Coldplay Takes Us Back to the Start

1. Coldplay Takes Us Back to the Start Derek Belch

2. Thesis? • “However, songs which possess deeper meaning, those that aren’t about genitalia or fast cars, are the songs that contain the ingredients for profound, successful videos.” • In short, an artist does not have to create vulgar music that conveys inappropriate messages and meanings to be successful in the music industry.

3. How is the Essay arranged? • The author starts the essay using examples from many popular artists that almost any kid of the modern generation would be able to recognize. He also labels them with some type theme that they use in all of their music, usually something to do with violence or drugs. However, he leaves the “good” example last giving a sense of rays of hope to the music industry. It is almost a sense of problem-solution. • He also sets the body of the essay in a chronological order. By mapping out the entire music video he is able to point important rhetorical appeals.

4. What is the style? • He creates this persona about himself as being authoritive and all-knowing about the music industry. He uses profound words to promote the air of sophistication.

5. Rhetorical Analysis • The author employs ethos in his essay to analyze our modern culture and how consumer our culture has become. Including the music industry • There is also an element of pathos in the essay from the description of the music video as a “sappy love song.” This creates a sense of deep meaning towards the music video and song rather than looking at it as just as a song with no meaning.

6. Strategies? • The author is using examples, as well as comparison between the examples to create a sense of understanding of his view as to why the music videos do not have to include vulgar meanings and terms to be successful. • His use of syntax also helps to express his views of how the music industries have fallen to encouraging meaningless, vulgar music videos. • His use of classification between “good” music videos and “bad” music videos to push his ideas.

7. Is the conclusion effective and persuasive? • Yes, the essay is effective in conveying the authors ideas because it shows that the video can be considered a good music video. By stating that the video won an MTV music video award it back up the authors argument. • The essay is also persuasive because of the use ethos and pathos to convince you the writers knowledge of the subject, and to turn you against the ideas of vulgar and inappropriate music.