Cultural Myths

1. Cultural Myths a quick introduction

2. Rhetorical Analysis & Culture Rhetorical analysis = “analyzing how well the components of an argument work together to persuade or move an audience” (97) Rhetorical Situation Author Audience Purpose Including culture’s enduring “mythologies” Shaped by Cultural Context

3. Cultural Mythologies • “Myth” doesn’t necessarily mean ‘untrue’/harmful • Cultural mythologies = a kind of “shorthand” people within a culture use to communicate with one another • Narratives/parts of a narrative that people use to interpret the world; construct their identity • They are “arguments” about how the world is or how the world should be

4. Some types of Cultural Myths • Worldviews or Ideologies (“isms”; whole ways of seeing the world) • Value Systems (how we define “good” & “bad”) • Stereotypes (generalizations we believe to be true) • Clichés and aphorisms (“common sense”; things that affirm value systems)

5. An example: Capitalism the American Dream; hard work is good; innovation is good; everyone has an equal shot at success Poor people are lazy; certain immigrants are hard workers “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”; “rags to riches”; “America is the land of opportunity”

6. Representation & Cultural Myths • Not just verbal/written  also visual means of invoking familiar cultural myths • Symbols or “signs” transmit culturally-constructed meaning

7. Let’s say you want to represent the idea of “the American Spirit” visually . . . . What signs/symbols might you rely on to convey this concept?

8. Cultural Myths & Argument Often, writers/speakers/artists rely on cultural myths as part of arguments they make . . . . Why? • Can assume audiences already ‘know part of the story’ • Tool for constructing persuasive ethos • Means of deploying pathos • If trying to change beliefs/value systems, must accommodate audience’s existing beliefs & feelings

9. Now, consider this Jeep ad