While my end goal is to talk about Gina Rodriguez’s recent appearance on The View, I must first start this post with a brief dive into the rhetorical theory espoused by the sophists in ancient Greece. These sophists had a wide variety of views. Some, such as Protagoras, argued that humans created a standard for truth, and that this standard was in part created by rhetoric. Others, like Demosthenes, believed that the ability to prompt action was the most important result of successful rhetoric. Still others, like Lysias, focused on adapting their rhetorical arguments to the audience they were addressing. While each of these views are interesting, the one I want to focus on is the way that rhetors display ethos to advocate for truth and change in their audience and society.

In his book Rhetoric and Human Consciousness, Craig R. Smith helpfully addresses the views of Gorgias, an influential sophist who is often portrayed as “the father of ceremonial (epideictic) speaking” (47). Gorgias believed that nothing was permanent, and that rhetoric was helpful for making sense of the surrounding impermanence. As a result of this, he also came up with the theory of kairos, the idea that a rhetor should address their audience at the proper time so that the context around their argument can best suit audience expectations and be persuasive. Isocrates, another well-known sophist, brings up the point that “truth does not speak for itself and is not in itself persuasive” (Smith 51). According to this view, a rhetor must intentionally persuade their audience of the merits, and virtues behind their argument. In other words, rhetors actively participate in the process of producing truth. This brings me to ethos. Antiphon, an orator and statesman, argues, “True persuasion provides evidence of the good of one’s proposition, evidence that is drawn from experience or knowledge” (From A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric by James J. Murphy, Richard A. Katula, and Michael Hoppmann, 46). He also stresses the importance of words used to describe real lived experiences. As a result of the power of words to describe lived experiences, Antiphon emphasized the ethos of the rhetor as being one of the most important parts of rhetoric.

This focus on ethos applies to Gina Rodriguez’s recent appearance on The View (Click here for the YouTube link). A Puerto Rican actress most known for her role as Jane Villanueva  in CW’s Jane the Virgin, Rodriguez recently starred in the action film Miss Bala (to be released on February 1). The first question she answered dealt with her clear support of the Time’s Up movement at the 2019 Golden Globes. When asked about the “Times Up x2” ribbon on the back of her dress (see below), she explained that “the initiative for this year was to double the number…You hire one female, hire two. You hire one female director, hire two. The idea that it’s that easy to create change and push the needle forward.” Prior to giving this explanation of the Times Up initiative, Rodriguez admitted that she was not one of the prominent female leaders of the Times Up movement and thereby should not be considered representative of the entire movement. This type of comment, I feel, strengthened her ethos by showing her awareness of her own position in this movement.

As the conversation went on, Rodriguez began discussing her upcoming film, Miss Bala, which is directed by a female director and features a cast and crew that is 95% Latinx . These facts supported her prior statements about the importance of hiring more women directors. Furthermore, she acknowledged how she hopes that films like Miss Bala pave the road for other Latinx actors to be in main acting roles.

While I could continue providing more examples of the way that Gina Rodriguez adeptly utilizes ethos in this short video, I would instead like to point out how she is doing exactly what Antiphon was suggesting by using her own experiences as a Puerto Rican actor to persuade others of the need for gender equality and racial diversity on the red carpet. In this sense she is using rhetoric to make truth persuasive.