Erin Broderick

Hello English 120,

https://vimeo.com/110496766

English 120, using the following article: http://www.gq.com/story/tamir-rice-story please analyze Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” video for logos, pathos, ethos. This is a standard 5 paragraph essay, with introduction paragraph, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. This is in MLA format with a works cited section. 

Professor Cardozo

English 120

2 October, 2016

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

On november 22, 2014 the city of Cleveland changed. Tamir Rice, a twelve year old african american boy, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Cudell Park. In Jay Z’s music video “99 Problems” he portrays police brutality through his lyrics and video. In this essay I will discuss ethos, pathos, and logos to break down the credibility, emotions, and facts.

Ethos is a greek word meaning character, but in this essay it will mean credibility of a person place or thing. This first person being credible is taken from an article about the shooting of Tamir Rice. Deputy Chief Jim Polak has watched over the officer involved in the shooting. Timothy Leohmann, a trained police officer, shot Tamir Rice in cudell park. Chief Polak explained why Timothy was not fit to be on patrol. Timothy was not able to separate his personal emotions from his work. Jim Polak said “ Leads on to believe that he would not be able to substantially cope, or make good decisions, during or resulting from any other stressful situation “(1). This quote explains that the chief felt uncomfortable with timothy being a police officer because of his “ Emotional Immaturity “. Chief Polak is saying that timothy was not mentally stable to be out in the field. Frank Garmback was Timothy’s field-training officer. That means Frank was “ Responsible for teaching him how to become a proper police officer “(2).  Some believe that Timothy  was not ready to go out on the field at the time Tamir Rice was shot. The Third person is from Jay Z’s music video “99 Problems“. Jay Z demonstrates how cops treat African Americans in his eyes. He re enacts a situation when a cop pulled him over. The cop asked “ Are you carrying a weapon cause I know a lot of you are “(2). The cop stereotyped African Americans by saying that most of them carry weapons so automatically he should too. Credibility is a huge part in the world today because would people want cops that are not trained or educated.

Pathos is a greek word meaning emotions. In this paragraph there will be different examples that will elicit emotions. The first example is from the music video. The video of “99 Problems” was entirely in black and white. This portrays a serious tone and shows that there were no colors in between the situations that happened. There were no between the lines in what was happening between the black communities. The second example  is also from the music video. Throughout the music video there were multiple caskets that were displayed. Some were empty and a couple had people in them. This draws out a serious but strange feeling. In the beginning of the video the caskets are empty and then towards the end, the video shows people in the caskets. The third example is from the Tamir Rice article. Tamir Rice was shot while playing with a toy airsoft gun. He was sitting in Cudell Park playing with the gun his friend got. The gun represented a colt semi-automatic. This brings out a scared and worried tone, along with feeling vulnerable by possibly having their life taken in matter of seconds. Emotions can change a perspective in a split second and are a huge part to getting people on your side.

Logos is a greek word meaning logic. In this paragraph I will give examples of logistics and facts from both the article and music video. The first fact is from the music video. The title “99 Problems” represents that African American men have many problems in their societies. They have trouble going out because they feel afraid of something happening and no one should feel that way. The second logic is the 911 call from the article. At the time of the call, Tamir was playing with the toy gun and a civilian that was sitting in the park felt uneasy about the situation and decided to call 911. The civilian explained to the operator that there was a little boy playing with what he believed to be fake but was unsure. Following that call, the operator called dispatch, which at the time happened to be Timothy and Frank. She explained to them that there was a man in Cudell park that had a gun. The operator did not relay the message that he was a juvenile and that it could be fake, so the police officers took it more seriously. The third fact is that cops are always having to  make rash and split second decisions. It is difficult for them to sit and think about a situation and brian storm all the outcomes. They are trained to make the best decision based on their surroundings. “A shooting should be considered in a context broader than the instant the trigger was pulled”(1). This demonstrates that police officers have to think about what could happen before it happens. Logistics and facts have to be correct because that’s what facts are. They need to be credible.

In conclusion, Ethos, Pathos , and Logos are all very important in the world today. They are portrayed in everyday life and help people make decisions. In this essay Ethos, Pathos, and Logos were broken down to explain different aspects of situations and how they affect the society.

Work cited:

Flynn, Sean. "The Tamir Rice Story: How To Make a Police Shooting Disappear." Gq.com. N.p., 14 July 2016. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

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