Introduction
Rhetorical analysis in literature provides for a critical review of a piece of art. It entails reviewing how language is applied to influence or persuade the audience and looking at elements such as the choice of words, tone, and structure of the text. The rhetorical analysis of a TV show can be centered on the show’s characters and dialogue. It can cover the persuasive practices used by characters in the show, such as appeals to emotions or authority, to understand their inspirations and their influence on the audience.
This paper focuses on a rhetorical analysis of the Ginny and Georgia (TV) show that was first released in February 2021. It is centered on the themes of identity, family, coming of age, and self-discovery as the characters pull through different challenges and strained relations. The last episode of season 1, Tallahassee, captures the most critical part of the show. Individualism, achievement and success, morality, and equalitarianism rhetorical strategies have been applied to deliver a common message of subversion.
Plot Synopsis of the TV Show and the Episode Primary Storyline and Action
Ginny and Georgia cover the life of Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey) and her 15-year-old daughter, Ginny (Antonia Gentry), and Son and Austin (Diesel La Torraca). It focuses on the family’s challenges in a small New England town. Also struggles to find her place in the world and tries to settle at her new high school.
Ginny and Georgia grapple with many issues as they steer through the hurdles of their relationship and try to put together a strong future for themselves. The main character, Georgia, endeavored to let go of her past and build a new life for herself and her family. The daughter, Ginny, found it difficult to understand and connect with her mother, who seemed deeply gripped by her life and issues.
Ginny and Georgia were well-received by audiences who looked forward to upcoming seasons. The last episode of season one, Tallahassee, emerged as the most critical as it captured the dramatic and tense turn of events. It entails Georgia and her daughter’s experience as they travel and stay in Tallahassee, Florida. The trip was embarked on as Georgia attended a vital job interview. It enabled the two to spend time closely and confront their differences and past traumas. They met with different characters in Tallahassee and encountered additional hurdles that tested their personal growth.
Despite the difficulties, they manifested the strength and stability of the mother-daughter relationship. They supported each other and worked together to defeat the obstructions they faced. Therefore, the episode characterized a pivotal moment in the TV show, establishing the setting for the upcoming episodes.
Rhetorical Strategies
The Tallahassee episode provides a subtle display of American values and their intersection and conflict. The episode offers a thought-provoking play-by-play on the American experience and explores the tension between the values proposed by Steele and Redding (85). In general, the authors advanced that the American value system comprises the importance of the individual, moral equality, achievement and success, effort and optimism, change and progress, puritan and pioneer morality, efficiency, practicality, and pragmatism (Steele and Redding, 86).
These values became the basis upon which the American culture and society are defined. Accordingly, the Tallahassee episode can be examined in light of these values, out of which four distinct categories of values can be observed. These are individualism, achievement and success, morality, and equalitarianism.
Individualism gives prominence to a person’s worth alongside their distinctive qualities and proficiency. Individualism is manifest in Tallahassee as characters are pushed by their wishes and self-interest. In particular, Georgia showed that her needs mattered the most as she prioritized her plans and ambitions over those of others.
The other prominent values are achievement and success, a critical component of American life. In the episode, the achievement is seen in the characters’ resolve to do well by overcoming obstacles. Georgia is mainly driven by this value, as she continuously seeks to give her children a better life and build a prosperous future.
Additionally, the value of morality is present, and it defines a person’s choice between good and evil or foul and fair. In the episode, morality is evidenced by the characters’ desire to help others and do what is right, regardless of the costs to the individual. This is most evident in the character of Ginny, who is fired up by her passion for protecting and caring for her companions and family.
The last value found in the Tallahassee episode is equality, which involves treating all people equally, notwithstanding their gender, race, or social class (Steele and Redding, 86). It is evident through the consequences the characters face for their actions, even when they have to wrestle with the issues of freedom and power. Equalitarianism underscores the pressure between the pursuits of equal treatment and fairness and the existence of power dynamics and systemic imbalances.
Dominant Strategy: Subversion
The different rhetorical strategies of individualism, achievement and success, morality, and equalitarianism in the Tallahassee episode of Ginny & Georgia can be summed up as a standard subversion method. Collectively, the different strategies subvert conventional norms and expectations in society and challenge the audience to re-examine their values and beliefs.
Individualism contributes to the subversion of customary expectations of conformity and uniformity by underscoring the essence of self-reliance. It supports the episode by challenging the idea that people must blindly act according to society’s established expectations and norms.
Subversion is further supported by the rhetorical strategy of achievement and success by displaying the characters’ desire to chase personal success. This is attained by employing their terms in the place of following the traditional approaches. In particular, it emerges as a character that prioritizes personal satisfaction over financial conquest, which contracts the idea that success is just gauged by wealth and material possessions.
Morality contributes to subversion through the actions of some characters, who prioritize their moral values over their own benefit. This contradicts the societal norm, which requires individuals to prioritize self-interest to do well in society. Moreover, equalitarianism promotes the subversion of societal norms that support biases and discrimination. It emphasizes that people should be treated equally, regardless of gender, race, or social status. The Tallahassee episode has been fashioned to challenge the notion that some people are naturally superior or inferior to others.
The overall subversion rhetorical strategy is a communicative approach designed to challenge and defeat societal values, ideas, and beliefs. It helps to keep the audience enthralled by the episode and on the edge of their seats to watch. It exposes and opposes inconsistencies and deficiencies of the dominant discourses and publicizes alternative viewpoints and opinions. For example, Ginny’s relationship with her boyfriend, Hunter, has been fashioned to contradict societal norms by praising a same-sex couple.
Another example of the subversion rhetoric in the Tallahassee episode is when the main character, Georgia, refuses the conventional thinking about motherhood. Throughout the episode, she portrays herself as flawed and complex, pulling through different challenges to have a better personal and professional life. This approach challenges the notion of the idealized and perfect mother and exposes the realities and difficulties of motherhood.
Additionally, Georgia has been used to display subversion by calling the conventional thinking about college education into question. In the Tallahassee episode, she queries the relevancy and importance of attending college and criticizes the selective admission policies to a university. The act degrades the general understanding that higher education is an established path to success. She also lays bare the unevenness and constraints of the college admission process.
As the main character, Georgia appears in another case of subversion where she challenges typical gender roles. She acts well above the standards set on womanhood and gender conformity by showing herself as a robust, self-sufficient, and proactive woman who embraces challenges and risks against the status quo. She is used to exposing the traditional definitions of the roles for each gender and promotes a more inclusive interpretation of femininity.
Conclusion
The Ginny and Georgia television series explores themes of self-discovery, coming of age, family, and identity as the characters overcome adversity. Tallahassee, the final episode of season one, stood out as particularly important since it depicted the dramatic and suspenseful turn of events. The TV show’s turning point was depicted in the episode, which also set the scene for later installments.
The main rhetorical strategies manifested in the episode include individualism, achievement and success, morality, and equalitarianism. Together, they support the overall subversion design that challenges dominant ideas, values, and beliefs. The episode demonstrated how the subversion strategy could be applied to uncover the flaws and limitations of the prevalent or expected societal action. It was used in the episode strategically and purposefully, with the characters showing their ability to question and critique the status quo. It helped to contribute to a more empowering and inclusive cultural discussion.
Work Cited
Steele, Edward and Charles, Redding. “The American Value System: Premises for Persuasion.” Western Speech, vol.26, no.2, (1962), p. 83–91.