Music Video - Rhetorical Response

Throughout the music video "Can't Believe It" by the artist T-Pain, there is a variety of rhetorical strategies used. The most obvious use of persuasion of appeals is through the use of pathos. His lyrics begin by using narration to tell the story of how is he involved with a girl and how he is attracted to her. The affection or attraction between sexes is a use of pathos because it appeals to the emotions. In the video, T-Pain and Lil Wayne are dancing with girls and showing a connection with them throughout the video. As a viewer, you are more receptive to the message and actions of the singer because it puts the audience in an emotional state. Today, sex is a very exploited subject and it often used as a method of persuasion. As you can see in the video, the women are not wearing much clothing at all, a use of pathos once again, because it is noticed by the audience and impacts their feelings.

Furthermore, the use of pathos are used in the video by what T-Pain is "offering" in his lyrics. Directed toward women, he is saying he can put them in a log cabin, or buy them a mansion. Additionally, he mentions being on the front page of a magazine and driving in expensive cars. These are shown throughout the video because these are all materials that are highly praised in society today. They are material objects that apply to emotions because people have strong feelings toward them. They make seek or desire these materials for they may think they may receive happiness from these objects. In a sense, this is a cause and effect strategy used by T-Pain in his video, for if these women choose to engage with T-Pain, he can reward them or give them these desires. Through the use of rhetorial appeals, pathos are highly used in the music video to put the audience in a particular state of emotion to become more receptive so the singer's message.

Music Video - Reflection

T-pain's music video "Can't Believe It" is a very unique video in my opinion. It is different from a lot of other music video because it has such complex editing skills. The video kept me very entertained the very first time I saw it because I was intrigued and interested what the next scene was gonna be. It was very fast paced which was interesting because the song is fairly slow. Each scene was very short and I felt the transitioning was the very best part about the music video. I thought it was very impressive how each image was zoomed in on and altered into a different kind of image. The contrasting of colors was very effective because since everything was mostly black and white, certain images or objects were really highlighted and brought out. I think the style of the video also fits the style of the song very well. T-Pain's music is definetely music that is meant to be enjoyed. His music never talks about any problems or issues in the world. His music is always meant to be danced to and be fun. The video is very entertaining and enjoyable which is very important because it relates well to the song. I also liked the video a lot because I thought it was really funny how they were dancing with puppets at the end and dressed as clowns. There were a lot of random events in this video but I chose it because I felt it was very entertaining and unique.

Music Video - Observation

This music video is called "Can't Believe It" by the artist T-Pain featuring Lil Wayne. The video contains a very large amount of computer editing all throughout the movie and lots of different scenes. There is a variety of animations and editing skills within this music video. The music video begins with T-Pain in black and white colors, and a "mini-version" of himself appears in his hand. The screen then transitions very quicky and zooms in on the "mini-version" of T-Pain and he is much larger. A girl is in the background with a pink silhoutte around her which the camera then zooms in on and focuses on her. The outside of the screen is shaded in black and everything is black and white. A small picture frames appears in the background, which is then zoomed in on again very quickly. There is a pattern of objects appearing in the screen randomly and then focused on. The picture frame is focused in on and a a log cabin in a snowy area. The cabin appears to be animated but T-Pain and the girl are very realistic and human-like images. The camera seems to be rotating and times and never staying still and constantly moving. In this cabin scene, the colors are very distinct and bright. Then cabin is then porportionally down-sized and placed in a "snow-globe" and placed once again on the black screen. Through this whole music video there are very fast transitions which relate back to the lyrics. There is a definite pattern in images appearing and focusing on the images that randomly appear.

Writing Project #2 - Rhetorical Analysis

Sometimes the only way to solve a political or social problem is not through the government but rather by the voice of the people. Everyday American citizens are faced with struggles and difficulties which the government and poilitics are held responsible. This graffiti mural of Barack Obama highly suggests that change in the government is essential and critical. Arguing that change cannot come from the government but rather from the people, this quote from Barack Obama effectively convinces Americans to believe and have hope for the future. Using rhetorical strategies of cause and effect and classification and division through a style of graffiti art, the artwork is able to identify several areas of a Democratic government. The emotional use of pathos and the credible strategy of ethos helps understand and support the argument.

The painting was created by artist of the name Koolhats and is currently located at the Sante Fe Art District in Denver, Colorado. The artwork is untitled and displays the current President of the United States, Barack Obama. It is a contemporary piece of artwork that highlights a quote which directly relates back to the people. “I’m asking you not to believe in my ability to bring out the real change in Washington. I’m asking you to believe in yours.” Notice certain words from the text or quote are highlighted to exaggerate and stress a certain point. The cultural context in this image is very important, for during the period of the election, everyone is involved in a type of way by voting. By making this statement that the people have the ability to make those changes happen, it encourages people to become more active and participate in voting. By voting as Americans, people can fulfill their most upright duty as an American citizen and put forth their personal beliefs. As the statement by Barack Obama explains, the people have the “ability” to make those “changes” happen. The artwork helps proves that the changes that do not occur through politics or government, but rather by the Democratic governement and the power of the people.


Graffiti is a style of art that is commonly used to express a certain point of view. In this case, a movement in politics is being subjected. The choice and type of text used in graffiti art is crucial, for the artist needs to establish credibility to the public audience. Each word is outlined or shadowed in black, a typical strategy of many graffiti artists that is used to separate and exploit the words. By underlining the words of "believe", "ability", and "change", the artist has used division to make the works stand out from the others. The artist has used the visual rhetoric of classification and division to arrange and organize the words in such a pattern that makes the text more attractive to the viewer.

When creating graffiti art, the purpose of the artist is to obtain a sense of power and control by creating the mural in a certain space. In order to effectively get a point across and have a way of communicating a message to a group of people for a movement, the space selected shows the meaning or importance. By using public space to convey a meaning, there is openness and visibility to the audience. By making a spatial claim, graffiti artists hide their identity but show possession of the space by creating art. In doing so, graffiti artists receive ethical appeals of credibility, for their acts of power and possession are shown through spatial claim. When claiming a certain space to perform the artwork, the use of ethos is revealed when the author’s authority is noticed. The author has created an identity through the mural and visual rhetoric.


As you analyze the actual image of the graffiti mural rather than the quote, much can be taken from the physical gesture or visual rhetoric of Obama. He possesses a very serious, determined, and focused facial expression that forms a use of pathos. It is an emotional figure that shows a great deal of expression and feelings. His chin is significantly raised, showing there is hope for the future. This is a concept or idea that reaches the audience and more importantly helps convince the argument toward the people. By making the face of Obama unrealistic and lacking detail, it is a strategy of the artist to make the image more abstract. By using visual rhetoric and making the artwork abstract and somewhat unkown, it causes the viewer to think even more and use their imagination.

There is a contrast of colors in the artwork that symbolize what America is currently going through everyday. The diverse use of colors relates back toward the actual skin color of Barack Obama. American has never had an African-American President before, therefore racial issues and disputes are drawn upon now that Barack Obama has been elected as the first black President. Contrasting the colors and using them as a united form proves that people of all races and skin colors can cooperate and join together as a whole. Being elected as the first black President is a very historic and significant event in the nation’s history, an event that may help resolve racism. Using different color choices, especially in the facial region of the skin, is an effective visual rhetoric that helps show that racism and be overcome.


In this graffiti visual rhetoric, the symbolism of red, white, and blue can be interpreted and viewed a representation of the American flag. Relating the colors of the artwork back to the American flag is an outstanding use of pathos. Using appeals that relate to patriotism is a very emotional subject. Having national loyalty and devoting one’s self to the support and defense of one’s country is a very touching topic. Each individual color of the American flag has its own meaning and significance. Red, which is strongly used in the mural, stands for the courage and bravery of the nation. White, used specifically on the lettering and text of the quote, signifies purity and innocence. And finally, blue, used to underline certain words, stands for vigilance, perseverance and justice. This is a very productive use of pathos and color elements, for the audience is able to respond and be receptive in an emotional state of patriotism.

Through the use of various appeals of ethos and pathos, rhetorical strategies are presented to persuade an argument. Additionally, the use of visual rhetoric and exploiting certain elements such as the choice of lettering helps understand a certain message. The graffiti painting and quote from President Barack Obama is a visual image with context that uses these elements to argue a message in that people have the ability to make change happen in the political government. By reaching appeals of authority and emotion, the rhetorical device is successfully able to convince the viewer of the intended message.

Works Cited

"History Part 1." New York City Cyber Bench. 23 November 2008.
www.at149st.com

"Our Flag." Visionary Enterprises. 10 February 2005.
www.usflag.org

Extra Credit - Timothy Liu

In one of his poem's, Timothy Liu spoke of butchering animals, cattle in particular. This poem inspired me to do some research on slaughterhouse and find more information about them. According to Erin Williams's book Why Animals Matter,there are around ten billion animals that are slaughtered every year in 5,700 slaughterhouses and processing plants employing 527,000 workers in the United States. Also, 28.1 billion pounds of beef were consumed in the U.S. alone in the year 2007. The largest slaughterhouse in the world is operated by the Smithfield Packing Company in Tar Heel, North Carolina. It is capable of butchering over 32,000 pigs a day. After looking into the topic of slaughterhouse and butchering animals, these numbers seem astounding and very shocking to me. I personally eat meat everyday and it is something that I take for granted too much. When stopping and thinking about what is truly going on in the world, it makes me question if what society is doing is truly right. Are slaughterhouse nescessary? Do we really need them? Is it appropriate? There are many questions that can be regarded to the subject that all relate back to "animal's rights". Should animals be treated in the same ways that humans are and receive the same rights? It is an issue that is becoming more and more popular in society today, even Wesleyan has an Liberal Arts Seminar class that is about animal cruely and animal rights. Even if people think that slaughterhouse are necessary, I think they should be dealt with in the appropriate manner. For example, the animals should be treated a "humane" way with the least amount of cruely possible. Additionally, I feel that if people do choose to eat meat, they need to be thankful and recognize what they have been blessed with. I completely agree with Timothy Liu when he noted that every animal shoud be blessed right before they are killed and processed. I think everyone should become more aware of slaughterhouse and what is truly occuring whether they agree with them concept or not.