Lloyd F. Bitzer and the Rhetoric of Pretzels and Beer Cheese Dip

In the passage, Bitzer examines what makes for a rhetorical situation. In short (read: dangerously generalized), it's a situation which creates the need and capability for rhetorical discourse to effect positive change. In what may be the best of the examples in the passage, he compares rhetoric to an answer to a question, representing a rhetorical situation. "A rhetorical situation must exist as a necessary condition of rhetorical discourse, just as a question must exist as a necessary condition of an answer" (Bitzer 6).

While I initially considered this to be an altogether silly premise, for every counterexample I think I have, I am able to eventually refute my own refutation. I fear to list an example simply for how wildly misguided they seem after extensive (though usually it only took 3 seconds) thought.

Earlier this evening, I was playing bar trivia and eating half-price appetizers at the local Applebee's. What could that do to effect positive change? Well, it's a Wednesday night. The middle of the week. Theoretically the most intensive point of the week for students. Notably, this is a college town, where undergrad enrollment numbers match that of the city's population at census time.

The restaurant is full.

This is the same restaurant that's usually fairly empty on Saturday, when all-you-can-eat soup and salad is cheap, and classes are rarely scheduled. Laughably, the Wayne State Women's Basketball Team came in and left 20 minutes later because there was nowhere to seat them at 9 PM on a Wednesday. Here the exigence, slow business on weeknights, has been rectified by the rhetorical use of discounted food and cheap games for which the prize is... well... more food. Would a restaurant do that if they couldn't fill the house? No. If they stopped, would they retain their full house? No. Would they even fill half the seats, thus creating the same revenue? Ye-... just kidding. The answer is a no, from the one guy who felt the best time to eat nachos was 9 PM. What seems to be a narrow definition for the rhetorical situation can be satisfied by almost every situation we find ourselves in.

EDIT: wkzander asks: "Good application-now how does a rhetorical situation influence web design?"

Fair question, the blog is called Introduction to Webdesign. Let's compare Wednesday night at Applebee's to every night on Facebook. This isn't a perfect analogy. Applebee's makes a profit from its product while Facebook's profit comes from advertising. On the other hand, they both mean the same thing, profit is directly linked to traffic.

Two years ago, when I first started going to trivia night, the bar was rarely full, and certainly never the restaurant. When Facebook launched, it was also a small community, just students from a few colleges. Both expanded by word of mouth. This worked because both offered a quality product at a cheap price, and then used that increased traffic to generate further profits. Unlike Facebook, which adds a few servers (hooray for restaurant puns) and calls it a day, Applebee's is unlikely to build an addition to their building.

Both have external description/advertising. Out front of the local Applebee's is a sign advertising the half-price food. Facebook has a front page that gives a basic explanation of their social-networking service.

Both have personalized spaces inside. Facebook gives you a profile and caters advertising content to your specified interests. Applebee's gives you a table and caters food to your specified order.

Both have interaction with groups on multiple social levels. Facebook provides your "friends," their "friends," and so on. It's possible to reach beyond the root group, but you probably don't do it often. Applebee's trivia has your team at your table. You know these people. You or your comrades in knowledge may know somebody at another table. You may exchange pleasantries, help them if they didn't hear the answer, or perhaps fling trash talk. Again, we reach beyond the root social group.

In short: both provide an effectively private space to interact within a greater public space designed for the widest possible audience in order to turn a profit.