Read "The Dangerous Allure of the Joker: A Multimodal Film Trailer Analysis"
This rhetorical analysis of a multi-modal text has many strengths. It has a focused, arguable, and sophisticated thesis. Its paragraphs offer relevant evidence; its analysis pushes readers’ interpretations; and its secondary sources support it all. But what makes this essay stand out is its “So What?”–the argument’s significance. Arguments need to be more than right; they need to be significant. They need to push us to rethink our ideas about their subjects. Because this was his final project in WAI, I pushed Yath to develop a clearer “So What?” In his final version, he had not only included a “So What?,” he had revised the entire paper in order to highlight it. The final draft isn’t just another analysis of a film advertisement, his analysis makes us rethink how film trailers–as a genre–work. Of course, he puts it best: “Ultimately, the teaser’s success lies in its ability to unsettle and captivate, proving that even in its brevity that lure of danger is just as powerful as the promise of entertainment.”
—Mark Brantner