In Aristotle’s discussion of rhetoric, Aristotle
lays out the definitions and uses of different emotions available to a
speaker. Among the emotions that
Aristotle brings up are anger and mildness (calm). Although these two emotions are in total
opposition, both of them, according to Aristotle, can be utilized by a speaker
to persuade an audience.
Aaron Sorkin’s new drama, The Newsroom, opens the series with a passionate speech from the
show’s main character, Will McAvoy, on why America is no longer the greatest
country in the world. McAvoy, the anchor of a popular show on a major news
network, is a moderate Republican with a short temper and loud mouth. Often his
character will have angry outbursts that upset, well, pretty much every other
character on the show.
When “Sorority Girl” originally asks McAvoy why he
believes America is the greatest country ever, the moderator refuses to let him
avoid the question by saying, “I want a human moment from you,” and, boy, do we get
one. In this instance, McAvoy’s angry response to what he perceives to be a
stupid question actually helps him prove his point. His impassioned, and
clearly heartfelt, reply strikes the audience as more truthful than his
previous, sarcasm-filled answers.
McAvoy strikes out at the other two members of the
panel for replying to the question with canned, superficial responses that don’t
really mean anything. His actions vibe with Aristotle’s assertion that anger
actually empowers a speech when it inspires the audience to question the
speaker’s opponents: “…it is clear that it might be needful in a speech to put
[the audience] in the state of mind of those who are inclined to anger and to
show ones opponents as responsible for those things that are the causes of
anger and that they are the sort of people against whom anger is directed,” (1379b, 27).
What’s also interesting about this particular speech
is the sudden turn of emotion halfway through it. Aristotle begins his section
on calm by saying, ““Let calmness [praünsis] be [defined as] a settling down
and quieting of anger” (1380a, 2). After a bit of an awkward pause due to
McAvoy’s outburst, he continues much more calmly and rationally. Suddenly the
diction turns from obscenities (“If
liberals are so fuckin’ smart, then how come they lose so goddamn always?”)
to words like “moral”
and “aspired,” and inspirational music swells in the background as McAvoy sighs
and looks nostalgic for the American he remembers.
I loved this clip! It really shows some of the aspects in Aristotle's book well. Heck, it spoke to me, so that alone shows that his speech works.
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