Rhetorical Anaylsis 7: Movie Trailer

The trailer I chose is from "Moulin Rouge." The argument that they are making is that this movie is dramatic and visually pleasing. It is also shown as being a sexy love story. The audience they're trying to appeal to is women, particularly the kind that like "Oscar type" movies. They may also be trying to appeal to women that are in their 30-40s by playing the songs "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" and "Roxanne," even though there are more modern songs in the movie. They also showcase Nicole Kidman in almost every scene, which would appeal to her fans, mostly 30-40 year old women. Nicole herself was 34 at the time of the movie.

The argument does appeal to authority by advertising that the director is the same that directed the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet. Mostly it is an appeal to emotion, with dramatic glances, yellings and gunshots.

The argument being made is sufficient to make some people go see the movie. However, I know many were put off by the prostitutes and intimate scenes that are prominently displayed in the trailer, and assumed the entire movie was little more than pornography. For many, though, they saw the love story and cinematography in the trailer and raced to the theater. The argument is typical, mentioning the past movies of the director and spending more time with the biggest name (Nicole Kidman) regardless of the main character (Ewan McGregor). It is mostly accurate, although it downplayed the fact that it's a musical. The argument is relevant, it sticks to what the story is about, showing off some of the best moments of the movie.

I believe that this trailer is effective. It has some problems at the beginning, when it is trying to show off all the different songs portrayed in the movie which is very distracting. But when it stops and just focuses on showing the drama and romance, it is enticing.