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Rhetorical Analysis Activity: Re-Cut Movie Trailers

This activity can be done individually or in small groups. Several similar activities exist online. Directions for creating a similar activity can be found here: “Re-Cut Movie Trailers” from The FSU Inkwell. 
 
Step 1: Access and view the original movie trailers at the links below:

Step 2: List some rhetorical elements (both visual and aural) that offer clues about the movie’s genre.  

Step 3: Access and view re-cut movie trailers for the same films at the links below:

Step 4: List some rhetorical elements (both visual and aural) that offer clues about the movie’s genre.

Step 5: Compare rhetorical elements (both visual and aural) in the re-cut trailers that represent the movie as part of a different genre.

Step 6: Discuss your observations and the impact of specific rhetorical elements you observed in both movie trailers. Also, discuss expectations we associate with movie genres and the ideologies these reveal. What insights can we gain about ourselves and society by rhetorically analyzing re-cut movie trailers and critically considering genre expectations in film?  

Step 7: For fun, imagine creating your own re-cut movie trailer. What is a movie trailer might you re-cut and why? What scenes would be most important to include? What rhetorical elements would you add to influence the audience to view the movie in a particular way? 

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