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Valeria Alvarado Berrios

Professor Cassel

English Composition II

22 July 2020

"Just the Way You Are" Rhetorical Analysis

 How can two videos look so different, but use the same song? Why when one looks

within the context of a song and its video, it can be almost two worlds apart? This essay will

be a rhetorical analysis of two videos of the same song, "Just the Way You Are." The song

was first performed by Bruno Mars (which is one of the composers also) in 2010. From there

on, many versions of this song have been performed. Karlos performs the song in the style of

bachata, a Latino music style, while the Bruno Mars version is in the pop musical style.  Even

though the audiences and cultural backgrounds are different, these two versions of the song

"Just the Way You Are" share the same language, English. 

Bruno Mars is an accomplished singer worldwide. His original song, "Just the Way

You Are," is from his first album "Doo-Wops & Hooligans." In the music video for this song,

Bruno Mars himself is the main character. The footage shows Bruno Mars singing the lyrics

of the song and playing piano to a woman who is the other main character. Mars is trying to

explain how perfect and beautiful this lady is while using a cassette tape on a low coffee table

to create different images. The video does not have a storyline; it is merely acting out and

explaining the lyrics. The appeal it utilizes is Pathos, as the video does not offer evidence or

reason to explain the images. However, the video can evoke how romantic love feels for the

audience watching it. The smiles and physical contact can be seen throughout the whole

video. Besides, there seems to be undeniable chemistry between the couple. If a person has
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experienced firsthand the type of love showcased, it could bring memories and experiences

they have had or currently have.

The audience for the video is young, English speaking population that enjoy the pop

musical genre. Possibly, the majority of the audience has experienced being in love or are in

love, as the lyrics and video are about that particular subject. Nevertheless, anyone who can

understand the lyrics can appreciate and like the video. Also, one does not have to have a deep

understanding of the video to know what is going on. It is pretty straightforward and does not

require critical thinking.

        Karlos Rosé is a Dominican artist that rose to fame with the bachata version of "Just

the Way You Are." The music video for this song has a storyline, and it is much more

complicated than the original version. It starts by Karlos playing piano, and later being a

janitor cleaning a dance studio. A dancer walks in early to warm up and practice. Karlos

sings the song while he admires her beauty, but she is unaware.

The next scene shows a group of three women walking into the space, and the main

character joins them to dance while the janitor finishes cleaning. The main character

seems to be struggling with the dance moves, and she is asked to watch as the group

dances. The janitor finishes cleaning everything and leaves the scene. Eventually, the girls

get tired that the main character cannot dance and leave her behind. When the janitor

realizes, he rushes back to the dance studio and encourages her to dance with him. At the

end of the video, the viewer can see that he sings the lyrics to the dancer, and they kiss.

This video is filmed in what seems like a dance studio, and also has a piano in which

Karlos plays. The video has a deeper meaning that is not seen in a simple view. The
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person viewing this has to combine what the song is saying with the video to understand

what is going on. The appeal also seems to be Patho.

      The two videos have similarities and differences. The Mars video requires less critical

thinking and does not have a defined storyline. The Rosé video has a storyline and

combines lyrics and images to say the message it wants to say. The space that it was

recorded for the Rosé video has a similar appearance to the Mars video, the piano being

the most obvious similarity. However, when it comes to audiences, the two videos have

very different targets. The Bruno Mars video is mainly for any person who has

experienced or currently experiences romantic love. On the other hand, the Rosé video has

a more specific audience. The song is performed in a Latino music style, bachata. Usually

the audience that listens to bachata are Latinos around the world. However, another detail

makes the audience even smaller. The fact that the first language for many people that

listen bachata is Spanish excludes some people from understanding the song. It does open

the possibility that people who like bachata and do not understand Spanish can enjoy this

style of music.

Why does Rosé choose this song and changed in some aspects and others not? As

many other artists have done, Karlos could have translated the song to Spanish to have a

bigger audience of the Spanish-speaking population. However, the song is performed in

English with the Bachata music genre, as explained above. Rosé achieved his attempt to

attract English speakers into listening to Latino music styles. Furthermore, his targeted

audience might have been Hispanics that live in the USA to be able to enjoy music that

they can understand.

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While the videos are different, they share the same language. English is understood by

many around the world, and it is safe to say that it is one of the main languages. The

rhetorical analysis for these two videos demonstrates that even though they had different

audiences and targets, the language units them.

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Works Cited

Mars, Bruno. Just The Way You Are [Official Video]. Youtube,  8 Sept.

2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjhCEhWiKXk . Accessed on 11 Jun. 2020.

Rosé, Karlos. Just The Way You Are. Youtube,  17 dic. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?

v=JCN1wuw3tJA . Accessed on 11 Jun. 2020.