Rhetorical Analysis Of John Oliver

The 2012 FIFA World Cup was held in Brazil, a country that lives and breathes soccer. Therefore, one would be surprised to know that the people of this country were outraged with hosting the 2012 World Cup. There was an outbreak of riots in the slums of Brazil due to the amount of money the country spent, but did not have, on the magnificent event. In an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, he informs his audience on the issues regarding FIFA. John Oliver successfully informs his audience about the negative aspects that FIFA withholds by using a combination of rhetorical appeals and various other rhetorical devices. John Oliver, a famous British comedian, and the host of Last Week Tonight, did an episode regarding FIFA and the World …show more content…
The first interview clip that John Oliver shows his audience is of Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s Secretary General. This interview was conducted by CNN and is questioning Jerome Valcke on the fact that FIFA believes they have a right to sell beer in Brazilian stadiums. Jerome states that FIFA “will not negotiate” their “right to sell beer” (Last Week Tonight). This interview shows the audience that FIFA does not have decent character. It shows this because Brazil banned alcohol in their stadium in order to protect their citizens, and FIFA wants to lift this law. This proves that FIFA does not care about the safety of the fans therefore, they are more concerned with the revenue that the beer will be providing. This interview presents the audience with exactly how greedy and nefarious FIFA is. The second interview that John Oliver displays is of Sepp Blatter, the President of FIFA. This interview is provided by Al Jazeera and is exploring the fact that FIFA is a “non-profit organization.” The interviewer asks how it is possible to be a non-profit organization with “over a billion dollars in the bank” and Sepp Blatter’s response is “it is a reserve” (Last Week Tonight). Considering the first interview, it is obvious that FIFA is concerned with the amount of revenue that FIFA will be gaining. This again proves that FIFA is unjust and conniving. These interviews enhance John Oliver’s argument because in each it confirms that FIFA has bad character. This enhances his argument through pathos because it is unsettling to hear how appalling this organization’s morals are. It also enhances through logos because it persuades his audience that FIFA is awful through the use of reasoning and facts. Towards the end of this video, John Oliver provides short clips form a documentary on Qatar to enhance his