Rhetorical Vigilantes: Batman, The Washington Post and other pop culture sources taking down power structures

As I sit answering last minute emails from students, frantic about their rhetorical analyses papers - or confused because they skipped class, I can't help but reflect on an interesting an engaging last few weeks of 1010. Having the opportunity to teach my 1010 students about rhetorical analyses was such a fun experience, and a definite student-becomes-master moment, but how can I ever be sure that my students enjoy or appreciate the value of such assignments, much less understand how to do them?

My love for rhetorical analyses is extra. I believe almost every research paper I've done in undergrad was a rhetorical analysis, and I loved learning new ways to consider language and rhetoric in unexpected artifacts. From Burke's pentadic criticism and cluster critiques, to narrative criticism and Bormann's fantasy themes, I find rhetorical analyses of all kinds to be unendingly interesting, important and so.. normal? Rhetorical analyses offer us more in depth, "academic" opportunities to critique artifacts we encounter everyday to determine how they communicate to audiences, why, and the implications of these acts. And add anything generally about language in the mix? I seriously can't get enough! When I began preparing my lesson to teach my 1010 students I was having so much fun and could not wait to see my students that week to pass on my knowledge of the subject.

Come the end of the day Tuesday and I was PUMPED. Not only did I get to share a little bit of my personal interests with my students through the artifact I chose for us to analyze (The Washington Post's 2019 SuperBowl Commercial - I love journalism!), but I genuinely think they understood how to complete their own analyses and enjoyed the class discussion we held. Although there were some disagreements about how students interpreted an artifact, such as the statue of liberty as a symbol of patriotism vs. immigration, I could see the wheels turning as the students discussed their interpretations of the artifacts and the overall effectiveness of the video. I have never left a class feeling so confident that my students' truly learned the material and could recreate the process themselves for their projects, and considering it was one of my favorite communication studies topics? Talk about a good Tuesday.

As we discussed narrative theory and the use of pop culture in the classroom in Pedagogy, I couldn't help but think about the relevancy such rhetorical analyses had within the discussion. The "Batman Class" created by Hammonds and Anderson-Lain to analyze the role of narrative theory and pop culture was a great example of an extended rhetorical analysis as the class used the same text throughout the course to discuss various communication concepts. Not only did the text incorporate important social and cultural ideas into class conversation, but it was an interesting and seemingly common artifact that students might not consider academic amongst everyday life. By using such a common artifact, as well as one that has ties to particular niche audiences, we can teach our students that truly anything and everything is worthy of studying and has value in the classroom, especially the artifacts they identify with and enjoy. McCauliff and Denker stated that through the use of such pop culture artifacts in connection with a critical communication pedagogy teachers become co-learners with their students, their own experiences are allowed to be represented and in focus, and (much like the actions of our hero Batman) dominant and oppressive power structures are torn down within the classroom to make way for a critical, reflective and diverse environment.

By allowing students to become experts in the classroom through the use of diverse and representative pop culture artifacts, we create space and give them a voice, but we also allow for opportunities of critical reflection regarding their social realities. Rhetorical analyses give us all a chance to communicate about how others communicate through different sources, and is more common than we might expect. One could even argue that a lot of the discussion we have in classes and as debriefing activities serves as a rhetorical analysis depending on the day's activity. Whether or not we knowingly engage in rhetorical analyses in our classrooms, it is vitally important that we consider the cultures and identities of the pop culture media we utilize in relation to those of our students and actively participate in the creation of a critical communication pedagogy within our classes. If we truly want our students to become better communicators and people rather than get the A, our classes depend on it!

#thanksforcomingtomyTEDtalk
Payton