AP Language and Composition
Four Little Girls
Mr. Loun
Directed by Spike Lee
Some things to contemplate as you watch this documentary (besides your
navel, as my grandmother used to say)….
Okay. Just keep the following things in mind: what is Spike Lee’s rhetorical
purpose (what is he trying to persuade you, the audience, to believe/do)? What
rhetorical appeals show up in this movie? Take some notes, too – there’s plenty of
room.
What is the purpose for using all that video footage and photographs? What rhetorical
appeal is Lee invoking here?
What is the purpose for interviewing all those people? What rhetorical appeal is Lee
invoking here?
Note Lee’s selection of detail - for what rhetorical purpose does he reveal the “bird
story,” the scene where the victim’s perfect attendance and Girl Scout badges are
divulged, and the letter read by one of the victim’s sorrowful sisters?
Note how Spike Lee films the scene with George Wallace. What is his rhetorical purpose
in using the particular camera shots, angles, etc.? What is the reaction of his “best
friend?”
Make every connection you can find between this documentary and MLK’s “Letter from
Birmingham Jail,” including characters and events mentioned in both arguments, and
how the similarity in arguments is presented by both men (MLK and Lee).