project 2 draft 2

Savannah Scherff ENC1145 Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Gossip in The Office

In many popular television shows and movies, gossip is usually dramatized in a

way to make the audience feel a certain way by using credible sources and ethics (ethos),

logical reasoning (logos), and emotional persuasion (pathos). I chose to use the episode

from the hit TV series, The Office, titled “Gossip.” This specific episode portrays a

typical way in which gossip is represented in modern day society and shows the negative

effects of gossip and rumors. Even though The Office is a lighthearted, comedic show, the

audience can recognize the serious and harmful affects that rumors and gossip can have

on certain individuals as well as the media as a whole.

Ethos is seen as the writer’s character or “image.” The speaker, or in this case, the

characters of The Office are all guilty of spreading gossip and rumors. The way that the

audience decides who to believe can be identified through the use of ethos. If a character

or speaker appears to have good morals and goodwill, the audience will feel inclined to

believe what that character claims. The main character in this TV sitcom is the oblivious

and inappropriate boss, Michael Scott. As the episode starts off, the innocent chatter

amongst a few coworkers focus on whether or not two of the summer interns are having

sexual relations. Soon enough, the whole office hears about the gossip before Michael

does in which he becomes upset and feels alienated. Since Michael’s character is known

for his impulsive, desperate, and blissfully ignorant behavior, many of his employees find

him incredibly annoying and intrusive in which they do not want to be his friend, much

less share interesting gossip with him. The audience can recognize the ethics of Michael

Scott in which he is not a bad person for spreading rumors, but he essentially wants to

feel significant and be the center of attention amongst his employees. The audience


Gossip in The Office therefore can also recognize that the morals and ethics of Michael Scott come from a

place with good intentions; we as an audience understand that he has good morals and

goodwill, however we know that his spreading of false rumors is seen as a desperate act

for social acceptance portrayed in a lighthearted and comedic way. Once Michael finds

out that the majority of his subordinates had known about the rumor before he did, he

then lashes out and starts to spread false rumors around the office. This then becomes

ironic in which the next “false” rumor that he spreads is extremely detrimental to one of

the workers in the office but ends up being true. Stanley, a pessimistic sales

representative, is cheating on his wife with another young woman and once Michael

spreads this awful rumor, he realizes it is true. From an audience member’s point of view

that did not have any preconceived notions about the show, nor considered an avid

watcher of The Office, they could gather that Stanley’s morals are not admirable.

Stanley’s first impression to the audience is sinful and lacking good ethics and moral

values in which we then can relate to Michael’s character and can understand why he

starts to spread false rumors because Michael is trying to save Stanley’s reputation.

Hence, we therefore can recognize the credibility and ethics (ethos) of Michael and

Stanley’s character.

The word “logos” refers to logical arguments. In this case, the logical reasoning

and rationale behind Michael’s quest to spread false rumors is an effort to save one of his

employee’s reputation. Michael then decides to spread rumors that are not completely

bogus in which, as an avid watcher of The Office, I can differentiate which rumors are

false and which rumors are credible based on previous occurrences in different episodes

as well as the facts that Michael has gathered. Another piece of gossip is released when


Gossip in The Office Jim and Pam (the couple that works together) admit to the cameraman that Pam is

pregnant. The characters of Jim and Pam like to keep things simple and low key, yet

knowing Michael; he would have a field day and would want to celebrate in honor of the

exciting news. With that being said, Michael’s character is known to make things

extremely inappropriate and awkward. The logical reasoning behind Jim and Pam’s

reluctance in sharing their gossip is because, they are not married, and people would

begin to spread negative gossip about having a bastard child. They also do not wish to

share this news with the office because Michael is blissfully unaware at how socially

unsuitable his behavior is and would most likely cause a scene. However, these elements

of absurdity and foolishness are what make the show entertaining and hilarious. The next

strew of falsified rumors consist of Andy being gay, Pam being pregnant, Kelly being

anorexic, and Toby being a virgin. As the audience, we can deduce which rumors are true

and which are false, since the majority of the rumors are completely irrational and

illogical. Despite the insightful rumors about Pam being pregnant (which the audience

knows is true) and Andy being gay, (as he then questions his sexuality), it is understood

that even though Kelly has had body issues and insecurities in the past, her body weight

would not prove her possible sate of anorexia. The audience can also decipher that the

rumor regarding Toby still being a virgin is completely absurd because he has children. It

is easy to relate to Michael because we understand where his reasoning is coming from;

even though we can conclude that the majority of these rumors are false and that the

show is strictly for our entertainment, we can link these types of social situations of

gossiping and rumor spreading in the episode, as well as the media in modern day

society.


Gossip in The Office Lastly, the word “pathos” relates to the emotions of the audience. This rhetorical

term is probably the most commonly used term in advertisements and the media because

as human beings, we find it easier to relate to others who feel the same way as we do.

Advertisers, producers, directors, etc., are paid to create specific media in order to

achieve a desired reaction from the audience. As seen in this episode of The Office, the

audience can relate and sympathize with Michael because we understand that he is

spreading these fallacious rumors to conceal the true rumor of Stanley’s affair. The use of

pathos is also seen in the way the rumors affect certain employees such as Andy and

Kelly. Once Andy finds out that people have been questioning his sexuality, Andy openly

admits to the cameraman that this was not the first time that this rumor had spread. The

desired reaction of the audience, regarding this rumor, was planted specifically for the

homosexual audience. We then take a look at the rumor regarding Kelly’s eating

disorder. Even though the show portrays the rumors and gossip with a sort of flippant and

comedic attitude, the subjects of these rumors are actually quite serious and are prevalent

in today’s society. Teenaged girls with eating disorders can then relate and agonize with

Kelly, despite the rumors’ fallacy. Towards the end of the episode, the characters learn

that Michael was the one who started all of the rumors. A heated debate amongst the

office breaks out in order to figure out which rumor was true, but before Michael could

tell the truth regarding Stanley’s affair, Jim and Pam announce that Pam is pregnant in an

effort to save Stanley’s reputation. It is then recognized that the rumor was marketed

towards women. This allows woman in society to cope with Pam’s situation and feel an

immediate connection with her. The episode concludes with a symbolic sigh of relief

within the office; Michael is relieved that Stanley’s wife had already been questioning


Gossip in The Office her spouse’s loyalty in which the blame would not have been completely targeted

towards Michael and that Andy’s insecurity about his sexuality is eliminated when he

discovers that Michael had made it up. Therefore, the fans of The Office can ultimately

distinguish the use of pathos when watching this episode and can recognize that each

rumor is marketed towards a specific multitude of individuals in order for a certain

desired emotion to be achieved (sadness, happiness, anger, etc.)

In conclusion, the media is very clever in the ways each of the rhetoric terms are

used. The ethical and moral values portrayed in the media are often belittled in modern

day society, especially when dealing with gossip. Gossip and rumors within the media are

often seen as a scapegoat to threaten others. Even though The Office is a comedic show,

the audience can still understand that gossiping can damage relationships and hurt others.

The way that “logos” is used in the media strictly depends on the presentation of facts,

data, and rationale. The audience is more likely to believe an argument when given

specific facts and logic. Lastly, the use of “pathos” is frequently used and better known.

The certain emotional and sympathetic elements used in television series and films are

ways for the audience to feel a certain connection with the speaker or character. The

production companies are known for using emotional and sympathetic aspects in

advertisements, TV, and media because they know that they will be able to collect a large

profit when targeted audiences react in a way that is desired. With that being said, the

element of persuasion is likely to be achieved when using all three of these rhetorical

terms in which the audience can feel like the character or speaker has good morals, has

logical reasoning and data, as well as the ability for the character or speaker to relate to

that distinct audience.



Michael Scott

Stanley Hudson

Pam Beesly and Jim Halpert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeEphjImzsA

project 2 draft 2

Documents

Transcript of project 2 draft 2