Reading Analysis to "Killer Culture"

It is not easy to persuade a reader of something especially if they already have a different opinion about it. The only way you can write a great persuasive paper is by using different modes such as narration, description, exemplification, process, cause and effect, compare and contrast, classification/division, and definition. David Kupelian uses all of these in his article “Killer Culture”, to justify why he believes our culture is so poisonous that we need to protect our children from it by homeschooling. The following examples are some of the modes he used to persuade the reader that this is the right way to educate our future generations.

                Kupelian is in his 60’s and he compares and contrasts the clothing choices in the generation he came from to the present day trends. He explains “…the generation uniform of Levi’s and work shirts and peacoats in their celebration of blue collar workers, “the Real Americans,” so today’s adolescents have co-opted inner-city black street-style as the authentic way to be”(649). He defiantly has an angle on this statement. He believes that the blue collar way to dress is superior to the “gangsta generation”. His audience is parents so he is also connecting with them because they may be from this generation.

                When talking about the companies that target teens to make money he goes into detail about MTV. He concludes that everything on his channel is a commercial, whether it is a music video, cloths, or a commercial for a movie funded by that company. This is an example of exemplification. When he continues discussing MTV he also uses process to show how they figure out what they can sell to youth. Kupelian says “They hold focus groups. They send out culture spies to pretend to befriend and care about teens so they can study them-what they like, what they don’t like, what’s in, what’s out, what’s cool, and what’s no longer cool. They engage in ‘buzz marketing” (651-652). He goes on in more detail about the process they use to sell their product. This is a turn off for most people because people generally don’t like it when they know someone is selling something to them.

                Kuplelian also believes that the culture today is literally obsessed with death. He uses definition to explain some horrible things youth do to their bodies to look cool or get a rush. “The act of suspension is hanging the human body from hooks pierced through the flesh in various places around the body” (656). He also explains, “Or, How about tongue splitting-literally making yourself look like a human lizard-how could that be a positive, spiritual experience?”(657). He gives these definitions to show the public how gruesome some of the things that the young generation does because some people might not know what the words mean. It also gives a visual that most people would find disturbing which helps prove the point that our culture is just to poisonous to put our kids in the midst of it.

                The points Kuplelian makes are very valid, and the modes help a lot with his argument. Although, the article did not persuade me or the majority of the class. In my opinion it was just too far out there, and a little crazy. He did put some facts but it was mostly all his opinion. He was very persuasive and had all the components of a great persuasive paper.