Rhethorical Analysis - Grade: A PDF

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This is a rhetorical analysis of a popular youtube video and the concept discussed....

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Jane Doe ENG 103 November 2018

Mclntosh’s Review on the “Adorkable Misogyny” in Television Media Misogyny is the dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women. In a society full of inequality in regards of race, sexuality and gender; how would you expect Hollywood to depict such a concept like misogyny? Jonathan Mclntosh, creator and producer of the YouTube channel, Pop Culture Detective, claims that television media broadcast misogyny often, and the elements of misogyny are presented by characters who are believed to be the “nerdy nice guys”. Thus their misogynistic ways are accepted with no consequences or reprimanded-ness, on the contrary, “nerdy nice guys” do not need to be written as misogynists. With strong use of the rhetorical appeals ethos, logos and pathos, Mclntosh is very effective in informing his targeted audience, those who watch tv, of the misogyny presented in television media. Mclntosh’s opens the video analysis with the logical appeal of stating a fact, “The Big Bang Theory is the most popular show on television.” According to the article, “Tops of 2016: TV” from the Nielsen NNTV Program Report, The Big Bang Theory was in fact the most popular viewed tv show. In doing that he not only appeals to logos, but appeals to ethos as well in that his research builds his credibility. According to Jonathan Mclntosh, in his video analysis, The Adorkable Misogyny of the Big Bang Theory, the four main characters of The Big Bang Theory, “...happen to be the perfect embodiment of a media trope which I call, The Adorkable Misogynist.” Mclntosh further explains that an adorkable misogynist is “the male characters

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whose geeky versions of masculinity is framed as both comically pathetic and endearing.” he states. The concept of “the adorkable misogynist” is how Mclntosh begins his argument and claim that misogyny is broadcast on television and is accepted due to adorkable characters, yet nerdy characters do not need to be written as “adorkable misogynist”. In order to support his claim he provides a timeline of examples as evidence. He begins with the early 80s era, specifically 1984 when Revenge of the Nerds premiered. “These weren’t the first socially awkward nerds to grace the big screen but they did help popularize this type of character.” Mclntosh’s voice over at this time is very effective. As he makes this statement, clips of other films appear as support. His second example being The Nutty Professor from 1963. As the other five examples appears, Mclntosh builds his ethical appeal due to his research continuing to establish his credibility. He continues with, “Over the next few years this geeky guy archetype quickly gained traction in Hollywood…”. Segments from popular 80s films play in the background to enhance his timeline of evidence. Scenes from the movies Sixteen Candles, Weird Science and Back to the Future play. As the video continues, 90s sitcoms, Family Matters and Saved by the Bell play as Mclntosh voice overs, “...and by the 1990s it had become a something of a mainstay in comedy entertainment.” As the video progresses, he begins his emotional appeal when he mentions the actions that these “adorkable misogynist” partake in. Mclntosh states, “ On closer inspection, however, we start to notice that these type of characters are shown engaging in a variety of harassing, entitled and sexist behavior where women are concerned. They consistently stalk, spy on, lie to, and try to manipulate the women in their lives. They’re overbearing, they refuse to take no for an answer, and they often ignore the basic tenets of consent. Most of this behavior falls under the

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rubric of sexual harassment and occasionally it escalates to the level of sexual assault.” His statements again are effective as a voice over in that, the scene from Sixteen Candles, where the boys are showing off girls underwear in the bathroom plays. Next appears a scene from Back to the Future. One of the main male characters is watching a woman getting dressed. He watches through his binoculars from a tree across from her bedroom window. Another clip from Revenge of the Nerds plays as Mclntosh speaks. In this scene one of the male main characters is in the bathroom when a woman opens the shower curtain. Even though she screams and tells him to get away he continues to follow her. He continues to pull on heartstrings with his appeal to pathos by adding supportive evidence on the sexually harassing and assaulting behavior “adorkable misogynist” do. In the video, clips from Sixteen Candles and Revenge of the Nerds plays back to back showing sexual assault. As they play, Mclntosh says, “Both Revenge of the Nerds and Sixteen Candles include scenes in which geeky nice guys commit acts of rape. This kind of behavior should be understood as reprehensible. I say “should be,” because that’s not how these tv shows and movies frame it. Instead their behavior is framed as kinda pathetic but ultimately harmless, and even endearing in an adorkable sort of way. And it’s the adorkable part of the “adorkable misogynist” that makes this trope so insidious.” Mclntosh continues to use appeal to ethos and pathos as adds to his argument. He explains the concept of “lampshading” and how writers of producers of The Big Bang Theory use it in the show. “Lampshading” calls attention to the misogynistic behavior, yet covers it up as humorous to make it appear harmless. As Mclntosh explains “lampshading” a clip from the 1917 movie The Adventurer plays. Afterwards a clip from The Three Stooges: Dopey Dicks (1950) plays. The two scenes gives examples of how long “lampshading” has been used in Hollywood.

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His voice over explanation again provides an appeal to ethos in that he continues to build his credibility. Mclntosh concludes the video with an appeal to pathos. He emphasizes the ways women are mistreated and disrespected with the “adorkable misogynist” trope. He says, “At it’s core the “Adorkable Misogynist” is built around the old axiom that “boys will be boys.” And by that phrase really means is, “boys will be sexist” or “boys will be creepy stalkers who sexually harass women” as the case may be.” He continues with explaining how the trope downplays sexism and the four main characters of The Big Bang Theory get away with sexist behaviors, even though it is harmful to the women around them on the show. According to Mclntosh, “The bottom line here is that there’s nothing cute or harmless about misogyny, even if it’s coming from men who play Klingon Boggle. It’s really not that difficult to write nerdy male characters who aren’t total creeps. There’s Abed from the show Community. There’s Lionel from the Dear White People the TV series. And there’s Ben from Parks and Rec who created his own super geeky overly complicated board game. All these characters somehow manage to perform quirky, awkward, and often humorous forms of masculinity without the undercurrent of retrograde sexism. It’s long past time for Hollywood to retire the Adorkable Misogynist trope.” In conclusion Mclntosh’s appeals to pathos and ethos drove his argument in a very effective way. He used emotional appeals with strong diction and clips he chose to use as supporting evidence from different shows and movies. He established his credibility through research multiple times. Although his appeals to logos were a bit short handed, overall it was still effective in that it supported his argument....