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Essay / Michael Moore's Use of Rhetorical Appeals in Bowling for Columbine
The text Bowling for Columbine by Michael Moore offers the audience a window into a different world, giving them the opportunity to inform and change their perspective on the social problems and concerns. Moore uses rhetorical appeals like ethos, pathos, and logos to help him inform and persuade the public about social concerns like gun control and fear-mongering in the media. When Moore explores the social concern of gun control, he uses his background knowledge to gain trust and credibility as a narrator, making it easier to persuade the audience. Moore uses the juxtaposition of Canada and America to explore the fear mongering in the media and how it creates the need for guns, which helps him use his emotions to connect with the audience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayIn the text Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore explores the social concern of gun control, using ethos to establish his credibility as a narrator. Moore uses his background knowledge on the subject of guns to help persuade the audience, as early in the film he establishes his past and childhood upbringing. It shows how he grew up in Michigan, was surrounded by guns as a child, and even won a National Rifle Association award. Moore says, "It was my first gun, I couldn't wait to shoot up the neighborhood", this quote shows how Moore is very familiar with guns and even enjoys them, but has strong opinions on the gun control. Moore uses this prior knowledge of guns to gain philosophy as a speaker, which makes his opinion more credible and valuable. Having credibility as the narrator of the text makes it easier for Moore to persuade the audience of his view of gun control. In an interview with CNN, Moore said "we need gun control laws passed immediately" and "I refuse to live in a country like this, but I'm not leaving it." These statements show how willing Moore is to change and protest this issue, which builds public trust. Near the end of the film, Moore takes two students who were shot during the Columbine massacre and protests with them against K-Mart's sale of 9mm ammunition. He then interviews and talks with the manager of K-Mart, which proves to the audience that he cares and wants to solve this problem. This reinforces its philosophy by establishing more credibility and trust in the public. Once Moore establishes this credibility and earns the public's trust, he will be able to connect with them with a deeper understanding of the issue. This will help Moore first inform them using his knowledge and then convince the public by explaining why we should change gun control laws. Moore presented the text Bowling for Columbine which allows the audience to be informed and understand the problem of gun control before Moore begins to explore his ideas and opinions on how to solve this problem. Moore does this very well as he demonstrates knowledge of the subject matter to gain credibility, whilst keeping the film informative and humorous, allowing it to offer the audience a window into a different world. Michael Moore also explores the social concern of fear. in media using pathos to create an emotional connection with the audience and the.