Hasan Minhaj’s Patriot Act

For this writing assignment, first carefully watch “The Ugly Truth of Fast Fashion” from Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. This assignment also relies on your understanding of Chapter 5 concepts and Herrick’s Overview of Rhetoric. This assignment is more writing-heavy than most. Note that there are two parts to it. This Netflix episode is also available on Youtube.
The Ugly Truth Of Fast Fashion | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj | Netflix
(Links to an external site.)

Take careful notes and apply your critical reading strategies as you do; even though this is a video, they will still be useful to you! Remember that visual texts like this sometimes require multiple viewings.
Part One:
Describe the various parts of Hasan Minhaj’s rhetorical situation: Aim for about 2-3 sentences for each part. If you struggle with a specific part, make a note of it! Don’t get too hung up on one—the goal is to try for all of them to form a better understanding of how they work as a whole.
Exigence(s)- What started this conversation? Why are people talking about this issue?
Context(s)- What is going on socially, historically, politically, etc. at the time the text was created? Consider various aspects of the “moment” the text was created in.
Rhetor(s)- Who is the author/speaker/designer/creator? Is there are larger organization supporting the rhetor (company, university, newspaper, community organization, etc)?
Time- How much time has elapsed since the issue first arose, the conversation began, or the exigence triggered an argument? What kind of text can the rhetor contribute based on how long the conversation has been going?
Audience(s)- Who specifically is this text aimed at? (This is known as the “intended audience”; actual audiences may vary!)
Genre- What form is the text? What conventions, formatting and design does it adhere to?
Purpose(s)- What are the desired intentions or outcomes of the text or communication?
Medium- How is the text constructed and distributed? Print, multimedia, visual, audio, etc.

Part Two:
Focus on a single rhetorical appeal of your choice that you see at work in “The Ugly Truth of Fast Fashion.” Follow the steps below to analyze how this appeal is working:
Identify the rhetorical appeal you will discuss. Briefly explain why you are discussing this appeal. Talk about your reasoning behind your choice. For example, you might see the appeal you are choosing as particularly strong, or alternatively, this appeal might be lacking strength in this piece.
Explain at least two examples (of the same appeal) from the text in the form of a quote (include a timestamp).
For example: “They’re burying the key piece of information. It’s the same experience as reading the Constitution” (20:53). Here, Minhaj appeals to logos to highlight how wrong it really is when companies artificially project a “green” image. Minhaj effectively demonstrates how greenwashing misleads the public and may actually make pollution problems even worse. Audiences are very unlikely to disagree with Minhaj on this issue because the example he gives is so obviously disinformation, which strengthens his argument significantly.
There are also nonverbal rhetorical appeals! You could use an example of that. Include timestamp if applicable. Think about visual cues and tone of voice, for example.
Write a few sentences discussing why you believe Minhaj is employing this rhetorical appeal in his text. Why does this appeal work well, or perhaps miss the mark?