Brand Malala - Response Prep

Response Prep: "Brand Malala" According to the Five Perspectives

                In accordance with social perspective, this text’s primary concern is to bring to light how Malala is being used by politicians to distract the world from social injustices like the suppression of many women and other victims. The blog, posted exactly a year after Malala was shot, is aimed at introducing a different angle at which Malala’s situation can be dissected from to an audience who have been blinded by the media for a whole year. This blog still has implications that are valid today and awakens its reader to the fact that there will always be a dark undercurrent in the political world in relation to any social cause endorsed by the media.

                When the blog is viewed with relevance to the emotional perspective, one can see that the author is clearly irritated and does nothing to hide the way she feels in her blog. It is apparent that she is not happy with the fact that Malala got all that attention and care whilst many other victims are overlooked and not even considered by the government. Despite the apparent disgust towards the situation at hand, Grayson does show that she respects Malala’s cause, which is a slight contradiction that may represent conflicting feelings. To add, her tone is agitated with a hint of sarcasm. For instance, she says in parenthesis “let’s hope Malala’s story will not be used to keep [the war in Afghanistan] going a little longer” (Grayson 594). However, her use of short sentences conveys her seriousness and firmness toward the subject.

                With respect to the rhetorical perspective, the text is seen as a nonfictional impersonal essay posted on a blog. It depicts events that actually happened and connects them to her central claim, without referring to her own personal life whatsoever. Illustration and comparison are two rhetorical modes Grayson uses in her expository prose, since she shows the unfairness in treatment of some women as opposed to the treatment of one Pakistani girl. In addition, the author’s style is more conversational than it is formal; clear cut language is used to depict her argument instead of a very complex and heavily structured one. Moreover, the ambiguity in this piece of writing lies in Malala’s exploitation. Grayson implies that the media is shedding light on an issue that needs to be discussed, yet are using that same issue to differ the attention from similar matters.

                When taken from the logical perspective, the issue debated centers around the much needed consideration that most women are not getting versus the incredible amount of mass media reportage that one teenager has managed to obtain. Grayson comes to the conclusion that citizens all over the world are being spoon fed Malala’s story by the news as a diversion from the injustice of the government. She uses sufficient evidence, such as “the plight of widows whose husbands were unlawfully killed by the state” (Grayson 594) to prove her point. She argues that most women go about being "unheard no matter how vocal they may be or what risks they take" (Grayson 597).

                In accordance with the ethical perspective, Grayson is noted to believe that it is the duty of the government to treat every victim’s case with equal weight and consideration. Also, her ethical convictions are political, and can be applied to a global scale. The author mentions several times how politicians, specifically the British ones, are behaving in an unethical and unfair manner when addressing the issue of gender rights. She specifically mentions the “women that have been fighting in British courts for years to highlight the injustice and the wrongdoing of the government” (Grayson 598). The author also hopes to someday achieve perfection, in terms of equality amongst the genders. 

Works Cited:

Grayson, Carol Anne. "'Brand Malala': Western Exploitation of a Schoolgirl." Shifting Narratives. Zane S. Sinno, Lina Bioghlu-Karkanawi, Dorota Fleszar, Najila Jarkas, Emma Moughabghab, Jennifer M. Nish, Rima Rantisi, and Abir Ward. Mazraa, Beirut: Center for Educational Consultation and Research, Educart, 2015. Print.