AshleyD.

Michulka

DepthofCulture
Rhetoricsymbolicmeaningisusedtomodifythewayothersthinkaboutacertain
situationorexperience,andisoftentimesfalselytakentomeansomethingnegativeor
deceptive.Itisthewayweimplicate,astheauthor,orperceive,astheaudience,deeper
meaningandinsightintoamediumthatappearstobequitesimpleatfirstglance.It
requirestheanexperiencedcritictoshowtheaudiencetheneedtoquestion:Whatisthis
reallytryingtosaytome?;Whatamsupposedtotakeawayfromthis?;WhathaveI
learnedfromthis?;HowhasitchangedthewaythatIthinkandviewtheworld?
Rhetoricalcriticismisthewaywebreakdownthesedeepermeaningsanditapproaches
andtacklesthetechniquesweusetodrawthemeaningoutoftheinitialcontext.Through
thecourseofthistextwewillconsiderthemeaningofrhetoricalcriticism,thewaysin
whichwestudyrhetoricanditspurposeandimportanceinourevery-daylives.
Outofthestudyofrhetoric,stemsrhetoricalcriticism.Rhetoricalcriticismisthewaythat
webreakdownamediumtogettothedeepermeaning,ortheunderlyingmessage.
Rhetoricalcriticismisaprocess;itrequiresskillandschematictechnique.Ithasbeen
practicedforcenturiesandhasevolvedovertimeduetotechnologicaladvancements.
Rhetoricalstudyandcritiquemethodologyhaschangedbecausethetypesofmediawe
usetocommunicatehaveprogressedpassedthewaysofancientGreece,whereit
originated.InancientGreecethemainformofcommunicatingwiththepublicwas
throughpublicspeaking,thusrhetoricalcritiqueprocesseswereformedaround
speeches.Thoughwehaveadvancedandbroadenedourwaysofcommunicating,we
willcoverthewaysofancientthinkingincritiquesoftextsinordertogainabase-
knowledgeoftheplacefromwhichmoderncritiquehasevolved.
Aristotlecreatedprinciplesofcritiqueknownasneo-Aristoteliancriticism(Brummett66).
Inmoderntimeswecritiqueawiderangeofmediaandtoseasonedrhetoricalcritics
thesemediaareknownasartifacts;fromthispointforwardthebeforementionedmedia
willbereferredtoasartifacts.AccordingtoAristotlethesituationoftheartifactmustbe
considered.Inthissituationweconsiderthecontextoftheartifact,thesituationthat
createdtheneedfortheartifact,andtheaudienceforwhichtheartifactisintended.We
mustnextquestionthespeakersmotivationfortheartifact,thebackgroundofthespeaker
orcreator,andtheintent(Davis).Theartifactitselfmustthenbeanalyzedaccordingtothe
arrangement,style,delivery,andtechnology(Brummett66).Theartifactmustalsobe
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evaluatedforitseffectsontheaudience,theeffectivenessasawhole,andthelevelof
ethicsinvolved(Brummett66).Theworkofamoderncriticissomewhatdifferentthanthat
oftheancientcritic.
Thejobofacriticistoencourageandhelppeoplefindmeaninginanartifactandcreate
passagewayfortheaudiencetothinkinwaysthattheyhavenotthoughtbefore.The
moderncriticexaminesartifactsthataresitesofstruggle,orthingsthatpeoplehave
conflictingviewson,orissuesofcontroversy.Forinstance,thedebateofgenetically
modifiedorganisms,orGMOs,hasleadtomanycontroversialarticlesandimages,which
arefloodingourmediarightnow.ArecentHuffingtonPostarticlebyNickVisseroutlines
thedebateinwhichthereisacleardivisionbetweenthosewhobelievethegovernment
hasintentionallydeceivedtheAmericanpublicaboutwhatisintheirfood,andthosewho
believethegovernmentisdoinganadequatejobinkeepingourfoodsupplysafe.There
areseveralsidestothisdebatewhichonemustconsider,andinapproachingthisarticle
thecritichasseveralchoicestomakeinthehowitisinterpreted.Thecriticisconcerned
withattitude,method,power,andintervention(Brummett117).AccordingtoBrummettthe
criticmustpositionthetextbydecidingwhetherthistextisdiscreteordiffuse
decipheringbetweenthenarrownessandbroadnessofthetopicamongother
spectrumsofanalysis.Thecriticmustalsocreateareactiveorproactiverelationshipwith
theartifact,inthiscasethearticle.Thecriticwillalsoconsiderthedirecttactics,implied
strategies,andstructureofthearticle(Brummett118).Thecriticwillthenusetheseskills
touncoverthemeaningandintentofthearticlewithhopeofenlighteningand
encouragingotherstothinkaboutitfromallsides.
Rhetoricalcriticismisimportantbecauseitpavesthewayforpluralisticviewpoints
(Brummett60).Thisallowsforpeopletobeabletoseeathingsinmorethanoneway.
Thistypeofopen-mindednesscreatesabetterunderstandingandtolerancefortheworld
aroundus.Beingabletodissectandseeastatement,anadvertisement,orevenafilmin
morethanoneperspectiveiskeytobeingabletocoexistpeacefullywiththosearoundus.
Atsomepointinlife,moreoftenthannot,wearefacedwithopposingopinionsthatoften
leadtoheateddebating.Themorewestudyandunderstandrhetoric,themorequickly
wewillbeabletorecognizereasoningbehindopposingideas,andthusbeableto
engageinmoreenlightening,educatedconversation,ratherthanargumentand
disagreement.
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Rhetoricalcriticismisanancientpracticethatwillcontinuetobeanimportantpartof
society.Itwillcontinuetoevolveastheartifactswedissectevolve.Thenexttimeyouare
facedwithacontroversialtopic,considerthemultiplemeaningsinordertogeneratea
broadandwelleducatedunderstanding,beforetakingastandonwhattheartifacttruly
means.

AshleyD.Michulka

WorksCited
Brummett,Barry.RhetoricinPopularCulture.3rded.LosAngeles:Sage,2011.Print.
Davis,Diane."Neo-AristotelianCriticism-StepsintheProcess."Ddd'sDossier.N.p.,20Jan.
2013.Web.20Sept.2013.<http://instructors.dwrl.utexas.edu/davis/content/neo-
aristotelian-criticism-steps-process>.
"OrganizingYourAnalysis.PurdueOWL:MLAFormattingandStyleGuide.Purdue
University,n.d.Web.25Sept.2013.<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/725/03/>.
Visser,Nick."'GMOOMG'DirectorJeremySeifertDivesIntoControversySurrounding
ModifiedFood."TheHuffingtonPost.TheHuffingtonPost.com,17Sept.2013.Web.25Sept.
2013.<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/gmo-omg-jeremy-
seifert_n_3942545.html>.