1. Using the Documentary Film to Teach Rhetoric
An inconvenient truth
The Oscar winning documentary that made global warming the number one topic of conversation.

2. What, after all, is a documentary except someone’s argument that the audience should accept this viewpoint, take this action, make this commitment, understand the rightness/wrongness of this policy, etc?
To achieve this purpose, the filmmaker (or director) must understand the audience and appropriateappeals—i.e., the rhetorical situation.

3. The Rhetorical Triangle
The rhetorical triangle of speaker, audience, subject, and their interdependence

4. The Rhetorical Triangle

5. How can we apply writing style to film making?
What does writing style mainly come down to? Choice. Choices in words, phrases, tone, etc.
How can we apply writing style to film making?
What is the diction of film?
What is the syntax of film?

6. The filmmaker’s choices of visual, audio, and text in documentary film as analogs to diction
The connections between and among images, sound, and text as analog to syntax.

7. Your assignment is to do a rhetorical analysis of a documentary film
Your assignment is to do a rhetorical analysis of a documentary film. That is, analyze the purpose of the film, the audience to whom it is geared, and the strategies that are used to reach that audience.

8. Example 2:
Thesis: Although Al Gore claims that only moral and ethical concerns about global warming
prompted him to make the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, the film is a thinly disguised
promotion for another bid for the presidency.
I. Throughout the film, he establishes the ethos of a successful politician who has not been
given his due.
II. He intersperses his scientific and technical presentations with criticisms of the Bush
administration.
III. He manipulates his audience into feeling a sense of urgency by exaggerating the effects
of global warming through before-and-after contrasts.
IV. He mentions counterarguments but dismisses them with sarcasm and derisive humor.
V. He uses the artistic elements of documentary film to pull at his audience’s heartstrings
by describing the near-death of his son and the cancer death of his sister, neither of
which is directly related to his subject.
Conclusion: Al Gore may have a sincere concern about the environment, but An
Inconvenient Truth is only a means to further his ambitions for the presidency by reaching a large number of potential voters.

9. Example 1:
Thesis: In An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore wants to reach a large audience, particularly
nonscientists, to stress the urgency of responding to global warming.
I. He establishes the ethos of a public servant whose concern stems from ethical and moral
rather than political motivation.
II. He provides an enormous amount of technical information by taking advantage of a
multimedia format.
III. He appeals to pathos by juxtaposing what was or is with what might be—and, in fact, is
likely to occur.
IV. Gore acknowledges several counterarguments, but he refutes them with humor or
alternative explanation.
V. He uses his personal experiences as a father and brother to stress the deep commitment
he has to this issue.
Conclusion: An Inconvenient Truth effectively sounds the alarm for global warming by
offering an accessible explanation that blends scientific information and human interest.

10. Film Terms
Parts of a Documentary:
Visual Track
These are the images that are seen on-screen. They could be primary footage shot by the
filmmaker (A roll), cutaways that support or counter other visuals perhaps shot by the
filmmaker (B roll), or they could be found (archival) footage from some other source
used to meet the new film’s purposes.
Audio Track
This is the sound heard during the film. It could include the voices and dialogue of people in the film, narration, music, and sound effects.
Text Track (or Graphic Track)
This is the written information that appears on screen added by the filmmaker in
postproduction. Examples are subtitles, identifications, charts, and graphs.

11. Other Important Terms:
Editing
How the visual, audio, and text tracks are assembled. Consider, for example, how the
music or images work to support or juxtapose each other.
Framing/Shots
Are we seeing the image in a close-up, medium shot, or long shot? Why?
Camera Angles
Is the camera filming the image from above (high angle), below (low angle), or eye-level? Why?
Lighting
Is the scene filled primarily with lots of light or with darkness and shadows? Why?
Camera Movement
Does the camera move or is it stationary? Is it tilting, panning, or dollying? Why?