Rhetorical analysis of Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents

In the article, “Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents” the author, Isabel

Fattal makes a point about how movies and tv shows represent the “bad guys” may be sending a

dangerous message to kids about diversity. She wants the audience to understand that by making

the so-called “bad guys” have different accents, we are verbally stereotyping them. She believes

that this may have a negative effect on future generations and how they function in society. Not

only with verbal stereotyping, but stereotyping in general. Fattal wants people to become more

educated so that they are not ignorant when it comes to problems, especially when the problems

do not affect them. Fattal uses ethos, pathos, and logos to portray her ideas and convince the

audience about her beliefs.

Fattal uses logos to convince the reader that villains speaking in foreign accents can have

a negative effect on kids. She bases her article on a study done by an associate professor, Calvin

Gidney, in child study and human development at Tufts University. She uses Gidney as a

credential to make her work more believable. She discusses how Gidney had a team of coders

analyze 323 animated TV characters to “study how these productions use things like ethnic and

gender identification, physical appearance, hero/villain status, and linguistic markers” as stated

in the article. These studies have shown that villains are usually given a foreign accent. This may

have a bad effect on kids, and their idea of different races and cultures. Another way that Fattal

uses logos is by using examples. She explains how Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, the bad guy in

Phineas and Ferb, is a villain who speaks a sort of German accent. She also stated that the

studies by Gidney prove that most of the heroic characters in movies had American accents. She

explains that television is a prominent source of cultural messaging for children, and how this

1
correlation of foreign accents with bad characters can affect how they perceive others that are

different from themselves.

The author uses pathos to show what giving foreign accents to villains might do. This

being unintentionally affecting children to stereotype and distance themselves to those that are

different than them. She stated, “Animated shows aren’t too careful in depicting how dialects

actually work; they often use sloppy approximations of an accent as opposed to accurate

renderings.” This shows that the way these villains are often portrayed are usually wrong and

exaggerated. She explains how this can give children, and even adults misinformation about

people that are different than them, and how that can negatively affect them in the real world.

She also explains how making the characters “not like us” will make them feel more like villains,

and help the story be easier to understand. She said that although this may make the story better,

it can lead to negative connotations to those that are “not like us”. Fattal also explained that by

making people that are different from us feel like villains, can and has seriously affected the way

that people see and treat those that are different. This information that she provides for us, is

pathos, because it appeals to the emotions of the reader. This is especially relevant to those that

feel different, and are part of a minority. This also appeals to the emotions of the reader by

showing the effect they are having on the world, without even knowing it. Fattal explains that we

need to be more aware, so that we are not oblivious to the problems around us. She takes it

farther than just verbally stereotyping, and states that we shouldn’t stereotype people at all.

The author uses ethos by showing the other side of the argument, which strengthens her

argument. Fattal recognizes the fact that by making the villain have a foreign accent, can help the

2
villain seem more evil and different. She agrees with this statement, however, disagrees with the

negative effects that this could have on society. In the article she states, “the use of German,

Eastern European, and Russian accents for animated villains is likely reflective of America’s

hostility toward those countries during World War II and the Cold War.” This shows that how

we see the villains may have come from past experiences, but that doesn’t mean that it needs to

stay that way in the future. Even though social and political views have changed, Fattal believes

that the villains' voices have stayed this way, because that is how they were portrayed when the

producers were children. She also mentions a further study done by Gidney, which helps

strengthen her ethos. Gidney is an associate professor in child study and human development at

Tufts University who specializes in sociolinguistics.In his study, he has analyzed about 30 shows

and 1500 characters. By using Gidney as a reference point, she strengthens her article and makes

it more reliable. The article states, “Since the publication of their initial research, Gidney and

Dobrow have expanded their study to better understand the rationale for accent trends by

speaking with kids’ TV executives involved in casting and development. What they’ve been

finding in conversations isn’t that the showrunners think this custom is “a good idea”; rather,

“it’s a conventional idea,” This shows that showrunners may be making decisions on the basis of

what was popular and successful in the shows they grew up watching.

In conclusion, Fattal believes that associating foreign accents with “bad” characters,

while effective in differenciating the bad guys from the good guys, can result poorly in the

children that are watching. Fattal reviewed research by many professionals, and found that

villains are often paired with accents other than American, and believes that this may be because

of past relationships in America, and can severely affect the future generations and how they

3
view others.She believes that this will result in not only vocal stereotyping, but also other

stereotyping as well. She uses ethos, pathos, and logos to pick apart this research and further

prove her point.

Word count: 1006

Works 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/.

Peer review by Meridien Grandpre

The essay is extremely well written. You have really strong transitions between
paragraphs. For instance the transition between the logos and pathos is really great. However,
there is not really a transition between the pathos and ethos paragraphs. Additionally, a majority
of the ethos paragraph was not adequately supported. The examples provided didn’t really
explain why the author’s are qualified to talk about foreign accents. I also feel like you could
expand the introduction a little bit. A little more background information would help the reader
understand the article. There also no publish date, etcetera.
I didn’t see anything that seemed like a summary in the essay. I noticed that you were a
little short on the word count. I think that adding in the summary would get you closer, if not to
the word requirement. I think your thesis is really strong and focuses on the text and not the
subject. I do think that you could make your conclusion a little stronger and more about the
overall effectiveness of the article. You did a great job focusing on the rhetorical elements. There
is only one spelling mistake, but it is an easy fix.
I feel like you may be able to provide a little more background information

4
 I did this article as well and I agree that this is the point Fattal is trying to make
There is no summary of the article. I think it would help you reach your word count
This is more ethos then logos
If taking text from the article make sure you cite it to ensure you don't plagiarize.
I would make this a sentence and have the next portion its own.
maybe use "negative" to make the essay more impactful
italicize or quotations, this is a title
I would maybe specify this sentence a little more. Maybe say something about how the
foreign accents affects children.
I would maybe specify this sentence a little more. Maybe say something about how the
foreign accents affects children.
Maybe consider putting a transition here

I feel like this isn't really ethos

This sentence doesn't make sense

Maybe mention something about how they are professors and study experiences and
development