This rhetorical analysis is on the essay Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked by Henry Jenkins.

Henry Jenkins was the director of comparative studies at MIT at the time. The essay was written in 2004 on the PBS website The Video Game Revolution, in response to a fear shown by many parents at the time that video games were harmful to the minds of children. This essay was aimed toward PBS viewers which is a large portion of U.S. citizens (PBS). The essay was aimed toward a main audience of parents with children who play video games. The main goal of this argument is to alleviate fears that playing video games can be harmful to children by showing that the data from studies on the matter show that video games are not harmful. The essay starts off by saying that there is a big difference in the way video games are perceived and what research actually shows us about them. The essay then proceeds to say that it is an attempt to separate fact from fiction. What happens next in the essay is eight commonly accepted beliefs from that time are given and then disputed with data from research to prove otherwise. This essay establishes mostly extrinsic ethos through the evidence given to dispute the eight common myths about video games. The only intrinsic ethos is established before and after the essay where the webpage shows that Henry Jenkins is both an MIT professor and director of comparative studies at MIT. The essay makes pathos appeals throughout the argument by trying to give a feeling of relief in that video games are not harmful to children. This is an effective method to use for this audience of parents, who can be overprotective at times.

The logos is evident in every part of the essay because it disputes commonly believed notions about what video games do to children and therefore must make the most logical arguments possible. In conclusion, this essay is an overall effective argument for the intended audience of parents. The essay provides multiple sources of research on different aspects of the effects of video games and uses them to prove the point that this research doesnt condemn video games in any way. It instead show that video games can be beneficial in some cases. The essay also works to alleviate fear in parents over the video games in an effective manner by putting the information into a form that gives parents relief in that their children will not turn into monsters by playing video games. The essay was written by a man who was director of comparative studies at MIT, a fact which in itself gives this argument pull. The same man, Henry Jenkins, did quite a bit of studying in order to write this essay, which is impressive. I myself find this essay to be informative, persuasive and well written. Works Cited: "PBS Overview." PBS. PBS, Oct. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/about/background/>. Jenkins, Henry. "Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked ." The Video Game Revolution. PBS, 2004. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html>.