How Do Gossip, Fake Excuses, and Horror Films Work to Persuade?

Perform a detailed rhetorical analysis of a larger context or genre of rhetoric, such as a series of activities or a regular persuasive event.

Examples include church signs, expected Facebook responses, apologies, the anti-ads, late-night comedy shows, etc. Identify the genre and discuss how it works to make, then, a theory of a particular category of rhetoric. In other words, how do funerals, gossip, fake excuses, horror films, and so on work to persuade? For your answer, you can use “Rhetorical Analysis” by Kenneth Burke and “The Phaedrus and the nature of rhetoric” by Richard Weaver.