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Jack Edmonson

Halie Bryant

RC 1000

27 September 2020

Rhetorical Analysis

The Coronavirus. Everyone in America knows about and is being directly affected by this

virus. Sky News made this documentary to explain the impact that the virus has had on the

United States and how important it is that we take it seriously. Some of the impacts of the

Coronavirus include the millions of people that are now unemployed and the hundreds of

thousands of people that have died. This film is intended for the American people because they

are all being affected by the Coronavirus and the filmmaker is trying to explain the effects. To

get the main point across, the director interviews several credible people. Throughout the film,

the filmmaker interviews many doctors and experts that are very knowledgeable about the

Coronavirus. The filmmaker also goes inside hospitals and interviews people whose lives are

being directly affected by the virus. The director appeals to the emotions of the audience by

using music that provokes a very sad and somber mood. They also show clips of dead patients

and sick patients that are in hospital beds, as well as using different images and video clips

throughout. By including these things, the director is evoking emotion from the audience and

drawing them in by showing certain clips that many people haven’t seen or even considered as a

possibility from the Coronavirus.

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Another way that the filmmaker appeals to the audience is by being honest. Honesty is a

shared value among many people. The film states that America wasn’t prepared for the

Coronavirus and that many people still think that the virus isn’t real. The film is very open and

direct when talking about the effects of the Coronavirus and doesn’t use any false or biased

information. The film shows that people are struggling because of the virus, but continue to keep

pushing forward. The honesty that the director uses appeals to rhetoric because it persuades the

audience to take action. Because the film talks about the effects of the virus and how the

American people are struggling, it persuades people to take action to stop the spread of the

Coronavirus. The director also shows videos of people waiting in long lines to receive food and

they also use statistics to support the fact that the economy is declining. One statistic said that

“Feeding America has seen a 40% increase in demand”. This proves how many people are

struggling to even buy food. The honesty that is used throughout the film contributes greatly to

the rhetorical appeal because it invokes a sense of urgency to take action.

This film is logical because everything makes sense and goes together. There is also a

great amount of evidence that is used to support the facts and statements that are made

throughout the film. Examples of the evidence used include doctors that work in hospitals,

people who have lost family members from the virus, and statistics about the effects of the

Coronavirus.

The historical context of the film was very relevant to the audience because the

Coronavirus is something that is affecting everyone right now and it is something that everyone

will have to overcome and adapt to. No one knows when things will go back to normal or if the

way people are living right now will become the “new normal”. All they know right now is that
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necessary precautions need to be made to keep people safe, in hopes of stopping the spread of the

virus. This film was created for the American people to watch in hopes of persuading people to

take action. However, not many American people have watched this video. If American’s were

to watch this video, they would understand the devastating impact that the Coronavirus is having

on the United States at this point. This film was intended only for the American people and it is

up to them to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.

The filmmaker uses a variety of visual elements to contribute to the film’s

persuasiveness. The filmmaker goes inside of hospitals and shows multiple videos and images of

sick patients lying in their hospital beds. This creates a very sad tone. The filmmaker also

interviews people who have been directly affected by the virus. One example of this was when

Robert Lugo was interviewed outside of a funeral home after his grandmother died. In his

interview, he was upset because he was unable to visit and talk to his grandma during her final

days. Because of the Coronavirus, he wasn’t allowed inside her hospital room. This contributed

to the persuasiveness of the film because it proved to people that the virus is real and that many

people are being affected by it.

The selection of music contributed to the tone of the film because of the genre that was

selected. The music used throughout the film was very slow. It was similar to the music that

would be used during the sad part of a movie. This is very similar to the somber tone that was

used during the movie. The experts that were interviewed contribute to the persuasiveness

because all of the experts were very knowledgeable and qualified as it relates to talking about the

Coronavirus. Because the experts are qualified, it forces the audience to believe what they are

saying because the experts have very valid arguments with evidence to support it. Popular
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culture also contributes to the persuasiveness of the film. The filmmaker describes how President

Trump was hesitant to move into social distancing and closing schools and businesses because he

didn’t want the economy to decline. This was a costly decision that ultimately increased the

spread of the Coronavirus. This contributes to the persuasiveness of the film and supports the

idea that very few people were aware of how serious the virus was in the beginning. These are

just a few examples of how the filmmaker used music, experts, and popular culture to establish a

tone and persuade the audience.

The Coronavirus is very serious and should be taken seriously by everyone. Sky News

did a good job of explaining the effects of the virus and appealing to the multiple emotions of the

audience when doing so. The director was able to do this by using a variety of visual elements,

interviewing different experts, using music to evoke emotion, and talking about popular culture.

Overall this was a very informative film that Americans should watch to understand just how

serious the Coronavirus is.

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Works Cited

Lynch, Cordelia, director. ​Coronavirus: America's Reckoning​. ​Youtube​, Sky News, 23 Apr.

2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLgbpnILYyQ.