Procedural Rhetorical Analysis

We used the Game of Life as an example to illustrate Bogost’s procedural rhetoric and its principles. Traditionally, people like to use the actual game board edition but we used the kindle version of the Game of Life instead.

It is a semi-realistic game about walking through life events and the purpose of the game is to accumulate the most wealth.
The main argument of the game is that the choices made in the early stages of one’s life will have a ripple effect throughout the remainder of their journey. This will determine what choices are available to them  and how one will lead his or her life until the end. One example of early choices affecting the rest of your life is the game’s opening decision to either go to college or start a career. Starting a career allows you to make money early on and avoid having to pay large amounts of student debt. However, choosing to go to college presents higher paying jobs with more perks.

Further, the main argument of the game is life has many unpredictable ups and downs. The Game of Life does an excellent job of showing how unpredictable events can really affect your course of existence. For example, the event of having a child (or twins) comes at random and can then make the rest of the game very expensive. Other events such as having a midlife crisis, having your house flood, or alternatively getting a promotion at your job all cause disruption, frustration, and surprise to players. One can also say that some aspects of life is based purely on chance because of it. There is just no way to expect what events will interfere or benefit in our lives.

The elements of procedurality in the game helps one understand the process of life. The Game of Life helps by laying out the general route a person can take. It begins with the choice of attending college/university or pursuing a career, getting married, buying a house, starting a family, and other achievements until retirement. Nevertheless, in between these events there are unexpected misfortunes. In the game, the players must use the spinner and this really aids with the randomness of when these unforeseen events can happen in real life. This helps the game to be more realistic. In addition, if it is combined with the best interactivity possible then it moves even closer to real experience. It is important to mention that the interactivity element must be relevant to the goals of the game, or it will dilute the effectiveness of the persuasion. As Bogost argues, “the closer we get to real experience, the better.” He is directly referring to the vivid spectrum. However, he doesn’t mean it has to be virtual or to completely recreate the world to be persuasive; he’s implying that the steps involved in the games is what actually makes it rhetorically influential.
Another element is the idea that early choices affect the rest of one’s life is reinforced by the player’s freedom within the parameters of the game. There are decisions that present players with very specific choices; those choices then define how later events are carried out. Players are forced to deal with what happens, just like people in the real world are forced to deal with real situations.
Overall, we believe there is procedural rhetoric in the Game of Life because there is some seriousness in the nature of life, but it’s not clear to us if it’s strong enough to “support or challenge our understanding of the way things in the world do or should work” as Bogost might say to be effective.

Check out these other blogs
http://rhetoricalfun.blogspot.com/

http://rhetoriciansnow.blogspot.com/

https://sickrhetoric.wordpress.com/

First Rhetorical Analysis

A Rhetorical Analysis of 'cuz he's black 

Dr. Javon Johnson is an assistant professor at San Francisco State University and holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University. In his slam poem “‘cuz he’s black.”, Dr. Johnson examines the issues of racial profiling, police brutality, and the general atmosphere that African Americans are raised within. Through the medium of a personal experience, Johnson expresses his view that “poor black boys are treated as problems well before they are treated as people” (Johnson 32). In other words, young black Americans are falling victim over and over to our society’s demeaning perception of who they are rather than being treated as equal to the other citizens of this nation.

              

Dr. Johnson’s message comes during a rebirth of American movements such as Black Lives Matter that focus on bringing an end to the brutality and murders that taint this nation’s police force. By coming forward at this time with his message, Johnson has given more weight to his opinion and experience. Multiple incidents and accusations and trials have put this issue in the national spotlight. Years ago, Dr. Johnson’s words would have made an impact in only a small pocket of society. However, now that large amounts of evidence have come forth to support the assertion that police brutality has once again become a problem, this work of art pierces deeper into the heart of anyone listening.

              

By beginning his performance in a lighthearted and relatable tone, Johnson reminds his audience of his humanity before delving into the true argument of his piece. Anyone who has ever been given the responsibility to watch over a young relative or child or neighbor understands the curiosity that Dr. Johnson was forced to answer to in his story. He made it clear that black and white children and adults are the same. He exhibits that a child’s mind and heart is not differentiated by skin color.

              

Johnson then diverges from this opening atmosphere with the words of his nephew, “Oh man, Uncle, 5-0, we gotta hide” (Johnson 16). He makes it clear that while children are born equal, they are forced to be raised in different ways. At the same time that white children are usually taught to appreciate and feel safe with officers of the law, black children often learn a much different lesson. Young African Americans grow up with the reality that they will unjustly be considered criminals before ever getting to explain themselves. An example that Johnson provides is his advice to “Be aware of how quickly your hands move to pocket for wallet or ID, be more aware of how quickly the officer's hand moves to holster, for gun” (Johnson 44).

              

Johnson’s words shed more intimate light on the way that the lives of African Americans are impacted due to the fear instilled in them by officers of the law. An understanding of this country’s outlook on the issue as well as the inclusion of situations that his audience can relate to allows Dr. Johnson to effectively inform and persuade others of the pressing importance this issue demands. 

Cited Source:

Johnson, Javon. “'cuz he’s black.” Genius. Accessed 10 September 2016. http://genius.com/Javon-johnson-cuz-hes-black-annotated. 

For other rhetorical analysis posts check out these blogs!

Emily Weaver: emibluerhetoric.blogspot.com


Damien Raymond: draymondwritinginrhetoric.blogspot.com