Rhetorical Environment

When examining film the overall composition of a shot it is called mise-en-scene. This includes the blocking of the characters, the camera angles, the set and props and so on. I found this concept of analyzation interchangeable in examining a rhetorical scene and the function of environment in the moment. Using Ramage's example of President W. Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address one can see how setting a scene can helpfully add to the persuasive ability of a speaker. Take how Congress must be seated before the President comes in and when he arrives they all jump to their feet reaching out for his hand as if at a rock concert. The set is a podium of rich wood and an American flag draped behind him. As Ramage explains the interjection of applause serves like a laugh track to "signal us that something significant has just been said and invites us to nod along" (88). The environment is carefully constructed to add pervasively to the persuasive power of the President. You can be taken in by the awe of it or shut off you TV.