Bias, Rhetorical Devices and Argumentation

Bias, Rhetorical Devices, and Argumentation

The movie clip from “Citizen Kane” presented political bias in an apparent politically-driven speech given by the opposing side of the campaign. The character Kane presented a negative opinion about Boss Jim W. Getty’s to the public audience in the speech.

The clip presented two fallacies scapegoating and ad hominem within the speech given by the character Kane. Kane was scapegoating when he blamed the opponent Getty’s for the problems and used negative details to explain this to the audience. One person is definitely not the problem for a political mess. Kanes character also blamed a particular person for the problem rather than placing the blame upon the entire political organization. So Kane also used the fallacy ad hominem because he blamed the entire position of the community on one individual.

The specific rhetorical devices this speech used were hyperbole and alliteration. The speaker Kane exaggerated the damage the opponent impacted to the community during the term Getty’s served. Kane publicly called the opponent a villain and implied the opponent was evil. Another example of a rhetorical devices used in the speech are alliteration. The speaker used this particular fallacy when Kane stated this sentence (Wells, 1941) “I’ll do everything in my power to protect the underprivileged, the underpaid, and the underfed” (para. 4). Kane used and repeated the same consonant and word several times within the sentence.

Kane addressed arguments with the use of rhetorical devices hyperbole and alliteration and the fallacies scapegoating and ad hominem. Kane discredited the opponent by using exaggeration and finger pointing at the opponent within the speech. Examples of arguments stated by Kane are (Wells, 1941) “with one purpose only: to point out and make public the dishonesty, the downright villainy, of Boss Jim W. Getty’s political machine” (para. 1) and “My first official act as Governor of this State will be...