Kennedy’s Animal Rhetoric in Children’s Films

In “A Hoot in the Dark: The Evolution of General Rhetoric,” Kennedy provides a detailed background of the evolution of rhetoric and suggests it “is not a ‘substance’ in the logical sense, though it does seem that there is something found in nature that either resembles rhetoric or possibly constitutes the starting point from which it has culturally evolved” (1). He argues that rhetoric is a natural ability that exists prior to speech, and throughout his paper, he identifies “some universal rules of the rhetorical code” by using the animal kingdom as the overarching comparison (3). In this blog post, I will use examples from various children’s movies during which animals demonstrate the actions Kennedy describes in his first thesis.

In this thesis—Rhetoric is prior to speech—Kennedy writes: “Among some species there may be one animal who is on watch. An intruder is noticed and a cry given indicating a possible enemy or possible prey. The other animals receive the message and react in an appropriate way” (4). This is the case in the following example from Disney Pixar’s A Bug’s Life (see 7:50 and on). Hopper and his grasshopper gang are coming to fetch and feast on the crop they demand from the Queen and her village ants each year. Two or three ants fulfill the “on watch” role and signal to the remaining ants that Hopper is near and signal the message to the other ants. 

Kennedy furthers this thesis and writes: “If another animal of the same species is approaching, the leader of the pack will experience this as a threat to his position, perhaps an effort to replace him in his relationship to the females…What then takes place is rarely an immediate fight. There is a more or less extended period of attempts on each side to intimidate the other with growls, physical movements…and other signs of intent” (4). Although this is not a children’s movie, Paramount Picture’s Mean Girls illustrates this concept in the following clip:

In this example, the roles of the sexes are reversed, as Regina George is the leader of the pack. She wants to dangle Aaron Samuels in front of Cady Herron, who also has a crush on him. What Kennedy suggests in his examples occurs in this clip as well; when Cady enters the cafeteria, Regina makes an effort to define the relationships and put every participating party in his/her place. Granted, in this scene, a fight does erupt, but Cady narrates to viewers how the scene would unravel in the animal world as the action takes place. Note the growls, scratches and other animalistic behaviors.

The ritualized socializing that Kennedy mentions, “involves ‘reassuring ‘contact calls’” (5). Whereas Kennedy uses the example of birds gathering on a university campus, another all-encompassing example of this can be found in nearly any Disney film, for example, when animals congregate around a watering hole or monumental landmark. Here are some films that come to mind: The Lion King (Pride Rock), Tarzan, and DreamWorks Madagascar. Here are some snapshots of those locations, compliments of Google Images. 

Before concluding the thesis, Kennedy discusses systems of animal language. He writes: “We can, however, by observation learn to understand animal rhetoric and many animals can understand some features of human rhetoric that they share with us, such as gestures or sounds that express anger or friendliness or commands” (6). This reminded me of Dr. Dolittle (although it is not that applicable), but for your viewing pleasure, check out the trailer.

These are only a select few of the ungodly amount of examples available to us. Pop in any children’s film featuring animals and you will find something applicable to what Kennedy describes in this essay. In all of the examples here, rhetoric is prior to speech. “‘Meaning,’” writes Kennedy, “is the interpretation given to the communication by another animal” (7).

Sources:

“Disney A Bugs Life Part 1.” 26 June 2012. YouTube. Accessed on 1 December 2012. Web.  

“Doctor Dolittle Trailer HD.” 15 August 2009. YouTube. Accessed on 1 December 2012. Web.  

Google Images. Google. Accessed on 1 December 2012. Web.   

Kennedy, George. “A Hoot in the Dark: The Evolution of General Rhetoric.” Philosophy and Rhetoric. 25.1 (1992): 1-7.

“Mean girls animal world.” 15 March 2011. YouTube. Accessed on 1 December 2012. Web.