S p a c e c a t 

Answer each question in depth and provide ​specific evidence​ from

S 
SPEAKER: The speaker is Justin Baldoni. We know that he is male, and identifies as
Who is the speaker/writer? male. He also is a dad, husband and an actor. As an actor, you are
What do we know about
them? What can you tell or taught that theatre is a reflection of humanity and teaches us about the
what do you know about world. By watching theatre, we can learn about different types of
the speaker that helps you people and their motives. This same experience is achieved by acting.
understand the point of
view expressed? 
You put yourself in someone else's world and embody the character’s
qualities. So, Justin has had some background in this form. In terms of
toxic masculinity, Justin has probably played or seen a character that
has certain qualifying traits, giving him first hand experience to the
topic. But also, he could better understand what it's like to NOT have
toxic masculine traits. Even from just being an actor you show the most
vulnerable of yourself or someone else, and vulnerability isn’t a
component of toxic masculinity. As an actor, it’s very helpful discussing
this topic with other actors for me, because I know that they have
studied the way people exist.

P 
PURPOSE: Overall, Justin’s main purpose was to bring awareness to gender
What is the speaker/writer inequality and stereotypes and ways to fix it. “​Girls are weak, and boys
hoping to accomplish?
are strong. This is what's being subconsciously communicated to
What is the reason behind
this piece? What do they hundreds of millions of young boys and girls all over the world, just like
want the audience to do it was with me. Well, I came here today to say, as a man that this is
after having listened? wrong, this is toxic, and it has to end.” Throughout the Ted Talk he
brings up many different roles that girls and boys are pressured to fit.
He wants the audience to recognize these roles in their lives. Are they
categorizing anyone? Is anyone categorizing me? Because if we can
recognize the problem we can end it. He also dives deeper into societal
pressures on men specifically saying, “I've just been kind of putting on a
show, but I'm tired of performing. And I can tell you right now that it is
exhausting trying to be man enough for everyone all the time.” One of
the biggest things that makes a man a “man”, is their lack of emotional
expression and vulnerability. He tells the audience that this isn’t
something that comes naturally but it's a mask put on, and it’s hard to
keep up.

“I want to be a good human. And I believe the only way that can
happen is if men learn to not only embrace the qualities that we were
told are feminine in ourselves but to be willing to stand up, to
champion and learn from the women who embody them.”
Just be good 
 AUDIENCE:​ ​


A 
The main intended audience is men. He explicitly says it multiple times.
Who is the speaker/writer “A lot of us men are really good at making friends, and talking, just not
trying to reach? How do we
know? Do they indicate a
about anything real.” He also is speaking to the women in the audience
specific audience? What near the end. We know because he says it as well, but also he alludes to
assumptions exist in the it throughout most of the speech. “So women, on behalf of men all
text about the intended over the world who feel similar to me, please forgive us for all the ways
audience?  that we have not relied on your strength.” The last audience is parents.
He has one line that says, “parents: instead of teaching our children to
be brave boys or pretty girls, can we maybe just teach them how to be
good humans?”. But also he tells a story about his dad, which brings the
audience to think about their parents, or parenting skills. 

C 
CONTEXT: ​
 November 2017
What is the time and place
of this piece? What is
happening in the world as
During this time, the Me Too movement was going on and speaking out
it relates to the subject of against sexual assault. Sexual assault normally forms out of violent and
the speech or the disrespectful behavior, which is also the whole idea of toxic masculinity.
speaker/writer?  Justin brings up this movement when talking about the effect toxic
masculinity has on women. “When you hear your boys talking about
grabbing ass or getting her drunk, will you actually stand up and do
something so that one day we don't have to live in a world where a
woman has to risk everything and come forward to say the words "me
too?" Another thing that was brought up in 2017, was the idea of
menemism: belief that men are victimized by feminism. Basically it’s
about the struggle of being a man in the 21st century. This is right along
with what Justin is talking about, but at a higher intensity and a little bit
more dramatic accusations.

E 
EXIGENCE: Justin says that at a young age he decided that he needed to block out
What was the spark or feminine qualities. “But, sorry, Dad, as a kid I resented him for it,
catalyst that moved the
speaker/writer to because I blamed him for making me soft, which wasn't welcomed in
act/write? How did that the small town in Oregon that we had moved to. Because being soft
event impact the meant that I was bullied.”Because of this, he grew up feeling like he
speaker/writer?  needed to be the biggest man possible. I think that this childhood
experience was a major catalyst into his passion for fighting for the
normalization of non traditional character. This was taken further when
he was able to recognize himself acting in a way that was disrespectful
to his wife. “My wife told me that I had been acting in a certain way
that hurt her and not correcting it….So here I am doing my part, trying
to be a feminist, amplifying the voices of women around the world, and
yet at home, I am using my louder voice to silence the woman I love the
most.” Seeing himself do the thing that he was fighting against gave
him a stronger sense of how easy it really is. This and his honesty on the
topic makes it easier for members of the audience to connect with
Justin.
 Quote: “As an example, a little while ago I was wrestling with an issue
in my life that I knew I needed to talk to my guy friends about, but I was
so paralyzed by fear that they would judge me and see me as weak and
I would lose my standing as a leader”

C 
CHOICES: Justin uses repetition. “Where are the men? So men, men, men, men!”
What are the rhetorical
This emphasizes the importance of the moment or the subject. Hearing
choices that the
speaker/writer makes in
something over and over helps people remember better. He has a call
the speech? Think about to action moment. This captivates the audience and makes them feel
overall structure, devices, like they are a part of the discussion, even though it’s one sided. “I
diction, syntax, etc.  challenge you to see if you can use the same qualities that you feel
make you a man to go deeper into yourself.” A big thing that Justin uses
his humor. He uses humor to make the heavy subject seem lighter and
engage the audience, but then at the appropriate times becomes
serious to get his point across. Lastly, he starts his talk with a story
about his dad and then talks about his point before tying it back to his
dad. This creates fluidity and a sense of natural ending.

- Incorporation of humor and personal stories

A 
APPEALS: Justin uses Ethos by incorporating a quote from the Bahá'i writings. It
Which of the three says that "the world of humanity is possessed of two wings, the male
rhetorical appeals (ethos,
logos, pathos) are present and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in
in the text? Where? Why?  strength, the bird will not fly." Seeing the topic being discussed in a
former philosophical medium builds credibility. It shows that people
have been talking about gender equality for a while and it builds
importance.
He has a lot of logos. It comes from personal experience and conducted
social experiments. He has specific examples of magazines contacting
him and DM’s from strangers that show displays of the subject in real
life. “ It's been affirming, it's been heartwarming. I get tons of love and
press and positive messages daily. But it's all from a certain
demographic: women.”“This is real. Why are only women following
me? Where are the men? “ “Like my challenging workouts, my meal
plans, my journey to heal my body after an injury. And guess what
happened? Men started to write me.” He also includes this lovely,
literal fact, “We're only here because of you (women)”
Pathos. Justin essentially uses pathos throughout his entire speech. He
tells stories of his father, wife, and children that make the audience
think of their own family. The way that he explains what societal
pressures can do to men, and what men can do to women, makes the
audience feel reflective and empathetic. It was just really good.
 T 
TONE: “Guys, this is real. And I'm just scratching the surface here, because the
What is the deeper we go, the uglier it gets, I guarantee you.”
speaker/author's attitude
toward the subject? Is the This topic is very serious, and Justin understands that. He mostly stays
tone the same throughout very serious during the middle and end to make sure that his point is
the whole piece? Where getting across. However, it’s not entirely like this. Like previously
does it shift? What stated, he turns to humor a lot in his speech particularly at the
evidence is there to
demonstrate the tone? ​
 
beginning. He eases the audience into full attention by making it
interesting from the start, without being demanding. There also is a
tonal shift when he talks about his wife. He gets emotional, and the
atmosphere softens a little bit. Overall he’s very passionate about the
subject, and his passion commands attention.

Note:

“ But I believe that as men, it's time we start to see past our privilege and recognize that we are not just part
of the problem. Fellas, we are the problem. The glass ceiling exists because we put it there, and if we want to
be a part of the solution, then words are no longer enough.”

I really enjoyed this Ted Talk. I found it super insightful and Justin’s structure and elements were fantastic. I
particularly enjoyed the last couple of paragraphs because he was talking to women, which obviously I was
able to connect to more. I’m thankful that he eloquently and respectfully commented on how toxically
masculine men affect women’s lives. However, I think it’s important to note that women also play a part in
installing these stereotypes. If we as women are constantly commenting on male bodies, sexualizing their
workouts and lifestyles, or pressuring them to always be strong and brave, it is just as bad as men doing it to
women. It’s toxic woman behaviour! If we constantly call them stupid or commend a certain body type how
are they ever supposed to realize that having feminine qualities or being an untraditional man is ok? And I
understand that it is a much larger issue for women. I know as a woman how hard it is to live in a world where
men hold power and it is really hard sometimes. But it’s just frustrating to me hearing girls talk about how
they feel constantly put down by men, and then turn around and make judgmental comments toward boys?
It's totally contradictory. As big as it is for girls to support girls, and boys to support girls it is just as important
for girls to support boys so that we can create a world where we “lead with our hearts not our heads” and
“humans are good”.