Response #7

The collective readings today were an interesting dynamic. On one hand, the Rhetorical Tradition discussed ars dictaminis, the art of letter writing, which emphasized how seriously letter composition was taken during the medieval period. Due to low rates of literacy, there was a lot of gravity behind the written word, and I found the prevalence of works outlining how specifically to structure an effective letter to be unusual, especially compared with the almost complete disregard personal letter writing is treated with in modern society. Personally, I love writing letters and find it a great way to keep in touch with my friends out of state and out of the country. Currently I feel that letters are significant to most people as only bank statements and official notices. This does correspond with the business aspect of letters as they were present in the medieval period, however, ars dictaminis as it existed as a noted form of rhetoric has faded from the public forefront.

On the other hand, the chapter of ARCS covered emotional appeals that covered a completely different aspect of rhetoric than that posed by the art of letter writing. Though Anonymous did elaborate the use of establishing goodwill in order to evoke a certain response from the reader, the emotional appeals in chapter 7 are of a different variety. Number 4 in the rhetorical activities brings up the use of fear by advertisers to compel consumers to purchase their product, and there is no shortage of examples. I'm always reminded of Michael Moore's quote about how we live in a "nation of fear", and I have to say that I agree. I remember a commercial for a disinfectant that showed a child's hand reaching in slow motion to grab a phone that was covered in green germs that only the audience could see, which directly targets the mothers in the audience because the advertisers seem like there was just enough time to reach out and smack the child's hand away, pull out a can of disinfectant and sanitize the phone before the damage could be done. This ad aired repeatedly during the mid-afternoon on stations with soap operas and talk shows when this specific audience would be most likely doing their chores and susceptible to the ad's message. This example is one of hundreds reiterating the notion that advertisers know exactly how to make the most out of emotional appeals, and who their target is.