Thefilm

DearWhitePeople
makestheclaimthatprestigiousuniversitiesarenegative,unhealthy
environmentsthroughvariousrhetoricaltechniquesoffilm.
a)rhetoricalsituationisthatreallifeprestigiousuniversitiesarenegative,unhealthy
environments,exposesthisbycreatingafakeuniversity,Winchester,thatstandsasasymbolfor
allsuchschools
i.letusregardtherhetoricalsituationasanaturalcontextofpersons,events,objects,
relations,andanexigencewhichstronglyinvitesutterance(Bitzer5)
ii.exigenceisanimperfectionmarkedbyurgency(Bitzer6)

1.Characterizationofcollegeadministration:notconcernedwiththewellbeingofthestudents
butthewellbeingoftheschool
a)PresidentFletcherasasymbolfortheadministrationanditslackofconcernforitsstudents
i.hisactions
ii.scenewherehedoesnotconvicthissonfortheracistparty
iii.actorsattitudewithinscenes,deliveryoflines
b)Editing
i.placementofsceneatend,punctuatesfilm,showsadministrationdoesntchange
ii.lastlinehowmuchwetalking?asitisthelastlineisstaysinourmemorymore,
showsitisimportant,lineitselfdistinctlyshowsvalueofmoneyoverthewellbeingofthe
students
2.Compartmentalizationofstudents:unhealthyforthemtobeforcedtochooseonelabel
a)Framing/cameraangle
i.scenewiththeliteralboxesaroundstudents,showingtheyareregulatedtoa
metaphoricalbox
ii.thatscenealsohastheactorsstillbutthecameramoving,suggestingthestudentsare
beingtreatedasdollsorstatues,notactualhumanbeingswithcomplexpersonalities
b)Costume
i.allstudentswithinagroupdressedsimilarly(manyscenessupportthis)
c)CharacterizationofLionel
i.troublefittinginduetobothraceandsexuality
ii.scenewithkurtshouseandthephonemessage
iii.sceneindininghallwhereheisforcedtoleave
iv.dangersofthisoutcastrolearedisplayedthroughhiseasymanipulationbythe
newspaperstaff
v.scenewhereheisassignedprofileonSam,visiblyuncomfortablebutagreesanyway
d)CharacterizationofSam
i.strugglesbecausesheishalfwhite,feelsshemustbeinonegroup
ii.scenewithGabe

iii.clearly,ourinterpretationofimagesoftendependsuponhistoricalcontextandthe
culturalknowledgewebringtothemtheconventionstheyuseorplayoffof,theotherimages
theyreferto,andthefamiliarfiguresandsymbolstheyinclude(PracticesofLooking30),
thoughthisisaboutimagesitcanextendtospokenimages,i.e.ourunderstandingofGabes
speechhingesonourunderstandingofourcultureandstereotypeswithinit

3.Forcedtraditionvs.modernideals:thefilmstressesthattheuniversityisattemptingto
maintaintraditionevenwhenunrealisticforthemoderntimesthroughjuxtaposition
a)Set
i.pillars/architecture
ii.dininghallwithtableclothsandchina,yethavingafoodfight
b)Music
i.classicalmusicwiththeoverlayofSamsradioshow