How Pathos Expression Makes Us Feel.

Pathos can be defined in very complex ways, and the most simple is to understand that it is an appeal to the emotions of an audience or individual. Many times our emotions can surface when we view context that either we've experienced, or we can gain some type of understanding from. These emotions don't have to me positive or negative exactly, but can evoke some time of feeling anywhere from the expression of gender roles, ego gratification, reassurance of worth, creativity, love objects, power, and more that could involve our emotion placement and or needs. Without ever realizing it, pathos is such a significant term that can be used to understand, discuss or better understand why our emotions cause us to feel a certain way. In almost every advertisement, although logos and ethos are apparent, pathos is ever-present. Whenever we sit and observe a commercial, regardless of if we are conscious of it, we associate a feeling with it, and whether it is relatable or not, we will continue to associate those feelings with what the advertisement is trying to show or sell.

I recently watched a foreign commercial in another language, and without even reading the english subtitles, I automatically associated a feeling to it. There was a kid acting up in the grocery store, and automatically I thought about when I grocery shopped with young kids before and how my experience matched. I also began to sympathize with the father in this scene, as well as feel embarrassed for him because of how his child was acting out. I think pathos works best when it's a visual scene and no dialogue or ability to interpret the dialogue. This way the audience is better able to connect with the ad all on their own, and without the influence of words. Just as I was relating with the ad., the words "use condoms" appeared at the bottom of the commercial. This changes the whole element of the commercial, because at first we are connecting to it, and then these words create a placement of where the ad stands. So while reading "use condoms" some people might respond to it as a funny commercial, while others might take offense, and its interesting to note how that one word could change the entire interpretation of the commercial and it's message.

Disturbed.

buzzfeed.com

In our society, we are almost overwhelmed by the numerous ads we encounter on a daily basis. So much so that we aren't really conscious of them, nor the amount of times we see them, or even the affects they have on us. One could be waiting for a bus and encounter an ad, preparing to watch their favorite tv show, reading a newspaper, browsing the web and Facebook stalking, and more. As a  society we've in a way accepted ads as apart of our day to day lives, and while so may catch our attention over others, we are often driven to feel some type of emotion from such ads, and in rhetoric that technique of appealing to emotions in referred to as pathos. After reading about pathos, I found it to be one of my favorite chapters in my Rhetoric and Civic Life textbook. It has opened my eyes to not only take a deeper look at the styles and techniques of ads, but also notice the different emotions that unfold within myself based on the type of ad being presented.

While browsing on my Facebook, I came to view a post put up by one of my friends, from buzzfeed. When I first read the title "25 Extremely Upsetting Reactions At The Grammys", I immediately thought that it was a response to Chris Brown's Grammy performance, and that maybe a lot of viewers disliked it (as I did). But what I  was shocked to find out, was that a lot of women were responding to the Chris Brown charges of assault  to musical artist Rihanna, due to a recent court appearance. While watching his performance at the Grammys, no one was commenting on his actual talent or style of performing, but how much they loved him to the point that they thought it was ok for him to "beat" them?! This was extremely sickening for me to read, that in my own society, as well as generation, that abuse would ever be not only justified but asked for because of the type a talent or celebrity one was.

This certainly appealed to my emotions, and the definition of pathos, in which I automatically was moved by the comments, as well as held some type of self reflection. I considered what this meant about the females who actually wrote the comments and what it said about their self esteem, as well as the readers who in a way would feel some type of pity for girls who wrote this. As a girl myself, I couldn't imagine or believe that when it came down to it, such girls would actually advocate for domestic violence, and I'm sure for parents reading this as well that it would saddened them to know that young girls found this acceptable at all. Even viewing us as a society, one would think that we came along way from sexism and constantly campaign against abuse. We would suppose that this public domestic violence case would show young girls not to settle for but campaign against domestic abuse. Maybe it's the lack of true emotions that the young girls making such comments have, but hopefully we could make an even bigger example of Chris Brown to show just how serious and present domestic abuse is.

Kanye & His Ego....or Ethos?

Rhetoric is present within almost everything surrounding us and our daily lives. Yet, it is often credited through public speeches and writing. When you think about award shows like the VMAs, rhetoric is present through the style of performances in which the audience is entertained by the special affects, the voice of the artist, the message in their songs, as well as their self presentations through attire or even dance moves. Each artists understands that they can gain credibility through having "the performance of the night" and so they work hard to present this, as a way of persuading the audience into taking note of their talent and overall effort. Apart of creating this artistic means of rhetoric, involves styles a like ethos in which a person's character (and in this case, the artists' talent) is showcased by means of such. When you consider artists like Chris Brown, while his fan base and views of his moral character have changed due to his own personal actions, his music allows him a sort of redemption when he performs at award shows. His audience expects him to sing amazingly, have the best dance performance of the night, as well as look stylistic, and that's all what he incorporates into his performances.

An even bigger showcase of rhetoric among award shows, are the celebrities winning speeches. Everyone listening is interested to know how one feels and thinks about receiving the award, as well as their approach in going about expressing such feelings. My most memorable award speeches have been those that have brought people to tears, have been funny or entertaining, as well as a few of those highly inappropriate ones that continues to be talked about to this day. It is all in the style, presentation, and approach of these speeches that when found moving or original to the audience, will forever remain memorable. For artist like Taylor Swift, winning her first VMA award was an exciting moment for her. She expresses this in her facial expression when she receives the award, and as she continues to thank the people that helped her along the way. What she didn't expect was Kanye West to take that happy moment away from her and embarrass her, by telling her that she was undeserving of her award. There was something so morally wrong with his character which can also be viewed as his expression of ethos, and it wasn't just that he was being harsh, but that his announcement wasn't an either appropriate place or time. 

In the style of rhetoric, Kanye West wasn't able to be persuasive in his argument about who was more deserving of the award because of his overall handling of the situation. Having prior knowledge of Kanye Wests having a history of an outspoken and often inappropriate character, it became immediately difficult to hold any sympathy for him and his actions. If Kanye and his "ethos" went about the situation in another way, like maybe writing an article describing Beyonce's achievements compared to Taylor's and was able to do so professionally and efficiently, than the public wouldn't have been as disapproving and judgmental towards his character. As a society, we often look to celebrities to be sort of spokes people that are expected to express good morals and have proper self presentations. Where we went wrong was with expecting Kanye West to follow the norms of society, as well as uphold a sense of ethos in establishing his artistic presentation of character. 

This I Believe.

I believe in Paris and Germany.

Nows the Time.

There has been many times throughout history, where particular events has become the spotlight of our society. The response to such events comes forth in such a dramatic and explosive way, that it is often represented by immediate emotional reactions and actions rather than thoughtful consideration. Yet which one is more  appropriate? Some may argue that its is of greater value to discuss situations or events while they are at hand, and others prefer to grasp a better understanding of what the event is an expression of, and then go forth from there. This idea of expressing rhetoric at a particular time or rather opportunity, can be defined by the Greek word, kairos. Ancient Greek thinkers valued kairos as an important means of discussing timely issues with an audience before the impact of the issue diminishes. In today's times, our society is so greatly influenced by the media that the process in which we take on and interpret information has mostly been fabricated and presented by means of creating an intriguing story through a very competitive manner. So when news often comes to us through these means, it is often the story we receive from one source that we react from without taking consideration of all other perspectives.

In my own opinion, I believe that within every story or report that it is on the basis of the story's context in which we should decide how and when to speak upon it. When traumatic events take place in which the society is divided on sides to take, the reactions to events are shown to be just as traumatic. For example, in LA when news broke out about the "Rodney King" case, almost immediately riots broke out. While it held no actual benefit (as many riots don't) perhaps speaking or discussing the need for equality and justice prior to these events, could have prevented the danger and violence that had followed.

When we hear news reports of "student killed while driving and texting" its so prevalent and possible in the lives of many that it becomes a significant topic to discuss. From there we consider how to optimize the means in which we take on the report, and act from there. In this situation, the timing is completely important and should immediately be discussed to stop such horrific and preventable deaths. If we were to wait and not reflect on this report as sad as it is, then the "texting and driving" epidemic would only continue to worsen, and as a society I'm sure many can agree at seizing such an opportunity to take action. Already so many have created petitions to vow that they wouldn't text and drive, while it continues to become outlawed in many states.