Rhetorical Analysis

Brandon Maag

ENG 1010

In the document titled, “Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents?” by Isabel

Fattal, a history of racial profiling in Disney Movies, and other cartoons, is displayed, and the

question is brought up; Why are villains almost guaranteed to be foreign? A history of this

question, and a scientific explanation of its’ racial undertones is discussed and explained

thoroughly. Fattal explores this concept in her article using the rhetorical strategies of Pathos and

Logos, and tender hints of Ethos.

Fattal introduces her ideas with examples of villains being foreigners, which right upfront

is almost a non graphic statistic toward her argument. Although this answers the question as to

whether villains are foreigners, it does not explain why. She delves into the explanation uses a

multitude of studies and projects that seem to add to her argument, but in reality, the studies only

add to the original question of whether villains are foreigners or not. After establishing this truth,

she then elaborates on her statistics and studies and establishes on her argument, which is that

American Television is “brimming with cultural biases.” Of course, this is merely her opinion,

and whether it is true or not cannot be answered by one scientist or journalist, but her claim is

made very trustworthy, and it is due to her use of Logos. A direct example of Logos in this

article can be found in the third, fourth, and fifth paragraphs, but for the sake of brevity, a

summarized explanation will follow.

 Fattal details the account of two scientists who conducted a study on American television

to determine whether biases could be found, and of course they were, but beyond that, they

discovered that villains as foreigners have deep roots in the U.S., and they still grab the soil

today. For example, even after the fall of the Soviet Union, American television is still most

likely to display a Slavic voice as a villain, or that of a German, even though World War II ended

years ago. These examples are a strong indicator that biases of the past live on through televised

mediums, and continue to affect our society. Through this use of Logos, her argument is imposed

on the mind of the reader in a more effective and lasting way.

Fattal employs Pathos in similitude with Logos to establish a sound and certain method of

reaching out to the reader. Along with her statistics and examples of bias on television, she

includes many examples of titles and names for scientists, as one should, to ensure that her

credibility is not in question. In one particular section of her article she says, “Gidney, an

associate professor in child study and human development at Tufts University who specializes in

sociolinguistics,” about a researcher. Her explanation of his credibility is to the point of near

rambling, but it is all for the purpose of establishing her own credibility. With her many accounts

of Logos comes a strong sense of Pathos. She uses this pathos to reinforce her Logos to the point

that it will not be questioned. She uses words like “study,” “research,” and “correlated dialect” to

make herself sound intelligent, and to add maturity to her diction. Fattal’s article is made

objective through her strong use of intellectual phrasing and statistics, when in reality her

argument could be questioned in a number of ways.

Fattal also uses Ethos, but in a more subtle and condescending way. She appeals to the

childhood of the reader to draw them in while she prepares her evidence. For example, she says,
“Mufasa is heroic and steadfast, while Scar is cynical and power-hungry.” In this example she

gives no background explanation, assuming that the reader has already heard this story and is

familiar with the characters. She has taken a risk in doing this, seeing as many audiences may be

unfamiliar with this example. She does the same with Jafar from ​Aladdin, ​and even Dr. Heinz

Doofenshmirtz from ​Phineas and Ferb. ​She relies on the hope that all of her readers will

approach the article with previous understanding of modern cultural and media background, and

for those who don’t, not much is offered to pick up the slack. This is where a weakness may be

found in her rhetorical stratagem, although her article remains strong and immovable in its’

methods of argument.

She also uses a more interesting tactic, although it is possibly accidental. She uses the

correlations between certain ethnicities and relative biases to establish ideas that the reader may

already have held in the subconscious mind. For example, she explains how many Americans see

British and Slavic accents as sounding more intelligent and deceitful, while accents associated

with the lower class are used for henchman and assistants. It is always intellectually exciting for

a reader to read something they knew, but had not yet realized. In this case, the realization is that

many readers' hold these biases subconsciously, and it is possibly due to the history of bias on

television, a connection that many readers will not make themselves. This article assists in doing

that. Many Americans, whether they like it or not, have had these biases instilled in them through

media, and Fattal is reestablishing those ideas in an educational setting. She is creating a piece of

literature which will hopefully invoke an appetite amongst readers, through the use of Ethos.

These three rhetorical devices play an essential role in establishing Fattal’s argument.

They all work together to establish a piece of literature that invokes credibility, interest, and
factuality in a way that could not otherwise be created. She knowingly and willingly ensures that

her argument cannot be refuted through the simple use of these three rhetorical strategies. The

use of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos in her article are strong contributors to the success of this piece,

and they are employed with rhetorical prowess. Her argument is made valid and strong through

the use of these methods, and without the employment of these three, her article would be a non

starter, irrelevant in the literary world.

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

Media Company, 4 Jan. 2018,

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

-foreign-accents/549527/.

Rhetorical Analysis (revised)

Brandon Maag

ENG 1010
 In the document titled, “Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents?” by Isabel

Fattal, a history of racial profiling in Disney Movies, and other cartoons, is displayed, and the

question is brought up; Why are villains almost guaranteed to be foreign? A history of this

question, and a scientific explanation of its’ racial undertones is discussed and explained

thoroughly. Fattal explores this concept in her article using the rhetorical strategies of Pathos and

Logos, and tender hints of Ethos. ​After this I will briefly describe how Kat George uses different

methods to argue the same point in her article, “The Disney Movies You Grew Up with Are

Incredibly Racist.”

Fattal introduces her ideas with examples of villains being foreigners, which right upfront

is almost a non graphic statistic toward her argument. Although this answers the question as to

whether villains are foreigners, it does not explain why. She delves into the explanation uses a

multitude of studies and projects that seem to add to her argument, but in reality, the studies only

add to the original question of whether villains are foreigners or not. After establishing this truth,

she then elaborates on her statistics and studies and establishes on her argument, which is that

American Television is “brimming with cultural biases.” Of course, this is merely her opinion,

and whether it is true or not cannot be answered by one scientist or journalist, but her claim is

made very trustworthy, and it is due to her use of Logos. A direct example of Logos in this

article can be found in the third, fourth, and fifth paragraphs, but for the sake of brevity, a

summarized explanation will follow.

Fattal details the account of two scientists who conducted a study on American television

to determine whether biases could be found, and of course they were, but beyond that, they

discovered that villains as foreigners have deep roots in the U.S., and they still grab the soil
today. For example, even after the fall of the Soviet Union, American television is still most

likely to display a Slavic voice as a villain, or that of a German, even though World War II ended

years ago. These examples are a strong indicator that biases of the past live on through televised

mediums, and continue to affect our society. Through this use of Logos, her argument is imposed

on the mind of the reader in a more effective and lasting way.

Fattal employs Pathos in similitude with Logos to establish a sound and certain method of

reaching out to the reader. Along with her statistics and examples of bias on television, she

includes many examples of titles and names for scientists, as one should, to ensure that her

credibility is not in question. In one particular section of her article she says, “Gidney, an

associate professor in child study and human development at Tufts University who specializes in

sociolinguistics,” about a researcher. Her explanation of his credibility is to the point of near

rambling, but it is all for the purpose of establishing her own credibility. With her many accounts

of Logos comes a strong sense of Pathos. She uses this pathos to reinforce her Logos to the point

that it will not be questioned. She uses words like “study,” “research,” and “correlated dialect” to

make herself sound intelligent, and to add maturity to her diction. Fattal’s article is made

objective through her strong use of intellectual phrasing and statistics, when in reality her

argument could be questioned in a number of ways.

Fattal also uses Ethos, but in a more subtle and condescending way. She appeals to the

childhood of the reader to draw them in while she prepares her evidence. For example, she says,

“Mufasa is heroic and steadfast, while Scar is cynical and power-hungry.” In this example she

gives no background explanation, assuming that the reader has already heard this story and is

familiar with the characters. She has taken a risk in doing this, seeing as many audiences may be
unfamiliar with this example. She does the same with Jafar from ​Aladdin, ​and even Dr. Heinz

​ he relies on the hope that all of her readers will

Doofenshmirtz from ​Phineas and Ferb. S

approach the article with previous understanding of modern cultural and media background, and

for those who don’t, not much is offered to pick up the slack. This is where a weakness may be

found in her rhetorical stratagem, although her article remains strong and immovable in its’

methods of argument.

She also uses a more interesting tactic, although it is possibly accidental. She uses the

correlations between certain ethnicities and relative biases to establish ideas that the reader may

already have held in the subconscious mind. For example, she explains how many Americans see

British and Slavic accents as sounding more intelligent and deceitful, while accents associated

with the lower class are used for henchman and assistants. It is always intellectually exciting for

a reader to read something they knew, but had not yet realized. In this case, the realization is that

many readers' hold these biases subconsciously, and it is possibly due to the history of bias on

television, a connection that many readers will not make themselves. This article assists in doing

that. Many Americans, whether they like it or not, have had these biases instilled in them through

media, and Fattal is reestablishing those ideas in an educational setting. She is creating a piece of

literature which will hopefully invoke an appetite amongst readers, through the use of Ethos.

Kat George also utilizes these three tactics in her article, “The Disney Movies You Grew

Up with Are Incredibly Racist.” Although her argument is the same as Fattal’s, she loses much

credibility for herself in her pursuit to achieve Pathos. She overly exerts her efforts to relate to

her audience at times by assuming the reader’s opinion rather than presenting facts and a

compelling argument. She lists ten Disney movies that are racist, but provides no evidence as to
how or why. Her most effective argument towards her point is the assumption that everyone

agrees with her. She uses no Logos or Ethos to attain credibility for her article, and thus we can

see how effective rhetorical strategies can really be when used correctly.

These three rhetorical devices play an essential role in establishing Fattal’s argument.

They all work together to establish a piece of literature that invokes credibility, interest, and

factuality in a way that could not otherwise be created. She knowingly and willingly ensures that

her argument cannot be refuted through the simple use of these three rhetorical strategies. The

use of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos in her article are strong contributors to the success of this piece,

and they are employed with rhetorical prowess. Her argument is made valid and strong through

the use of these methods, and without the employment of these three, her article would be a non

starter, irrelevant in the literary world. ​We can see this in the comparison to Kat George’s article.

Her argument was lost in the pursuit of Pathos, leaving Logos and Ethos behind. Each of these

strategies works to benefit the other, and we can see this through comparison of both of these

articles.

George, Kat. “The Disney Movies You Grew Up with Are Incredibly Racist.” ​VH1 News,​ 9 Jan.

2015, http://www.vh1.com/news/310/racist-disney-movies/.

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

Media Company, 4 Jan. 2018,

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

-foreign-accents/549527/.