Dramatism In The Rhetoric Of NASCAR

In his introduction to Permanence and Change, Hugh Dalziel Duncan wrote, “Burke demands that we become masters of many perspectives in order that we may understand one perspective” (Duncan xv). This statement does a sufficient job of explaining Kenneth Burke’s theory of dramatism to the casual observer of rhetoric. Today, it is second-nature for all 24-hour cable news channels and most people to take into account several diverse perspectives when dissecting events as trivial as celebrity split-ups to events as profoundly altering as the terrorist attacks in the United States on 9/11; however, Burke’s notion that we can understand human nature more fully and communicate more effectively by analyzing actions from different philosophical angles was revolutionary when conceived. This paper will discuss Burke’s theory of dramatism and then evaluate an example of how a team of two authors used the pentad to expose the differences in rhetorical styles between traditional sports and NASCAR, revealing how NASCAR has mastered the art of using driver rhetoric as a marketing tool. As stated, Burke believed that in order to fully understand the actions of an individual or entity and to communicate effectively, all …show more content…
Jim A. Kupyers apply Burke’s dramatistic theory to analyze the rhetoric of NASCAR drivers in comparison to athletes in other popular professional sports in the United States. This analysis shows how “rhetorical norms in NASCAR differ from those norms of other major American sports, and that this distinction could possibly play a role in the marketing success of NASCAR” (Williams). They contend that in virtually all traditional sports, athletes represent themselves as agents in post-game interviews. However, in NASCAR post-race interviews, the driver acts as the agency through which the agent (the corporate sponsor) acts and achieves its purpose