Rhetorical Analysis for Film Trailer

The Company Men

1. The argument of this film trailer is that working men in America do not need to be ashamed of losing their jobs or having financial problems because the economy has been hard on several men who work hard to support their families.

2. The audience includes working men in America who have lost their job or had economic hardships because of the economy, have a family to support, and are frustrated with the poor economy.

3. The goal of this film trailer is not only to get the audience to see the film, but to instill hope within the working men of America that they can find ways to support their families and be proud of themselves.

4. The film trailer tries to accomplish the goal of instilling hope within working American men through several elements of rhetoric.

Pathos- The trailer uses probably its strongest persuasive tool with the element of pathos to instill certain emotions such as sympathy, heartache and hope. The trailer depicts scenes of the main character, Ben Affleck, being with his family and wife to gain sympathy with the audience when he loses his job. The trailer also shows the wife and main character crying and trying to care for their family which evokes the emotions of heartache and once again sympathy. The trailer also plays inspirational music at the end along with scenes of Ben Affleck finding several ways to get work, which evokes hope within the audience.

Ethos- The film trailer uses the element of ethos to persuade the audience towards the goal of seeing the move and instilling hope within the audience. This is done through the use of “name-dropping” or displaying the faces and names of prominent actors such as Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner and Chris Cooper. By showing actors that have had successful movies in the past and have credibility, the trailer brings authority to its film and its message.

Typical- Another element of rhetoric the film trailer utilizes is presenting an argument that is acceptable to its audience. This issue is an extremely relevant issue to its audience, since the economy is a hot topic for almost all working men in America and several men with families have been affected by it. It is very representative of its audience, and real concerns and issues that the audience is dealing with. The trailer also does not fall too much under “Ad Populum” or jumping on the bandwagon of complaining of economic issues because it presents a positive argument.

Relevant- The relevance of the trailer is a weak point for the argument. There are several love scenes between the husband and wife, while although they might evoke the emotions of love and passion and apply to pathos, seem to have little if any relevance to the main goal of the trailer. However, this type of relationship would be relevant to the audience of working men who have a healthy relationship with their own wife.

5. Due to its extremely persuasive use of pathos and its relevance to its audience, this film trailer is very successful in both its argument and goal of not only getting people to see the film, but sympathizing with the hardships of this economy and instilling hope into the hearts of frustrated working middle-aged men in America.