The Yes Men Fix the World ~ Rhetorical Analysis
In the documentary, The Yes Men Fix the World, Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum the two political activists expose the issues and misconduct of Corporations and depict the twisted logic of corporate capitalism. Bonanno and Bichlbaum lie their ways into conferences dress the part of corporate executives and have very convincing presentations along with visual aids and props to convince the audience they are authentic. They use humor, sarcasm and a variety of techniques to convince their captive audience and us the viewers to see things their way and to expose the misdoings of the corporations. During the dialogue they show both sides of the subject in their presentation this built more
Throughout the film it shows Andy and Mike both being a person we can relate to they can be nervous and anxious often biting their nails and fiddling with things. At one point in the film it shows how nervous Andy is, Mike was behind the camera says’ “Andy is about to go live in front of 300 million people…this is why he looks so nervous.” (10:01) Another example is when Andy is in bed pulling the covers over his head because he is anxious about the day ahead. (27:30) The fact that they are being so apprehensive makes us relate to them and builds a connection between the viewer and the Yes Men.
Bonanno and Bichlbaum rely on statistics; data and what they say are hard facts as evidence and proof of the wrong doings of the businesses. They also show financial numbers regarding the company’s profits to demonstrate how they are more concerned about money than human life. When presenting these facts they use flip charts and power points to establish credit to the data. They want Dow Chemical to show, “How they exactly calculate the cash value of human life?”(16:56) The use of these visual aids helps viewer gain trust in them faith in them is also enforced as we see the audience shaking their head in agreement during the lecture.
The “Yes Men” in one presentation use a combination of humor, empathy and hard facts all at