Mouckery Garland To Sit On His Lap Rhetorical Analysis

Keely Bowles
Dr. Rose Neal
1113-1954 English Composition
6 December 2017

Hollywood’s Finest Since October 2017, sexual assaults committed by film producer Harvey Weinstein have spread outrage among the United States population. A New York Times article written by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, “Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades”, outlines Weinstein’s sexual atrocities from over the years. Women speak in detail about their encounters with Weinstein, amounting to a sizeable track record. The article states “An investigation by The New York Times found previously undisclosed allegations against Mr. Weinstein stretching over nearly three decades” (Kantor and Twohey). Three decades’ worth of atrocious acts committed

Since then, it has progressively been considered a website only used for jokes and fake news articles. Whether or not that perception is true, its use of written irony and mockery effectively conveys its current sentiments towards Hollywood. Mockery is the act of distorting or imitating something or someone with a level of exaggeration. Sarcasm is a communication device used by stating one idea or concept and meaning another. The anonymous article “Hollywood Removes Statue Of Louis B. Mayer Beckoning Judy Garland To Sit On His Lap” accomplishes a fine example of parody, a type of mockery. In the article, a statue of well-known 1900s film producer Louis B. Mayer “lasciviously gesturing” (The Onion) to a young Judy Garland statue is being removed. The article praises Hollywood’s collective decision to remove the statue. A fictitious Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s fake chair member Arnold Slavens is said to mention Hollywood’s changing image and values. Hollywood is reportedly moving away from its reputation of powerful male actors taking advantage of those below in status. However, in light of recent events, this is obviously not the case. The article ends by sarcastic irony to mention Hollywood’s decision to replace the original statue with one that celebrates “Hollywood’s strong tradition of forcing aging actresses out of the industry” (The Onion). Both of these literary devices are used to express The Onion’s opinion, which is clearly unfavorable towards