In 1992, Mary Fisher spoke to the Republican party about HIV/AIDS. During this time, there was little to no government funding for the research and treatment of HIV/AIDS. People who had the disease were criticized and cast out from society. A veil of hatred was around the disease due to the thought that the virus was punishment to homosexuals, because the community saw the most damage. Mary Fisher aimed to stop these stereotypes and bring educated awareness to the issue. Fisher uses powerful diction and word choice to bring the secretive disease into the light. Through her speech, “A Whisper of AIDS”, Fisher uses fear inducing logistics and powerful emotional images to sway her audience. She showed the world that the HIV virus does not strictly target homosexual men. People of all backgrounds are effected. Her speech brought about funding and increased …show more content…
Fisher uses evidence from history to further support her claim: “The lesson from history teaches this: If you believe you are safe, you are at risk.” By stating an idea from the past, she can show the audience that her claim is relevant and accurate in the present tense. The reference to history shows her audience that the idea actually occurred. She also uses the fact that she lives with HIV: “I am a female and contracted this disease in marriage”(Fisher). By saying this, she proves that she has an inside look on what it feels like to live with disease. She seems credible because she has a glimpse into the disease through personal experience. Fisher also uses the presence of political leaders to backup her claim: “No less compassionate than that of the president and Mrs. Bush.” Here, Fisher demonstrates the powerful support that she receives. By saying that the president shares the same views, more people will be compelled to listen, because of the major leader who also believes in the
Jim Valvano is a legend in the sports community for his coaching ability as well as his unmatched perseverance. Valvano fought many battles on the basketball court, but none were as challenging as his battle with cancer. His perseverance earned him the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the first ever ESPY’s where he delivered one of the greatest and most inspirational speeches of all time. There are examples of all three of the rhetorical devices in this speech, but it is clear that pathos stands out the most amongst all of them. This was a very emotional speech that ultimately resulted in the unveiling of his brand new cancer research foundation, The Jimmy V Foundation.
Her use of research is persuasive; however, her rhetorical devices and fallacies take away from her main points. The author begins the article telling Crystal Wilson’s unfortunate story in reverse chronological order; attempting to grasp the reader’s emotions immediately. She begins explaining the
In her speech A Whisper of Aids, Mary Fisher uses a very clever method of establishing credibility with her audience. When Fisher lists the reasons she was not a risk for the disease that she contracted she establishes with the audience that she is one of them. This is important because of the conservative audience she is speaking to. Up until this point most of the people in the audience would have said that people who got HIV were not like them in order to distance themselves for the disease and create a false sense of security. If someone who represented the majority of people who had AIDS at this time had spoken with this audience they would not have listened.
In the article “Accessing Treatments: Managing the AIDS Epidemic in Ontario in Knowledge, Experience& Ruling Relations” by George W. Smith, the author pointed out how the ideology and social construction of common knowledge about AIDS influence the treatment for those patients negatively. Smith believed the general public and government have been lack of sufficient knowledge about AIDS, the AIDS patients and the government, the organization who providing the treatment are disconnected. There are still lots of people think AIDS is fatal illness disease and mainly caused by homosexuality. Smith thinks the lack of treatment for AIDS is basically due to the homophobia, labeling and prejudices formed by the public and mass media, and the government
As the camera zoomed in onto a sad little girl after the loss of her sister, I realized that the documentary, Burzynski: Cancer is Serious Business would be a difficult film to watch. Movies that depict dying children are often full of drama and heartache and this was no different. I was appalled at the treatment of these poor innocent patients and their families, and the movie had just begun. As I continued to watch the movie; however, my opinion changed from outrage that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be so corrupt and unjust, to realizing that maybe the movie was playing with my emotions. Although effective in using good rhetorical strategies, the viewer must separate emotion and drama from lack of evidence and
A solution to address the stigma of the AIDS epidemic on an individual level is for friends and family members to encourage people to seek help by speaking to HIV or AIDS counselors. Also, encourage people to get tested for AIDS as well. When one is in a relationship, they should simply be honest about their condition so that other people do not contract the
In the reading by Peter Redman, he raises the argument that the ‘AIDS carrier” becomes the central representation of the HIV epidemic and how the representations of HIV cannot be narrowed down to one cause. In addition, the ‘AIDS carrier’ is represented as monster and the carrier spreads HIV from the deviant subpopulations to the mainstream. Also, AIDS has been connected to social and moral issues and singles out groups like gay men, black people, and young single women. These groups are then viewed as diseased subpopulations and that causes others to feel disgust and panic. The heterosexual men are then afraid to have physical or emotional contact with men in general and that’s why boundaries of heterosexual masculinity were produced.
In the mid-1980s all the way through the 1990s, the United States was plagued with an epidemic and the fears that came along with this, after severely infected areas like New York City were forced to recognize AIDS as a rapidly spreading disease. AIDS is mostly a sexually transmitted virus that attacks white blood cells and weakens the body’s ability to fight off infections, and if left untreated, can result in death. This virus was most identified as claiming more lives of black, male homosexuals, than any other populated group in the U.S at this time, and therefore AIDS was considered a “gay disease” that left this group stigmatized and loathed by an already racist and homophobic society. The term “living with AIDS” began to be utilized when
In an excerpt from The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, many rhetorical devices are used to fully represent the process of a scientist. Some of the most commonly used devices are metaphors, anaphoras, and imagery, these three devices help the reader understand the main ideas of the story. The metaphors allow the reader to perceive the process of a scientist in more simplistic ideas such as science being an undiscovered wilderness. The anaphora used in the beginning of the passage emphasises that the world of science is full of uncertainty and is constantly changing, this drives the idea into the mind of the reader. The imagery is used alongside the metaphors to assist the reader in grasping the foreign ideas.
The AIDS epidemic began in the 1980’s and the effects of it were seen all around the globe. Each country led their own unique approach to preventing and curing AIDS, and some strategies worked better than others. The Australian response to AIDS can be considered world leading due to their multifaceted approach against the disease. Australia was successful in educating all people while simultaneously researching ways to cure the disease. Australia made a concerted effort to fight the both the physical disease itself, as well as the social stigma associated with it.
When stating “I would never have asked to be HIV positive, but I believe that in all things there is a purpose; and I stand before you and before the nation gladly.” (2) she shows how strong she is for allowing her story to be heard and exploited, as well as to encourage others to do the same. A metaphor that really ties this whole speech together and allows multiple emotions from sorrow to empathetic is evoked when she is saying, “I am one with the lonely gay man sheltering a flickering candle from the cold wind of his family’s rejection.” (4). Fisher sets the stereotypical recipient of HIV up and relates them to herself to show that she is one with being isolated by her
The rhetorical strategies she chose to use for her argument ensured she presented the most thought provoking, impactful speech. As her Ted Talk continues to reach millions of listeners around the globe, her hope is to breakdown those perpetuated stereotypes and convince the audience to reject the single story by seeking and more importantly, sharing diverse
Oprah’s display as an orator should not go unnoticed. Throughout the entirety of her delivery, Oprah projects herself with a clear, calm, and strong yet soft emphasis. Oprah maintains stern eye-contact with the audience, and presents herself in a strong, iron-body demeaner. These oratorical techniques coincide to further captivate the audience and continue to ease the audience into the persuasion of the viewpoint presented in her speech. Given controversies of sexual assault in recent times, as well as ideas of feminism and female
People usually turn a blind eye on whatever they find troublesome as if the problem would go away. Mary Fisher wants people to stop their ignorance and prejudice. She wants them to realize AIDS is spreading and affecting many individuals. It can infect anyone at anytime; everyone is at risk. In Mary Fisher’s speech, “A Whisper of Aids”, she utilizes parallel structure, metaphor, and antithesis to support her argument for people to be aware and informed about the disease.
In the 1980s, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome(AIDS) struck the United States and initially impacted the gay community the hardest. A homosexual man himself, Thom Gunn saw, firsthand, the effect AIDS had on the gay community when he lost many friends. An elegy to those taken too soon and an ode to those still fighting, Gunn wrote “The Man with Night Sweats.” In “The Man with Night Sweats,” Gunn utilizes tactile, visual, and kinesthetic imagery to convey the threefold progression of confusion, reflection, and helplessness those face when battling AIDS.