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Sally Al-Omari
Professor Greg McClure
Writing 39B
4 December 2015
RIP Essay
For our rhetoric in practice project, my group, The Shining, decided to create a short
horror movie to present to our audience which consisted of our fellow classmates along with
students from another class. In order to create a successful film, my group focused on the
elements of communication, or the rhetorical situation, that involves the audience, text,
message/purpose, and historical/cultural context. We chose to present a horror film as a way to
communicate a message to our audience in an entertaining and engaging way. Our film revolves
around temptation and betrayal in a relationship and includes subverted expectations achieved
through the use of common horror genre conventions and tropes. Our intended purpose was to
convince our audience to make responsible decisions and not to act on impulse, or they will
suffer from the consequences. The storylines historical and cultural context was our goal in
making our film not only realistic, but also relatable among the values of modern day society and
a typical college student.
Before presenting our film, I introduced my group and we individually stated our
personal contribution to the project. We made sure to dress to impress in order to appear more
professional. I then proceeded to briefly introduce our films message and ended our short
introduction by stating the title, You Will Pay, and that I hoped they enjoy the film. The plot of
our film depicts an affair between a boy and his girlfriends best friend as the girlfriend goes out
of town for the holidays. The boy gives in to temptation as he naively accepts the girls offer to

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hang out behind his girlfriends back. The betrayal of the girls best friend results in a subverted
and chilling ending. The audience is introduced to the girlfriend when she is genuine and caring
of her boyfriend. This act was intended to make the audience side with her. In the end, the sweet
girl whos side they were on, ended up accountable for the gruesome slaying of her cheating
boyfriend and deceiving best friend. Carol Clover, an American professor of film studies,
describes in her book, Men Women and Chainsaws, that The function of the monster is far more
frequently represented by males and the function of victim far more garishly by females (Clover
12). The scene where the audience and the boyfriend discovers the killer to be his sweet
girlfriend, is where their expectations are subverted, because it isnt common in the horror genre
for the murderer to be a female. Leading up to the chilling ending were random and evil phone
calls. This repetitive trope is common in horror films and typically foreshadows trouble. Also,
the addition of sound effects during the climax, was key to capturing the audiences attention and
making the movie suspenseful.
To make the movie as realistic as possible, my role as the rhetor was crucial. As the
director and filmer, it was important to incorporate visual ideas with creativity as inspiration for
the dramatic scenes. The movie took place in the home one of my group members. Home is
somewhere that you should feel safe, but my method of filming in dark places, such as the
creepy long hallway, made the setting creepy. I made sure to capture scenes with appropriate
lighting and specific angles. As a result, the fear instilled in the actors was visually enhanced in
hopes of influencing the audiences reception. According to The Nature of Horror by Nol
Carroll, a distinguished professor of philosophy at the New York Graduate Center, Horror
appears to be one of those genres in which, ideally, the emotive responses of the audience run
parallel to the emotions of the characters. This means that the fear shown in the actors create a

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similar response in the audience, which was my main focus while filming the ending scene
where the boyfriend discovers his girlfriend as being the killer, who now possesses threatening
and impure qualities (Carroll). While recording his reaction, I focused on his confused and
terrified expressions as he drops his phone and then I switched perspectives by revealing the
monstrous killer, who quickly approaches him (and the camera), to create a chilling ending.
Our purpose for the film was to persuade our audience not to give in to temptation or
betray others, or else they will suffer undesired consequences. Temptation and betrayal are acts
that are relatable among some college students regarding their relationships with others. College
students in todays society are often under pressure as they tackle the fresh responsibilities of
adulthood without their parents or role models guiding them through every step. They are still in
search of themselves and their purpose in life, and often make impulsive decisions. As a result,
young adult relationships can be hard to maintain. Similar to the boyfriend in the film, this
affects his behavior and results in him giving in to temptation. On the other hand, betrayal occurs
when the girl decides to date her best friends boyfriend. This savage act ruined the trust in both
her friendship, and in the relationship that she intruded. John Gottman, a professor of emeritus in
psychology, discusses betrayal in his book, What Makes Love Last?, as a moral conflict that is "a
noxious invader, arriving with great stealth" (Gottman 14). It isnt completely obvious to the
audience in the opening scenes, that the friend is interested in the boyfriend. It isnt revealed
until all of a sudden, she approaches the boyfriend in the kitchen in an inappropriate manner. As
a result of the boyfriends temptation the friends betrayal, they suffer undesired consequences,
which in this case involves death. Our intention was for our younger audience (many freshmen
who are new to college) to grow out of their cultural boundaries as they were introduced to the
concept of an affair, that is relatable to many college students.

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In modern day society, temptation and betrayal often have a negative connotation and
have the possibility of being viewed as a sin. Temptation and betrayal, both being an aspect of
human behavior, also hold religious meaning that relates to our films historical context.
Different religions views on temptation and betrayal differ, especially in different time periods.
Some cultures and religions in history did not tolerate these unfaithful acts to happen within a
relationship such sins were followed with undesired punishment, in some cases even execution.
In todays society, the view on these acts are similar, however the consequences typically arent
as extreme. Temptation and betrayal are more privately dealt with, rather than publicly.
My primary creative contribution to our film included my role as both the director and
filmer. This job required attention to detail, and creativity in order to produce a film that would
captivate the audience. I paid close attention to detail which included making sure there was
sufficient lighting, and having an appropriate setting for each scene. I borrowed a professional
Sony camera from one of my group members to ensure good video quality. My role as a director
required strong leadership and a creative mind in order to have an influence on the audiences
reception. My group members also contributed to the making of our film. Arielle was in charge
of editing, along with helping me direct. Nam played the role of the boyfriend and also
introduced the script. Anson acted as his girlfriend while Wenting played the role of Rachel,
Ansons best friend.
Despite the obstacles, I feel like my team members and I worked well together on our
project through effective group interaction. We discussed the complications of our dialogue with
our writing teacher who provided us with helpful feedback and great tips on how to greatly
influence the audiences reception. My team members all did their fair share in the project, and
were all cooperative and considerate. I enjoyed working with my group member, and it was a

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great experience that allowed us to learn more about one another and bond. One thing that could
have been improved, which we had little control over, is planning a time to meet up that worked
with everyones schedule. Having a lot of members in our group was part of the reason it was
hard to meet during the week. This challenge was overcome after we used effective
communication, including a group text, to plan around everyones busy schedules and find time
to meet up and work on the film.

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Works Cited
Carroll, Nol. "The Nature of Horror." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 46, No.
1. (Autumn, 1987), pp. 51-59
Clover, Carol J. Men Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. London: BFI,
1992. Print.
What Makes Love Last?: How to Build Trust and Avoid Betrayal. New York: Simon & Schuster,
2012. Print.