Meridien Grandpre

English 1010

Dr. Haslam

Period 4

Rhetorical Analysis of Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents?

In The Atlantic’s “Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents?” the author,

Isabel Fattal, dives into the implications of giving villains foreign accents. The article published

on July 4, 2018 discusses how the stereotypes may be solidifying childrens’ view of others in the

world and seems to be aimed at parents, directors and writers. The author provides examples of

cartoons and television shows that foster these stereotypes in order to demonstrate her point.

Fattal strengthens her argument about accents possibly providing a false image of foreigners

throughout the article by using ethos, logos and pathos.

Fattal begins her article with sociolinguist, Calvin Gidney’s, take on the original Lion

King. Gidney was astonished by how the directors portrayed the different characters. The main

difference was not what he saw, but what he heard. The villains had a foreign accent, while the

saviors were given an American one. The article continues stating that the movie sparked Gidney

and Julie Dobrow to study language patterns in shows and movies children were seeing. Fattal

then discusses the findings of the study and provides examples of characters in shows with

different accents. After discussing the differences between types of characters, Fattal introduces

the idea that Americans aren’t very accurate with the accent depictions and how it may be due to

old biases and rivalries. Finally, the study’s expansion to include how the accents are affecting

children, is discussed. To wrap up the article, Fattal makes a strong conclusion stating that the

use of foreign accents for certain characters can be dangerous for children.
 The author uses ethos by providing the full and professional titles of those described in

the article. She describes why Calvin Gidney and his partner in the study, Julie Dobrow, are

qualified to do this study and present their findings. “Gidney, an associate professor in child

study and human development at Tufts University who specializes in sociolinguistics...” (Fattal

2). Similarly, Dobrow is a lecturer who focuses on child and media issues. Both authors of the

original study observe how children's life experiences can affect their development and ideas in

the future. What children see and experience from television may affect their lives.

Fattal shows logos when she provides facts and results from the study. Fattal shows that

Gidney and Dobrow did their research when she states, “Gidney and Dobrow had a team of

coders analyze 323 animated TV characters…” (Fattal 4). The analyzers studied accents and

traits of different types of characters. By providing the research, Fattal proves that many shows

give villains certain characteristic traits in order to develop them to be more impactful. Fattal is

able to shock readers when she states that many bad guys are given German or Russian accents.

Further into the article, Fattal introduces the idea that Americans are still harboring resentment

for these countries after World War II and the Cold War. By giving this information, it really

makes readers take a step back and wonder if these are the ideas they want to be passing on to

the future generations. Fattal also uses logos when she introduces the expansion of the study.

Earlier in the study, Gidney and Dobrow only researched the types of characters and the accents

they were given. In the next study, living and breathing children were going to be introduced. By

studying how the kids have received the information they have seen the scientists could

emphasize that shows need to be more diverse. When Fattal introduces the idea that kids may be

studied, she starts riling the attention and emotions of readers.

 Fattal uses pathos to help strengthen her article. She plays with the heart strings of

readers when she introduces the idea that beloved children’s shows may not be healthy for kids.

This may make readers disappointed in the shows and showrunners. She describes how the

villains in a majority of movies and television shows don a foreign accent. Fattal uses the well

loved cartoon, Phineas and Ferb, to demonstrate villains with bad accents. Dr Heinz

Doofenshmirtz portrays a knockoff German accent, contrasting the protagonists’ American

accent (Fattal 5). By using a show that is commonly known and watched, Fattal is able to drive

home the idea that even the most ‘innocent’ shows may have consequences. Fattal also uses

pathos when she brings up these stereotypes as being the root cause for kids not liking who they

are. She mentions that children gain a lot of information from what they see on television. She

really makes readers stop and think how certain characters may represent children from other

countries. Fattal inflicts guilt when she points out that foreign accents are never used on heroes,

only on villains. The author points out that only seeing their culture being portrayed as villains,

may cause children to start believing that is all they are worth. Fattal also states that Americans

may not support the diversity of our country.

Fattal keeps the tone of her article very sincere. She is not afraid to introduce difficult

topics, nor is she afraid to conjure beloved memories and smash them to bits. By being sincere,

Fattal is able to gain the trust of readers. This trust will in turn allow her to convince people that

giving types of characters foreign accents is harmful to the view children have on outsiders.

By using the credentials of the scientists, providing accurate facts and playing on the

emotions of readers; Isabel Fattal is able to emphasize that by only giving villains foreign

accents, we are putting children at risk. Fattal uses ethos to convince readers that Gidney and

Dobrow are extremely qualified to research how villains with foreign accents affect children’s
perception of the world. Both scientists study how what a child experiences impacts their

development. The author uses logos to sway the reader to see her point of view. She does this by

providing facts and examples of shows that portray villains with foreign accents. Fattal also uses

pathos to connect with readers. She uses childhood shows like Phineas and Ferb to show that a

vast majority of kid’s entertainment portray villains in this way. Fattal remains sincere in order to

elicit trust from her audience. She uses this trust to emphasize that foreign accents have a

harmful effect on children.

Word count: 1055

 Work Cited

Fattal, Isabel. “Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents?” The Atlantic,

Atlantic Media Company, 4 Jan. 2018,

www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/01/why-do-cartoon-villains-speak-in-

foreign-accents/549527/.