Evan Flagg

Professor Hillery Glasby

ENG 1510

19 March 2013

Rhetorical Analysis Essay 2

The world is always changing but it’s always hard to change what the norm or usual is.  As people grow up they are influenced by their elders and they believe what they are told to be right.  Every new generation is faced with a new type of change or movement in their lives.  One of the biggest movements today is gay right’s specifically gay marriage.  That isn’t the only one though as there are many other segregations that need to be addressed.  This movement can coincide with other types of oppression such as bullying and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. 

As these issues arise many people use different ways to help bring out awareness for these issues.  People such as Lady Gaga, the creators of “Bully”, and the organization for “The National Day of Silence”, have really promoted issues with people who are considered different.  Each one of these movements has had their own type of approach to address this subject.  Whether it is personal experience or personal beliefs each have valid points to their own purpose.   Although each of these movements has a similar goal they each use different kinds of rhetorical techniques.  The way they use these techniques makes them either ineffective or effective in their goal.  Lady Gaga is one of the frontrunners in this movement.

Lady Gaga has had a huge impact on the media today.  Her music and works have caught the attention of everybody because of the flashy and different styles of her work.  She has pushed the boundaries of norm and has gained a slogan of “it’s ok to be different”.  One of her most famous songs for her push for everybody to be accepted for who they are was “Born this Way”.  This song was announced at the 2011 MTV Music Awards where she publicly showed her meat dress and also brought along her two dates which were military members.  This was to protest ban on open gay members serving in the military.  In her song she states her thesis as the title:”Born This Way”.  This thesis uses assertion as this is her central claim and focus to her song.  Lady Gaga references her mom and uses an anecdote to show why it is ok to be different. 

My mama told me when I was young

We are all born superstars

She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on

In the glass of her boudoir

There's nothing' wrong with lovin' who you are

She said, 'cause He made you perfect, babe

So hold your head up, girl and you you'll go far

Listen to me when I say (Lady Gaga)

She tells the story of her mother as anecdote to relate to her audience and establish pathos with them as well.  With such a strong fan base before this song she made a pretty huge impact on those that could relate to this song.  This uses great rhetorical techniques and really is an effective way to promote her cause.  Though Lady Gaga has good rhetorical techniques through this song it doesn’t always translate to her other modes of awareness.

            Lady Gaga feels very strong about the segregation of people who are considered different.  One issue she protests publicly through speech is the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.  Back in 2010 Lady Gaga wrote a speech to help repeal the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy at a rally

in Portland, Maine.  Her popularity and huge fan base once again helped fans relate to what she had to say.  The physical appearance of Lady Gaga at the speech shut out specific groups of people because of her obnoxious look.  The way she spoke and threw her papers during the speech made viewers make opinions about her and could have hurt her goal to bring awareness in the end.  Her techniques may be questionable but she did use many rhetorical techniques.  Lady Gaga starts her speech with a form of authority regarding the military oath.    

“I do, solemnly swear, or affirm, that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies foreign and domestic, and I will bear true faith and allegiance to do the same, and I will obey the orders of the president of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the uniform code of military justice, so help me God.”  “Unless, there's a gay soldier in my unit, sir.” (Lady Gaga)

She brings out the flaw with the Don’t Ask Don’t Policy and that there is no sexual orientation requirement to lie down your life for your country.  Since this oath is taken from a private to the General of the Army this can be an example of authority.  The part of the speech where she says, “Unless, there’s a gay soldier in my unit, sir”, can be looked at as assertion.  That statement is the thesis of her speech and where she bases the rest of it off of.  Lady Gaga’s Speech addressed some major issues but never influenced the group that she should be which is the people who can do something about the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy.  Because the target group people wasn’t reached out to but shunned this was an ineffective speech.  People always want a face to relate to a movement but organizations around the world dedicate everything for their one goal.

            An organization that has raised awareness for its issue every year since 1986 is the Day of Silence.  “The Day of Silence is a student-led national event that brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. Students from middle school to college take a vow of silence in an effort to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior by illustrating the silencing effect of bullying and harassment on LGBT students and those perceived to be LGBT.”(Day of Silence)

                                        

The rhetorical technique used mostly is reasoning.  To raise awareness to everybody of the problem of anti-LGBT behavior they take a vow of silence.  This helps promote the issue of this sensitive subject.  “By taking a vow of silence, you're making a powerful statement about the important issue of anti-LGBT bullying, and when you organize others to join you that message becomes stronger.”  This is an assertion to convince people what they are doing will help their cause and stop anti-LGBT bullying.  This organization and what it stands for can really impact their cause.  Involving students in such a close environment would help spread awareness a lot faster.  The Day of Silence is a very effective method and its mission statement uses logic and assertion to get its point across.

            All three forms of these methods of awareness use good rhetorical techniques to capture the audience they refer to.  Every single one of them uses assertion as expected since it is usually the thesis.  The difference between one person and an entire organization makes a huge difference.  Lady Gaga’s song, “Born This Way”, addressed everybody and not a specific group.  It also had assertion right in the title.  Lady Gaga’s speech was distracted by her physical appearance and it felt like an attack to all of the people who can possibly change Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.  The Day of Silence used logic and reasoning and put facts to bring awareness to others.  All in all, Lady Gaga’s song, “Born This Way”, was the most effective and it shows because of its huge success and of the many people who made a literary analysis of the song.  The power of rhetorical techniques and how they are used can determine how your message is received.

Works Cited

"Born This Way Lyrics." MetroLyrics. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

"Day of Silence." Day of Silence. GLSEN, Inc., the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

Gaga, Lady. "Lady Gaga's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Speech: The Full Transcript." - Music, Celebrity, Artist News. MTV, 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

UNCUT: Lady Gaga's Portland Speech. Perf. Lady Gaga. YouTube. YouTube, 20 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

Vankin, Deborah. "Lady Gaga's Raw Meat Dress Hits the Road in 'Women Who Rock' Show." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 07 Sept. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.