FALSE AUTHORITY
By: Jaime Chapman
WHAT IS FALSE AUTHORITY?
• False Authority is when there is a statement made by someone who is NOT a
professional in that area.
Example: It would be like one of the many actors that plays Dr. Who (who
isn’t even a doctor on T.V, which gives him even LESS authority), or House, or
someone from Grey’s Anatomy stating that a certain kind of medication is
good for you. Are they REALLY a doctor? Of course not. The ad just needed
someone familiar to sell their product.
Non-Example: A judge ruling that Drugs in a classroom are EXTREMELY
ILLEGAL! The judge can rule this because he is a professional in law, but BillyBob that lives down the road cannot, unless he is a judge.
EXAMPLES FROM MODERN DAY
AD CAMPAIGNS
• Stephan Dorff is an actor on television and is most renowned for his role as being the famous
villain Blade. More recently, he is known for his Blu E-Cig commercials.
• What makes this False Authority? Well, lets start off with who this guy is. He is an ACTOR….. He
is just a face to a name, or a brand names, of cigarettes, which aren’t really cigarettes, but
water vapor with nicotine. He is not a doctor, nor does he make these electronic smoking
masterpieces, he’s just part of an ad campaign, and has no insight on how the cigarette can
affect a person.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE…….
• Another one would be the classic ad campaign for Head and Shoulders shampoo.
• Troy Polamalu, a Strong Safety (don’t ask me what it is, I don’t know) for the
Pittsburgh Steelers, is known for his Head and Shoulders shampoo commercial. His
thick, luxurious hair should make him an expert, right? No, having nice hair does NOT
make him an expert. He may master in the art of hair growing, but he does not know
how to make the shampoo, nor all the ingredients in it, making him a consumer, not
an expert in the shampoo.
UNIVERSAL IDEA
This would be like someone today who is unqualified attempting to run a
business. This would be demonstrating the universal idea of power or the
need of power. Even though the person does not have the ability to run a
business, they will pretend they do until the business is started. This is
demonstrated a lot in television shows such as Bar Rescue, Restaurant
Impossible, or Hotel Impossible.
EXAMPLES FROM THE CRUCIBLE
• One example from The Crucible would be when the girls are claiming the
people in town are witches (I want to open myself……….I saw Sarah Good
with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with
the Devil! ………………….I saw Goody Booth with the Devil!) Act 1 Page
• This is a false authority because the girls are not actual “witch hunters”. They
do not truly know what is wrong with them, but because these girls don’t
want to get in trouble, they need a scapegoat, and blaming it on witch
craft was the easiest solution at the time, so that is what the girls did.
MORE FROM THE CRUCIBLE
• Another example from The Crucible would be when Mary is talking to Proctor
about being an official in the court. (“They had Doctor Griggs examine her,
and she’s full to the brim. And smokin’ a pipe all these years, and no
husband either! But she’s safe, thank God, for they’ll not hurt the innocent
child, But be that not a marvel? You must see it, sir, it’s God’s work we do. So
I’ll be gone every day for some time. I’m - I am an official of the court, they
say, and I - She has been”)
• All of these girls that have claimed that they were “bewitched” are officials
of the court when none of them are actual judges nor do they have any
legal experience. The ONLY reason they are officials is because they made
the claim and no one else in the town seems to have been “bewitched”.
RESOURCES
• Blu E-Cig Ad
• http://mashable.com/2014/06/18/e-cigarette-brands-marketing/
• Head and Shoulders Ad
• http://www.ilsul6ana.com/2010/08/31/head-shoulders-troy-polamalucommercial-lol/