A Rhetorical Analysis Of American Sniper By Matt Taibbi

“I’m willing to meet my creator and answer for every shot that I took…” (www.imdb.com). Kyle, in the movie American Sniper, says these exact words for a reason. Matt Taibbi, who wrote American Sniper Is Almost Too Dumb To Criticize, had a reason why he structured and presented the article the way he did. There was a purpose to everything he did. Not only does Taibbi present his information in a specific way, Matt wants a specific group of people to read his article and agree with his arguments that he is making. Although Matt Taibbi’s article is bias to some extent and is composed of inappropriate grammar at times, Taibbi does do a brilliant job in attempting to draw the most likely, an antagonistic, audience’s attention and trust by using

One of the many logical arguments that Taibbi presents in his article is on the first page where he first basically says that Hollywood turns serious topics throughout history into “baby food,” then he states that the Vietnam War was simplified in Forest Gump, thus making the logical argument that simple movies about serious topics are good-“Forest Gump pulled in over half a billion and won Best Picture” (Taibbi 1). Another example of a logical argument that Taibbi presents to the reader is “The characters in Eastwood’s movies almost always wear white and black hats or their equivalents…in this case that effect is often literal, with “hero” sniper Chris Kyle’s “sinister” opposite Mustafa permanent dressed in black throughout” (Taibbi 3). Making these logical arguments proves to the reader that the author actually takes time and uncovers information that an average person may not catch. It shows that he pays close attention to detail while analyzing movies and that he has previous experience with Clint Eastwood movies. Both of the logical arguments presented in the article makes the reader trust the author a little bit more because the arguments that Taibbi provided are not coincidences; the arguments are facts and if needed, can be proven over and over again by showing previous movies to the

“They’re the real villains in this movie, but the controversy has mostly been over just how much of a “hero” Chris Kyle really was. One Academy member wondered to a reporter if Kyle was a psychopath” (Taibbi 5-6). When attempting to gain credibility among an antagonistic audience, it’s important to present counterarguments within one’s writing and that’s exactly what Taibbi did. He presented both sides to an argument showing that he has knowledge of the topic from both perspectives and that he has enough education and expertise in that subject to choose the better side of the