Rhetorical Devices In Dominion

Dominion is a 2018 documentary film directed by Chris Delforce that reveals the dark reality of the ways in which humans abuse and disregard animal welfare in the food, clothing, research, and entertainment industries. The film heavily incorporates a continuous montage of the industry-standard and exploitative practices that countless animals are susceptible to. The film’s documentation of the truth behind factory farming emphasizes precisely what the film is titled, “dominion”, which refers to the superiority over the animal kingdom that mankind feels it is inherently entitled to. Dominion’s exceptional use of ethos, logos, and pathos allows it to perfectly execute its message across all audiences through the emotional and informative experience

The film is successful in conveying its message, particularly through its use of visual documentation, which is extremely vile and off-putting. Though its appeal to logos and ethos was thoroughly executed, Dominion’s appeal to pathos proved to be undeniably powerful in allowing viewers to understand the severity of this issue. Additionally, the film’s influence relies heavily on its use of quantitative and qualitative visual elements. The entirety of the film is dedicated to visual elements through documentation, in which the film would not have been as powerful and compelling without them. This ultimately provokes strong emotions of guilt, shock, and solicitude within the audience through its exposure to the worldwide abuse of animal welfare, which is what is intended in the film in order to reveal the issue that consumers contribute to. Near the end of the film, the audience is asked, “If the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated… What does it say about us, as a species?” (Dominion). The film leaves the audience with a reflective note questioning the righteousness and validity of consuming meat and dairy products at the cost of an innocent animal’s life. Dominion is a film dedicated to inspiring viewers to acknowledge the unethical system of industrial agriculture, with hopes of encouraging further advocacy for helpless