La Fille du Rer

On Thursday I watched a film for my French class called La Fille du Rer. In English, it translates to The Girl on the Train. The story centers around a young woman named Jeanne Fabre and the public outrage she caused with her story, which she told using ethos and pathos.

Although Jeanne herself is not Jewish, she has close connections through her parents with a Jewish man named Samuel Bleinstein, the owner of a Jewish law firm. Jeanne spends one night watching a news program in which Bleinstein expresses his unhappiness towards the anti-semitic problems France is currently facing. From his speech, she begins to spin ideas in her head.

Jeanne goes through a series of unfortunate and traumatic events, which include failing to obtain a job at Bleinstein's firm, seeing her boyfriend get stabbed by a stranger, and finding out that he had secretly conducted drug deals. One night, she gets up from bed and carves scars on herself with a knife. She draws with a black marker three swastikas, the symbol of the Nazi party. Finally, she cuts off part of her hair.

The next morning she shows up at the police station and files a complaint. She claims that while she was on a train station, six young men cornered her. They searched a bag and found a business card with the name “Bleinstein” on it, causing them to assume that she was Jewish. They then began to beat her, and she shows the police the marks on her body and her hair as proof. Finally, she ends by adding that other passengers were standing nearby, but no one made an effort to save her. The news soon spreads, and Jeanne manages to win the support of the public, Jewish groups, and even the president.

By playing the victim, Jeanne is using ethos to make herself become likable and appealing to the public. She paints herself as an innocent girl and describes repeatedly how traumatized she felt. From this way, she easily draws sympathy from the public.

Jeanne also uses pathos to appeal to the French people's conscience and emotions, by taking advantage of the current anti-semitic situation. She reminds the public of how many young girls her age face similar persecution and discrimination. She expresses how wrong it is to see another person in trouble but not extend a helping hand.

Thus, Jeanne is able to gain huge media attention and public support by using ethos and pathos in telling her story. 

 

Friday, January 21, 2011

Islam extremists have received such a large amount of bad press that anti-Muslim feelings have become almost normal and accepted in society. According to the chairwoman of Britain's Conservative Party, Lady Warsi, this new trend had “crossed the threshold of middle-class respectability” in the UK, and it was commonplace to view Muslims as dangerous and suspicious.

In her speech against what she calls Islamophobia, given recently at Leicester University, Warsi stirs up emotions in her audience by describing the helpless and dejected feelings Muslims are currently experiencing due to “the patronizing , superficial way faith is discussed in certain quarters, including the media.” She continues to strengthen her argument with real, everyday examples. A boss who hires a Muslim worker may tell his other employees: “not to worry, he's only 'fairly' Muslim.” In another case, when speaking about their neighbors, a family might say: “they're Muslim, but they're not too bad.” A woman who wears a burqa in public are often described by others as either “oppressed” or “threatening.”

Her comments have sparked a debate across Great Britain between Muslim councils and anti-Muslim groups such as the English Defence League, which has a reputation for its violent protests.

Ibrahim Mogra, a prominent figure at the Muslim Council of Britain, agrees with Warsi and supports her main ideas with his own rhetoric. He logically connects the current situation to events of the past, such as the Holocaust. He relates the racism faced by Muslims to the persecution of Jews, reminding his audience about that time period when “the drip, drip of hatred and bigotry by the Nazis led to them being described as rates and murdered in a horrible way.” He then appeals to the audience's emotions and conscience. "This situation is nowhere near that but there is always a beginning for everything. I hope this is not the beginning of something that could be horrendous. We said 'never again' and we have to nip this in the bud."

The full article can be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/20/muslim-leaders-lady-warsi-islamophobia?INTCMP=SRCH