get to the finish line. The shot was taken at the perfect moment to imprison all of the feelings felt in the race. The photographer obviously wanted to use pathos, or the emotional appeal, to gain the focus of his audience. It is necessary that the picture is remembered by the audience for it to gain its’ full rhetorical purpose. Without a caption or video to go along with this picture, it would be hard for the audience to be able to fathom what is taking place in the picture. That is why the picture alone is not enough to grasp the full message of the author.
When first looking at the picture, one would see only a man crying while being held by another man. After further investigation, the viewer could infer that the man crying is a track athlete, but from the picture it is impossible to tell that the man consoling the runner is his father. Also in the picture you would not be able to tell that the runner and his father are still walking to the finish line of the race. From the picture, the viewer would not understand the emotions of the race or what exactly has happened to bring about the emotion. It is obvious that the picture alone just does not promote the message to never give up and “finish the race.” Also the audience would probably not remember the picture as well as they would the actual video footage of the race. This is why one of America’s leading credit card companies, VISA, decided to use the footage from the race in one of their leading commercials for this decade. The commercial uses parts of the race footage along with the voice of well known actor Morgan Freeman to promote their product, the VISA card. The commercial uses pathos, by including the emotional video, but it also uses ethos, “the appeal to authority or character; or according to Aristotle, ethos means the character or goodwill of the speaker.” Morgan Freeman is the background voice to the commercial and is an actor who is well-known by all Americans. Freeman is respected by the public and in most of his movies he is seen as a comforting and trusted individual. When the commercial comes on, the voice heard is a familiar one, being that Morgan Freeman is in a wide variety of movies that covers many audiences. It is important that the speaker also catches the audiences’ attention so that is why VISA chose to use a prominent voice like Morgan Freeman’s. With the combination of ethos and pathos the author has a much better chance of making it so that the audience will remember and recall this commercial instead of just watching and forgetting. The audience also is more interested and inclined to listen when the narrator is one that they have heard before. The tone of Morgan Freeman’s voice is one that brings comfort and assurance to the audience.
It is clear that the authors took all canons of rhetoric into thought when developing their video, commercial, and picture. Without using all of these rhetorical devices, the message would not be relayed in the manner that it was suppose to be. By using the American hero figure and the all-American actor, the audiences can not only feel a sense of comfort, but have the opportunity to place themselves in that position, allowing them to feel and understand the true significance of the reason behind the commercial. Without the perfect planning and organization, none of the emotion felt while watching the video and commercial would have been achieved and not only would the message have been lost ,but the author’s attempts would have been futile. Knowing that the author did a good job in using his rhetorical devices he can rest assure that anybody flipping through the channels that falls upon this commercial, will not only remember VISA, but will also remember the comforting voice of Morgan Freeman and the courageous race of Derek Redmond. All of these rhetorical appeals come together to portray the author’s main message that you should never give up no matter what obstacles are in your path and you should always “finish the race.”
Works Cited
Alfano, Christine and Alyssa O’Brien. Envision in Depth: Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. Pearson Longman. 2008.
English 103
Professor Liu
1-25-09
“Finish the Race”
In the video I chose for my rhetorical analysis the author tries to convey the message that it is important to never give up and to always “finish the race" by using an emotional appeal with the father and son figures. The author uses pathos, narration, and music to capture the audience and encourage the viewer to sympathize with the son and the obstacle he overcame. The video shows the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. During those Olympics Derek Redmond had a disappointing race in the finals when he was forced to pull up early due to a devastating hamstring injury. Derek Redmond was favored to win the 400 meter race in the Olympics. In the video, after falling to his knees in despair and excruciating pain, Derek gets up and begins to hobble toward the finish line. Out of nowhere, his father comes out of the stands and to his aid. Once by his father’s side, the Olympic sprinter breaks down in hysterics on his father’s shoulder as his father helps him make it to the finish line.
This display of emotion is enough to capture any audiences’ attention. The author uses pathos, or “pathetic appeal”, to gain the audiences’ minds. When working with pathos, the main idea is that the reader will be receptive and be convinced by the message. This video is a perfect match for the message the author is trying to portray that you should never give up and always finish. Where most people would just give up and accept defeat, Derek Redmond did not, and that is what many people fail to do in today’s world.
The author had to first come up with an idea that he was going to portray before finding the right video. He obviously wanted to show his audience strong emotion and strong people. With millions of videos to choose from, the video of Derek Redmond’s race fit best. Once coming up with an idea it was time for the author to organize his ideas and capture the message at hand in the video. Notice that the only part was shown in the video was the beginning to the end of this specific race. The author knew that no more or no less was needed for the audience to understand the picture he was drawing for them. Now that the author has organized his thoughts he chose to take a serious fatherly-like tone in the video. The author does this by using the song “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed and playing it in the background of the video. The song matches the video perfectly because it evokes an embracing feeling that the audience can relate to. Also the video needs to have an upbeat and inspirational tone to persuade the audience to follow the message at-hand.
Along with the tone it is important that the author presents the message in a way that the viewers will be able to remember and not forget. This is achieved by insuring that the video is one that will catch the initial attention of the viewers. The message would be lost if it was not presented in a way that the audience would not be able to recall. The video is unique, making it all possible for the viewers to be able to remember and not forget the message that you should never give up and always “finish the race”. Overall, this video brings a lot of emotions to mind. As I watched the video, I found myself feeling very bad for the sprinter and when his father came to his rescue I began to water at the eyes. This goes to show that the emotions felt while watching this video is enough to make the audience not only feel a bond with the athlete but also put ourselves in that position. This is enough to make anyone want to not give up and “finish the race.”
The picture to go along with the video captures the pain and agony felt by Derek Redmond as he watches his Olympic Gold dream end. The picture is taken just as Derek breaks down to tears as his father comes to his side to comfort him and help him get to the finish line. The shot was taken at the perfect moment to imprison all of the feelings felt in the race. The photographer obviously wanted to use pathos, or the emotional appeal, to gain the focus of his audience. It is necessary that the picture is remembered by the audience for it to gain its’ full rhetorical purpose. Without a caption or video to go along with this picture, it would be hard for the audience to be able to fathom what is taking place in the picture. That is why the picture alone is not enough to grasp the full message of the author.
When first looking at the picture, one would see only a man crying while being held by another man. After further investigation, the viewer could infer that the man crying is a track athlete, but from the picture it is impossible to tell that the man consoling the runner is his father. Also in the picture you would not be able to tell that the runner and his father are still walking to the finish line of the race. From the picture, the viewer would not understand the emotions of the race or what exactly has happened to bring about the emotion. It is obvious that the picture alone just does not promote the message to never give up and “finish the race.” Also the audience would probably not remember the picture as well as they would the actual video footage of the race. This is why one of America’s leading credit card companies, VISA, decided to use the footage from the race in one of their leading commercials for this decade. The commercial uses parts of the race footage along with the voice of well known actor Morgan Freeman to promote their product, the VISA card. The commercial uses pathos, by including the emotional video, but it also uses ethos, “the appeal to authority or character; or according to Aristotle, ethos means the character or goodwill of the speaker.” Morgan Freeman is the background voice to the commercial and is an actor who is well-known by all Americans. Freeman is respected by the public and in most of his movies he is seen as a comforting and trusted individual. When the commercial comes on, the voice heard is a familiar one, being that Morgan Freeman is in a wide variety of movies that covers many audiences. It is important that the speaker also catches the audiences’ attention so that is why VISA chose to use a prominent voice like Morgan Freeman’s. With the combination of ethos and pathos the author has a much better chance of making it so that the audience will remember and recall this commercial instead of just watching and forgetting. The audience also is more interested and inclined to listen when the narrator is one that they have heard before. The tone of Morgan Freeman’s voice is one that brings comfort and assurance to the audience.
It is clear that the authors took all canons of rhetoric into thought when developing their video, commercial, and picture. Without using all of these rhetorical devices, the message would not be relayed in the manner that it was suppose to be. By using the American hero figure and the all-American actor, the audiences can not only feel a sense of comfort, but have the opportunity to place themselves in that position, allowing them to feel and understand the true significance of the reason behind the commercial. Without the perfect planning and organization, none of the emotion felt while watching the video and commercial would have been achieved and not only would the message have been lost ,but the author’s attempts would have been futile. Knowing that the author did a good job in using his rhetorical devices he can rest assure that anybody flipping through the channels that falls upon this commercial, will not only remember VISA, but will also remember the comforting voice of Morgan Freeman and the courageous race of Derek Redmond. All of these rhetorical appeals come together to portray the author’s main message that you should never give up no matter what obstacles are in your path and you should always “finish the race.”
Works Cited
Alfano, Christine and Alyssa O’Brien. Envision in Depth: Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. Pearson Longman. 2008.
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