Rhetorical Analysis Of It's A Good Thing '

When we study the rhetoric of consumerism and product, we are most likely able to identify the marketers' target audience, whether it is sporting apparel or cookware. In her essay, "It's a 'Good Thing': Rhetorical Constitution and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia," Cynthia Duquette Smith contends that a constitutive rhetoric, "...suggests that rhetorical texts bear the markings of those for whom they were produced, allowing the critic to make observations about the audience," (Smith 340). Smith also states that there are two ways that we can respond to a text. The first is that we identify with the ideals and image a text projects, and so we are willing to participate as an audience member. The other facet is that after examining a text, we

In television, a show's producers might intend their audience to possess certain characteristics, but because art and entertainment varies in interpretation, the audience, therefore, varies as well. This creates a new chasm in Smith's proposed dichotomy. This essay will illustrate that rhetoric within television shows cannot impose upon its audience because of the ambiguity in interpretation. We have audiences who respond to television in the way in which the creators intended, those who respond to the series as it suits their own morality and personality, and those who do not respond to the series at all as it does not tailor to their

However, we must take into account that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a satire, which is best defined as a text that employs sarcasm, ridicule or irony to slyly critique social and political concerns. Indeed, this is the intent of the show. In a Reddit interview thread with Glenn Howerton, who portrays Dennis and serves as a writer and producer, says that they use comedy as a vehicle to provide social commentary saying, "...because our show is a comedy and satire, it gives us the opportunity to address issues... in a way that is comical, but because it is comical, in our opinions, it can be more poignant, because it's couched in comedy. And therefore, it's more subversive. Sometimes presenting the most ignorant point of view can be the best way to satirize the issue and highlight ignorance," (Reddit). Here, the writers' intent of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is explicitly stated. We are told that the audience is supposed to recognize that each episode is in some way a social or political critique of our