To examine the rhetorical vision of nuclear war presented in the television show "The Day After," it is necessary to consider (1) the motives of those involved in producing the film, (2) the debate over the film that preceded its presentation, (3) the effect of the film's message, and (4) how the film's rhetorical structure contributed…

Given a choice of one argument, most Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) competitors would choose the nuclear war scenario, which attempts to capitalize on apocalyptism. A three-stage methodology can be applied to apocalyptic appeals. First is an application of the concept of universal audience, composed of all reasonable and competent…

Studio D of the National Film Board of Canada, a women's film making unit established to make films by, for, and about women, has created a group of five films that effectively develop the argument that women can and must join the effort to bring peace to a nuclear world. The first of these peace films, "If You Love This Planet,"…

Noting that the television movie "The Day After" (aired November 20, 1983) is probably the most important of the films generating discussion about the issue of nuclear war, this paper describes a study that examined the rhetorical vision of nuclear war depicted in the film and the ways in which that vision corresponds to the images held…

The symbolic presence of Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) has been and continues to be the pivot point in all summitry rhetoric between the American President and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. To examine some of the rhetorical choices made by Gorbachev to dramatize his vision of why Ronald Reagan refuses to…