After decades of harassment and assault, women have begun to stand up and say "time is up" on sexual abuse in the workplace as the movement “Me Too” spread across the nation in late 2017. These women included some of the biggest names in television, film, music and politics, and proved that abuse exists even among the most famous people and rich. Above all, the #MeToo movement, born on Twitter, has demonstrated that no woman is ever alone in the case of sexual abuse. Brit Marling, actress, writer and producer, described her traumatic experience with sexual harassment in her essay October 2017 staff published in The Atlantic, entitled “Harvey Weinstein and the Economics of Consensus.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In this essay, Marling describes some of the reasons why this “power imbalance” exists between people. men and women, particularly in the film industry. In his essay, Marling effectively conveys the message that the demographics and representation of the film industry must change to end the exploitation of minorities and fully achieve equality, by leveraging the emotions of the audience, providing logical and common sense solutions, and use anaphora to highlight the importance of diversity. Through thoughtful use of rhetorical techniques and strategies, Marling allows audiences to relate to her and become inspired to make a difference. In the essay "Harvey Weinstein and the Consent Economy", Brit Marling came forward about her personal experience with Harvey Weinstein, one of the most famous men of the last two years. It was revealed in October 2017 that Weinstein, one of Hollywood's most famous film producers and executives, had sexually abused over eighty women in the film industry after they began publicly accusing and exposing him. After news of the scandal broke, not only was Weinstein expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and stripped of awards and honors, but many more women began to feel comfortable and confident in sharing their stories of sexual assault and rape on social media using the hashtag #MeToo. The “Me Too” movement pushed many women of all occupations to share their experiences with sexual violence, dubbed the “Weinstein effect,” and eventually evolved into the “Time's Up” movement, signifying that it's time to put end of this issue (Harvey Weinstein Timeline: How the Scandal Unfolded). The “Time's Up” movement was popularized and promoted at events around the world, including awards shows where celebrities wore black or white roses, to symbolize their solidarity with the movement and show their support. As detailed in his essay, Marling's experience with Weinstein seems all too familiar in light of events that have transpired over the past two years. As a result, Marling is able to effectively convey the use of pathos by affecting the emotions of the audience, as well as adequately providing his own solution to the problem through the use of logos, which resonate with the audience and act as an invitation to 'action. Throughout the piece, Marling makes a powerful appeal to the audience's emotions, using his experience with Weinstein as an example, to effectively drive home several points. First of all, Marling expresses the fear that she and many dozens of other women who were abused by Weinstein felt, offering an emotional appeal to the public. Marling remembers the storyemotional that many other women in her shoes have faced, including being asked if she "wanted a massage" and being "paralyzed by mounting fear when [Weinstein] suggested they shower together" (Harvey Weinstein and the Economics of Consent). Marling relies on the strategic use of imagery here to further his use of ethics by successfully painting images into the world of his audience's artists, as if they themselves were in that situation. Similarly, Marling taps into her audience's emotions by highlighting how, as she was on the verge of being raped, her only thoughts were the fear of upsetting Weinstein, a powerful man who was abusing his position. She remembers feeling helpless, wondering “what could I do?” and how “do not offend this man who could anoint me or destroy me?” (Harvey Weinstein and the consensus economy). By showing how helpless and weak women feel when put in this position, Marling is able to successfully connect to her audience and allow them to think for themselves how they would feel if they were in the same situation. Additionally, Marling relies on the use of logos, or appeal to logic, to successfully complete his use of ethics. It does this by exposing a series of facts that could lead to an end to the power imbalance between men and women in the film industry, which will help put an end to the masses of sexual violence suffered today. To begin, Marling provides background on the term “consent” and describes it as a “function of power” (Harvey Weinstein and the Economics of Consent). Marling goes on to highlight the harsh reality of consent, because in many cases women “don't have that power because their livelihood is in danger” and because “they are the gender oppressed by a daily, invisible war waged against everyone that is feminine” (Harvey Weinstein and the consensus economy). This ideology is able to resonate with the audience as any woman listening could easily relate to it. Furthermore, Marling provides the reasonable solution to the problem: diversity in films. This solution is desperately needed, as Marling points out, “women and men in power must turn around and hire more women, especially women of color, especially women who did not grow up with economic privilege,” in order to end this extreme imbalance of power that we see every day (Harvey Weinstein and the consensus economy). To effectively convey her use of logos, Marling points out the facts: in 2017, women make up “only 23%” of the Directors Guild of America and “only 11% are people of color” (Harvey Weinstein and the Consensus Economics). Additionally, Marling explains another common-sense solution to this problem: stop supporting gender oppression on the big screen. Marling challenges his audience, saying that if they "don't want to be part of a culture where sexual abuse and harassment is rampant, don't buy a ticket to a movie that promotes it," and urges audiences to imagine more movies that " they do not use the exploitation of female bodies or violence against female bodies as selling points,” as films with gender and racial balance “better reflect the world we all actually live in” (Harvey Weinstein and the Economics of Consent) . This also makes an important point from an economic perspective, as we unknowingly help sustain this imbalance by paying to see these films. By addressing his audience in this way, Marling is able to communicate effectively and directly through logic, which will undoubtedly not only make his point clearly understood, but also lead to action among his audience. Additionally, Marling implements with.
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