Rhetorical Analysis: Black Mass Trailer

Black Mass is about the true story of one of the most infamous American gangsters of all time. The author of the trailer is the main character of the film, James "Whitey" Bulger. In the trailer, he explains that no one will stand in his way of what he is trying to do. As for what he is trying to do is unclear in the trailer for the movie, however, whatever he is doing is clearly illegal and criminal. Bulger comes off as a very intelligent individual because with all of the crime he commits, as he is excruciatingly difficult for police to find him guilty of a crime (1:47). If Bulger wasn't such a smart man, he would have been put behind bars as soon as he started his criminal actions. Throughout the entire trailer, the intended audience is the viewers of the trailer. If there was a secondary audience, it would have to be the characters in the movie.

The main idea of the trailer was to set up the premise of what the movie is about. What I got from the trailer was that James "Whitey" Bulger is a ruthless gangster and kills anyone who gets in his way while the cops are trying to catch him. The Brigham Young University website states, "does the form complement the content?". The trailer's response to this question from the website is yes. The way the trailer was shot with the music complemented the content perfectly. One of the scenes that illustrates this statement is where James Bulger is shooting at people in a car while music plays instead of hearing the gunshots (1:29). I could feel myself being pulled into the story of James Bulger and when the trailer ended, I wanted to go see the movie.

This trailer gave the movie the feeling that it takes place a few decades ago such as the 50s or 60s. I was able to infer this due to the fact that the clothes James Bulger wore and his sunglasses made him look from a different era (1:27). Also, the scene with the shots of the parked cars gave the viewers an idea of when the movie takes place (1:28). This trailer has a major appeal to the audience. Quoting from the Texas A & M website "an appeal is an attempt to earn audience approval or agree by playing to natural human tendencies or common experience. There are three kinds of appeals: the pathetic, the ethical, and the logical." The Black Mass trailer has a pathetic appeal. The trailer plays on people’s emotions such as when the video shows James Bulger shooting people and kicking them. We as an audience feel sympathy for the victims that receive awful pain. 

Many elements of rhetorical are in the Black Mass movie trailer. The trailer has an audience, a purpose, and a plot. It clearly shows the audience what the plot is, and the purpose of the shot film.

"Black Mass." IMDb. IMDb.com, 11 Sept. 2015. Web. 18 Sept. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355683/?pf_rd_m=A2FGELUUNOQJNL&pf_rd_p=2074322302&pf_rd_r=0D78KXA11XZH1TNPSP5X&pf_rd_s=right-3&pf_rd_t=15061&pf_rd_i=homepage&ref_=hm_otw_t2>.

Burton, Gideon, Dr. "Basic Questions for Rhetorical Analysis." Basic Questions for Rhetorical Analysis. Silva Rhetoricae, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2015. <http://rhetoric.byu.edu/pedagogy/rhetorical%20analysis%20heuristic.htm>.

"University Writing Center - Rhetorical Analysis." University Writing Center - Rhetorical Analysis. Texas A&M University, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2015. <http://writingcenter.tamu.edu/Students/Handouts-Guides/Guides-(What-Are-You-Writing-)/Academic-Writing/Analysis/Rhetorical-Analysis>.