Enhancing the persuasive influence of entertainment-education events: rhetorical and aesthetic strategies for constructing narratives

Abstract

The present article presents a rhetorical and aesthetic framework to create an entertainment-education (EE) narrative with high potential for persuasive influence. The researchers introduce the notion of an ‘EE event’ and its ‘change potential’, proposing three different models – the reinforcement model, the change model and the entrenchment model – to understand how certain narrative mechanisms influence the change potential of an EE event. The four narrative mechanisms under consideration include 1) dialogue between EE text and audience members; 2) audiences’ emotional involvement with text; 3) audience members’ trust in the veracity of the text; and 4) audience members’ catharsis and transformation. The narrative mechanisms operating in each model are illustrated by an analysis of audience responses to an EE text. The researchers conclude by presenting a rhetorical matrix to empirically analyse the narrative mechanisms and change potential of EE events.

Keywords:

• entertainment-education event
• narratives
• persuasive influence
• rhetorical strategies