Rhetorical Homology and the Caveman Mythos: An(Other) Way to Ridicule the Aggrieved

Abstract

This essay uses the emergence of the caveman mythos, both in a Geico advertising campaign and an ABC television series, to show how a seemingly fanciful text can offer an explicit set of instructions to an audience beyond their critical awareness. Drawing on the work of Kenneth Burke and Barry Brummett, I use the homological connection between black stereotypes in the television series and gay stereotypes in the Geico ads to uncover a new process of hegemonic Othering based on trivializing the feelings of the Other by making their grievances appear ridiculous. I close by discussing the implications of this process when it is put to use on the actual Others that invariably fill our social worlds.

Keywords:

• Hegemony
• Popular Culture
• Rhetoric Homology

Previous versions of this article were presented at the 2008 University of North Texas Student Conference.

The author would like to thank Robert Jensen, Shaun Treat, and Barry Brummett for their comments on previous drafts of this article.

Notes

For one of the better uses of hegemony in our field, see Dana L. Cloud (1996; 1997).

For a background on Othering see Larry Gross (2001), Stuart Hall (1980), bell hooks (1990), T. T. Minh-ha (1991); Edward W. Said (1978), and Guyatri C. Spivak (1988).

For specific examples of the explosion of little people in popular culture see Glebatis Perks, Winslow, and Avital (2007). In this piece, the authors cite texts such as Willow, Simon Birch, Lords of the Rings, Elf, Austin Powers, Seinfeld, Dharma and Greg, and the Learning Channel's Little People, Big World as examples.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Luke Winslow

Luke Winslow is in the Department of Management at the University of Texas at Austin.