As I live near the Gulf Coast, I've seen a considerable number of texts dealing with the Gulf Oil Crisis. This oil spill clearly created significant economic and environmental problems that will affect these areas to varying degrees for some time; as a result, BP's response has been met with considerable criticism. There are times, however, I wonder if any reponse would be met without considerable attack.
So for my first project, I thought I would try to analyze some of the responses BP has put forth and the foundations in which they base their responses to assure the government (at all levels), business owners, and "locals" that the company is acting responsibly to the accident. In particular, one commercial (which is also run in a print form) seems to root its rhetorical basis in Cicero with his strong emphasis on knowing the audience (I think more so than Aristotle) and eloquent delivery.
http://bp.concerts.com/gom/Communities_20082010.htm
I'm not so sure that they meet Cicero's moral and ethical requirements, yet, but hopefully the project will help sort that out. Additionally, I think much of what BP puts forth is based on enthymeme--they presume the audience starts from the same premise as they do or assume that we will make the jump to the same conclusion with them. At Dr. Rice's suggestion, I'm also exploring how the Toulmin Model may help to illustrate the basis for BP's claims.
If this project goes well, I hope to build a dialogue between competing opinions on the handling of the crisis. BP obviously views this as an accident--unfortunate, but a risk of the type of business they conduct. Others view this as an act of irresponsibility. So, tentatively, if the first assignment survives, I'd like to create a diagloue between these two opposing views.
This sort of reflection and analysis should be happening all of the time in our society, deconstructing the corporate spin machines, particularly in these moments of monumental screw-ups. Glad you are taking on a tough subject, and I look forward to seeing what you learn.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool idea, Deb! I was considering in an earlier blog about the importance of rhetoric during transitional periods of time. Rhetoric seems so important as we shape stories and remember lives. We spend so much time figuring out how to talk and think about the events of everyday life. The impact on how we look at history is amazing (think about how much anti-Bush sentiment there was in 2008 in comparison to today).
ReplyDeleteSeems like your project might identify some of the rhetoric we are using to understand, explain, and remember this latest crisis. Look forward to reading your work!
Enjoyed reading more about the Gulf crises here. Important analysis. Looking forward to reading what you come up with. This is the type of work we should be doing in technical communication and rhetoric.
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