RA Prompts: The Disaster Artist

The RA Essay asks you to produce a thesis-driven analysis, complemented by secondary sources, of one or more aspects of the rhetorical situation in an assigned text.

RA PROMPTS FOR THE DISASTER ARTIST

1. How does the author’s decision to render Tommy’s speech as “foreign” appeal to the audience of this book?

ASPECTS OF RHETORICAL SITUATION: Text, Audience

TIPS:

-You’ll first need to establish HOW Tommy’s speech is rendered as foreign, as well as providing evidence for why you think the book is targeting the audience you choose to specify. Both of these steps will require careful close reading.

-Research may include evidence about the average American reader’s perception of (and reaction to) grammatical markers and non-native speech.

1. How does the author’s decision to render Tommy’s speech as “foreign” send a message about society’s attitudes about “foreignness” OR immigration OR other topics at the time of the book’s publication?

ASPECTS OF RHETORICAL SITUATION: Text, Historical/Cultural Context

TIPS:

-This prompt will require you to develop an argument that doesn’t just show how the book REFLECTS opinions or attitudes from society, but COMMENTS UPON them and ADDS TO them.

-You’ll first need to establish HOW Tommy’s speech is rendered as foreign, as well as providing evidence for why you think the book is targeting the audience you choose to specify. Both of these steps will require careful close reading.

-Research may include sources that depict society’s attitudes toward the topic you think this choice sends a message about.

1. How are Tommy’s anxieties about aging depicted in such a way as to send a message about society’s attitudes about aging at the time of the book’s publication?

ASPECTS OF RHETORICAL SITUATION: Text, Historical/Cultural Context

TIPS:

-This prompt will require you to develop an argument that doesn’t just show how the book REFLECTS opinions or attitudes from society, but COMMENTS UPON them and ADDS TO them.

-You’ll need to look not just at what Tommy’s attitudes about aging are, but at how the authors choose to depict those attitudes.

-Research may include sources that depict society’s attitudes toward aging at the time of the book’s publication.

1. How is Greg’s experience (and/or Tommy’s experience) with Hollywood depicted in such a way as to send a message about the state of the movie industry at the time of the book’s publication?

ASPECTS OF RHETORICAL SITUATION: Text, Historical/Cultural Context, Message

TIPS:

-This prompt will require you to develop an argument that doesn’t just show how the book REFLECTS opinions or attitudes from society, but COMMENTS UPON them and ADDS TO them.

-You’ll need to look not just at Tommy’s/Greg’s experiences in Hollywood are, but at how the authors choose to depict those experiences.

-Research may include sources that depict society’s perceptions of (and experiences with) Hollywood at the time of the book’s publication.

1. Tommy and Greg’s friendship sometimes drifts into territory that seems more like an intimate, romantic relationship. How are these moments and others in the book written in such a way as to provide commentary on the cultural idea of “bromance” at the time of the book’s publication?

ASPECTS OF RHETORICAL SITUATION: Text, Historical/Cultural Context, Message

-This prompt will require you to develop an argument that doesn’t just show how the book REFLECTS opinions or attitudes from society, but COMMENTS UPON them and ADDS TO them.

-Research may include sources that establish the cultural yardstick for “bromance.”

1. What are the genre conventions of a memoir, and how does this book follow (or subvert) those conventions to achieve a certain rhetorical effect?

ASPECTS OF RHETORICAL SITUATION: Genre, Text, Message

-This prompt will require you to go beyond simply pointing out conventions that are followed or subverted; resist the tendency to quickly list conventions and then move on. Rather, you’ll need to carefully choose a set of conventions whose presence or absence you believe creates an intentional, profound effect.

-Research should include sources that establish the conventions of this genre (or of the larger genre of literary nonfiction) and discuss their importance.

1. In what ways does the tone used by the author to describe Tommy shift throughout the book? What rhetorical effect do these shifts achieve?

ASPECTS OF RHETORICAL SITUATION: Text, Message

-This prompt will require you to first demonstrate the presence of shifting tones in the narrative through close reading, before arriving at a cohesive argument about the rhetorical effect of the tone shifts. Do the tone shifts send a message? Achieve a purpose? Appeal to a certain audience? How do they do that?

1. How is this book written in such a way as to appeal to the “midnight movie” crowd who loves “The Room”? What effect does the book hope to achieve for this audience, and how do you know that?

ASPECTS OF RHETORICAL SITUATION: Audience, Text, Message

TIPS: It’s your job to show how the effect that this book hopes to achieve for the “midnight movie” readership is distinct from the effect it might hope to achieve for a more general readership—OR how the effect is tailored specifically to this audience.

-Research may include sources that assist you in defining this audience and their interests.

1. Tommy doesn’t always treat women well in this book. Based on the way the authors depict Tommy’s insensitivity to gender, women, and women’s rights, what specific message do you think this depiction sends? How does this depicton comment upon the state of feminism/gender equality/women’s rights at the time of the book’s publication?

ASPECTS OF RHETORICAL SITUATION: Text, Historical/Cultural Context, Message

TIPS:

-You will need to go beyond showing moments where Tommy is insensitive or misogynistic, and actually demonstrate that the book adopts a certain attitude or tone toward these moments that assists it in showing the authors’ attitude toward these issues.

-This prompt will require you to develop an argument that doesn’t just show how the book REFLECTS opinions or attitudes from society, but COMMENTS UPON them and ADDS TO them.

-Research may include sources that demonstrate society’s stance on feminism/women’s rights at the time of the book’s publication. Research may also include sources that provide analogues to Tommy’s behavior.

1. Tommy is obsessed with the idea of “Americanness.” What does it mean to Tommy to be an American, and what is the author’s portrayal of his attitude toward his adopted country? What commentary is provided by this portrayal and by the authors’ attitude toward this subject?

ASPECTS OF RHETORICAL SITUATION: Text, Message, [Context]

-You will need to go beyond showing moments where Tommy discusses America to actually demonstrate that the book adopts a certain attitude or tone toward these moments—an attitude or tone that lets the authors provide clear commentary on Tommy’s attitude and behavior in regards to this subject.

1. Open prompt: create your own prompt for the RA. If you choose this prompt, you must seek my approval for your proposed essay before beginning work on it.

Your prompt can explore any aspects of the rhetorical situation, but should focus on how two or more aspects of the rhetorical situation work together.You might make an argument exploring, for example, how the text…

A. Transmits a certain message to a certain audience;

B. Transmits a message by engaging with an aspect of its historical/cultural context;

C. Transmits a certain message to a certain audience by engaging with an aspect of its historical cultural context.

D. Includes sections which play with ideas of genre/medium in a certain way in order to achieve a certain purpose.

E. Includes sections which, when read closely, contain literary devices that send a message OR appeal to an audience OR achieve a purpose.

F. Includes decisions about style and/or tone that concretely affect some other aspect of the rhetorical situation.

…and so on!

————————————————————————-

For whichever prompt you choose, you’ll want to make sure that your argument discusses WHAT you see happening, HOW you see it operating, and (most importantly) WHY this is important, and/or WHAT the EFFECT of these rhetorical choices is! Your argument should, of course, be arguable.

AGWR Chapter 10 has some great examples of various kinds of rhetorical arguments—and the thesis statements that summarize them. Please read through these—we spent a lot of time collecting them for you because we thought they’d help you out. A lot of these will seem threateningly complex—but they’re the result of a lot of thought and a ton of revision over time.

 

Do you need a similar assignment done for you from scratch? We have qualified writers to help you. We assure you an A+ quality paper that is free from plagiarism. Order now for an Amazing Discount!
Use Discount Code "Newclient" for a 15% Discount!

NB: We do not resell papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.