Rhetorical Analysis Of The Way We Get By

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The camera moved from veteran to veteran, capturing an immense amount of emotion in a single shot. The director, Aron Gaudet, worked from different angles in order to convey a particular message about what it truly means to be a veteran. In the documentary, “The Way We Get By,” he takes three people impacted by the military who live in Maine to tell their story and show their passion for America. They regularly visit the Bangor Airport to show their appreciation, love, and support of the troops. The words of the veterans are not all that express how much the service that soldiers do mean to them. Gaudet takes his camera skills and uses that to his advantage to prove his claim. He goes deep into the lives of William Knight, Joan Gaudet, and …show more content…

This may not sound like a big task, but Gaudet shows the truth behind the sacrifices these people make every single day to show their support. For starters, Gaudet uses rhetorical appeals in order to prove his claim, which is that America needs to stay together as a united community, and the troops need support more then ever. For example, in the opening scene, Gaudet panels in on William Knight, as he describes what it truly means to be a veteran. The words he speaks are not the only thing that fill your heart with emotion. The close up shot of William genuinely shows his appreciation for all of the sacrifices anyone who goes into the service makes. He even takes his appreciation down to the Bangor Airport every single time a flight comes in by greeting the soldiers and telling them how much their service means to him and to America. This really hits hard to the audience because it takes a former soldier, whose passion is ever-lasting, and who has been through hard times in the war himself. He knows what …show more content…

The director Aron Gaudet used panning and focusing the camera on the face in order to capture the emotional journey that these three greeters go through on a day to day basis. Even while battling cancer and mortgage issues, William continued to go the Bangor airport and greet the soldiers who were coming back from the war. His passion was shown through his words, facial expressions, and generous actions. Joan never wanted war in the first place, but she understands that everyone needs support and love. Being a mother while her husband was away at war definitely grew her love for appreciating those who sacrifice daily to protect their country. Gerald wants to be there supporting the soldiers whose families may not get to be there at the airport for they arrival. The bottom line is that America became a free country because of sacrifice and uniting together to fight for what they believe in. Our soldiers are still doing that today, and they need our support more than ever. They need to know that they are not fighting alone. They have the rest of the country fighting there with