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How Does Postman Use Ethos In Amusing Ourselves To Death

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Throughout Postman’s novel “Amusing Ourselves to Death” his main goal is to enlighten the public about the concerns of entertainment in our society. He accomplishes this by expressing Greek philosopher, Aristotle’s means of persuasion which include: Pathos, Ethos, and Logos. Pathos focuses on how the author relates to the audience or reader on a personal and or emotional level, typically through personal experience regarding the subject. The term Ethos refers to the fact that the amount of respect we pay to an individual is directly proportional to his or her credibility. Logos focuses simply on the authors knowledge on the subject and using logic in order to solidify his or her argument. Given that “Amusing Ourselves to Death” is primarily …show more content…

This leads into the term known as Ethos, which focuses on the credibility of the speaker or author. We listen and value the opinions of those whom we respect. The speakers objective is to give the audience a reason to listen to them and why they deserve a chance. This is exactly why as children we tend to believe everything our parents say, because we trust and respect them. Even appearance can impact the audiences perception of the speaker. Postman expands upon this using the steps in hiring a news anchor as he explains: “You would, first, choose a cast of players, each of whom has a face that is both “likable” and “credible.”…This means that you will exclude women who are not beautiful or who are over the age of fifty, men who are bald, all people who are overweight-“ (100) What makes this sad is that you can flip on the news right now, and be met with a pretty face who can read just as well as the next guy. No one wants look at a rather uninviting face as they reveal current events when they could be looking at someone with pretty eyes, or good looking hair. Why might you ask? The answer is simple: entertainment. It makes you wonder why people care so much, and it may seem hard to believe that appearance is linked to credibility. We have ratings and views that show whether or not the audience is enjoying the

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