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Bryan Howe UALR Composition II November 18, 2013 Rough Draft The issue that is being presented is whether

or not the Boston Marathon Bombers or any other terrorist should be given the same rights as Americans in this country. The video that I have decided to do my rhetorical analysis on is of a clip from the popular late night TV show on Comedy Central called "The Daily Show" on May 1, 2013. The target audience is mainly Democrats and young people from the ages of 18-49. This is the best way to get his message out to young people because those are the kinds of people who enjoy comedy central, and they are the kind of people whose attention is most likely to be grabbed by humor. In this episode, John Stewart argues about what people on the Fox News station said about Muslims in relation to the recent Boston Bombing attacks at the Boston Marathon. They are arguing about topics related to if the bombers should be read their Maranda right, if they should be treated the same as US citizens and if we should let Muslims into our country in the first place. John Stewart spends the show going over their main points and talking about how

everything they have suggested goes against the constitution. I was interested in this topic because first of all, I really like John Stewart and believe that he makes very intelligent arguments, and there is also a lot of emotion and opinion when it comes to terrorist attacks and how we should respond to such actions such as the ones that happened at the Boston Marathon. I believe that Muslims are just like any of us, and the only reason people in America seem to hate them so much is because of the acts of a very few. These are people I would call religious extremists, or people who interrupt their religion in a different way and then act on it. This argument is very effective with the target audience because it deals with current issues that people in the 18-49 year old age group care about. These are also issues that could affect their daily lives so for them to pay attention and have an opinion is in their best interests. This video is a great example of both intrinsic and extrinsic ethos by having clips of Fox News anchors and having John Stewart questioning and making references about what they are saying in a humorous manner. The way the show is structured is very appealing to John Stewarts audience with the way he critiques each Fox News segment and gives his comical opinions for each clip. He also aids in comparing these issues by using pop culture references to help the viewer understand what is going on and appeal to his young audience. These are young democratic and Liberal adults who agree with what he is saying. He can avoid criticism himself by siting what Fox News says by playing clips of what

they actually said on air, and then using his comedic nature to lighten the mood. This is a clever way in which John Stewart can maintain his ethos and still make his logical arguments. Stewart also displays ethos by cutting off the clips he shows and then directing the audience to him and what he has to say about the topic he has chosen. This allows the audience to listen to what he has to say about his opinion, while at the same time benefiting from it when Stewart turns his opinion into a joke. The most shocking bit clip that John Stewart shows is the a segment from an anchor that is talking about the Boston Bombers wife. She states that I dont care if she didnt know anything about it, she ought to be in prison for wearing a hijab. After this bit is shown to the audience, John Stewart does a great job at making the moment comical and funny while also pointing out how ridiculous her statement made her sound. John Stewart displays intrinsic ethos with his target audience by the amount of cheering and views on his video. He is a very popular political and comical figure and his popularity with his young democratic audience has been very high. For those who aren't too familiar with politics or recent events on the news, John Stewart trys to lighten the maybe "boring" nature of the topic by creating comic relief so that maybe people can understand better. This topic that John Stewart is trying to explain to the rest of his viewers is that there are a lot of common misconceptions when it comes to people who are Muslims. We as Americans tend to be a little frightened by all of them because of

the acts of very few. Although these acts are indeed horrible, it does not discredit the rest of the Muslim faith and the people who believe it. When a person watches this video, they will most likely feel a lot of different emotions depending what kind of person you are. The fact that the topic of the show is about the Boston Bombings is a great example of how Comedy Central uses Pathos in this video. Talking about an issue that had many controversies, and lead us to question what kind of people should be allowed to come to the United States in basically what the entire show is about. John Stewart also uses forms of Logos in this video to identify the logic in the topic he is talking about. Many of the people in the clips were saying that if the police had not read the bomber his Maranda rights, then they could have questioned him. Stewart uses logos by saying "just because you didn't read them their Maranda rights, doesn't mean they don't HAVE Maranda rights". He then analyzes a clip of a news anchor saying "I don't believe enhanced interrogation is torture". Stewart stops the clip right away and jokes "so torture, like tinker bell, depends on if we believe?". Stewart goes on like this the entire show pointing out the flaws the anchors on the news have said. I believe that this video is a great example of Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Ethos by having clips of different news stations and giving opinions on them in a humorous way. Pathos by using an emotional topic to talk about to draw in the

viewers and make them interested. And Logos by using logic in response to Fox News claims in the clips that were shown.

Works Cited

Futon Critic. "The Daily Show and The Colbert Report Finish 1Q 2013 as #1 and #2 Among Adults 18-49 and All Key Young Demos. April 4, 2013. Accessed November 5, 2013. Web.

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