Today we watched a clip from The Awful Truth where Michael Moore tries to get presidential candidates to jump in a mosh pit in order to get the show's endorsement. He goes from candidate to candidate without any luck until he meets up with Alan Keyes who does indeed body surf on the mosh pit.
We decided that Moore's thesis was that a person who was willing to dive into a mosh pit would make a good president.
Moore's ethos was right on for most of the classes. We tended to like Moore's "normal guy" ethos. He doesn't dress well, he's not too handsome, he's kinda big, but he doesn't seem to care. Many students said they identified with him more, and trusted him more because of this ethos. Other students were completely turned off by him, however.
Moore made good use of pathos as well, bringing in music from Rage Against the Machine to get our blood pumping, and structuring the show along good storytelling lines ending with the victory of getting Alan Keyes to jump into the pit. He also encouraged our disdain of all the candidates who were too stuck up to jump in.
It was Moore's logos that seemed to suffer. Though he presented a clear thesis, "a person who can jump into a mosh pit would make a good president," he didn't bring up any reasons why this is so.
Some students pointed out that the reasons were presented subtly. For example, they argued that a person who is willing to be a normal, fun loving person would be able to gain the trust and loyalty of Americans more easily than a stuffed shirt. They also argued that such a candidate would be able to work well with the nation's youth.
