Weekly Blog Post 5

Towards the beginning of Taylor Swift's "Thug Story," she says, "I'm like eight foot four / Blonde Hair to the floor / You shorties never thought I would be rapping hardcore." In many ways, this short segment of the song represents the piece in its entirety, as it talks about how Swift has turned into a thug rapper. Using these words, she tries to elicit an emotional response, or pathos, from the audience, which ends up varying depending on the views of the particular audience member. Ideally, Swift desires or intends for this pathos of the song to be that of humor, as she having fun playing the part of a rapper. With her background as a blonde country music star producing romantic love-themed songs, Swift does not fit the part of this thug persona. Thus, both her fans as well as the people that don't care for her might realize the irony of the situation, and find the humor resulting from that particular context. Those who adore her, however, might also have a different reaction: anger. Should they view country music as ideal and moral, and rap as the opposite, they might be irritated towards her "stooping down" to that level. This might also occur with rap fans, who view this song with Swift as a disgrace to that particular genre of music.

In her attempt to create an emotional response from the reader, Swift also uses the ethos mode of appeal throughout the clip. By calling her audience "shorties" and telling them that she is now a hardcore rapper, Swift is partially making fun of the "inner rapper" inside of her, and sending her audience a message. She is telling them that she doesn't take her work overly serious, and that she has the ability to joke around and have fun. This same portrayal of T-Pain as someone who can make videos with people like Taylor Swift portrays him in a certain manner to the audience, and this form of ethos is directly connected to pathos. As a result of the way Swift and T-Pain act, the audience is able to take the video in a more light-hearted manner, which will effect their emotions.

Lastly, logos is another mode of appeal that plays a role in the video, as it uses several structures to try and extract a humorous response from the viewer. On page 199 of "Compose, Design, Advocate," the authors say that parallel structures allow the reader to make connections and develop a point of view based on these connections. This is one strategy that is employed within the video, as the visual and audio effects of the video parallel one another in that both are trying to convince the viewer that Swift is a rapper. With this parallel structure, however, comes another structural strategy that is more dominant: a juxtaposition between the way Swift acts and how she has previously portrayed herself. This juxtaposition is something that, again, attributes to the pathos of the audience.