Interpreting the "Brand Malala"

From a social perspective, the blog post "Brand Malala": Western Exploitation of a Schoolgirl shows some of western society’s double standards in action. For example, Taliban terrorism and US state terrorism are not viewed as equally terrible actions, although both are still ‘terrorism.’ The media reports the former to “propel the ‘good west versus bad east’ narrative” and reports the later as “collateral damage” (Grayson 594).

The author shows her emotional viewpoint through the skeptical and condescending tone she presents the text in. She quotes words such as “alliance” and “rescuing” (Grayson 594) to show she is unconvinced of the truth these words should present. Grayson also continually uses business lingo such as “commodification” and “consumption” (595) when describing Malala’s situation to further her point that Malala is being exploited as an object of profit.

In relation to rhetoric, the author presents her argumentative speech in a personal opinionated manner. As the text is written to post on a blog it is written more informally and more biased than a newspaper article would be on the same subject. Many of Grayson’s statements are opinions, ranging from “I am not even sure” (594) to “I doubt” (593) and “I would think” (598).  She also asks the readers rhetorical questions instead of providing the answers to these questions, letting the readers connect to the text more personally.

            Grayson’s logical process in this text tends to be inductive rather than deductive. The argument that Malala is being exploited and used as a distraction from other women is proven with assumptions. For example, the author induces that Malala is being marketed for exploitation from the fact that she is managed by a PR company (Grayson 596). In addition, Grayson infers what Malala wants (598), even though she has never met nor quoted anything Malala has said.

            Ethically the text maintains that it is wrong for society and politicians to take up one case of “injustice” and ignore the rest. The author calls upon the responsibility of society to treat all victims of what she sees as injustice fairly, whether they are victims of drone strikes or inequality towards women. In addition, Grayson also feels it is society’s responsibility to denounce the use of violence, and in the text states, “All violence must be condemned” (594).

                               

Works Cited

Grayson, Carol Anne. ""Brand Malala": Western Exploitation of a Schoolgirl." Shifting Narratives: A Reader for Academic Writing. 1^st Ed. Sinno, Z. S., Bioghlu-Karkanawi, L., Fleszar, D., Jarkas, N., Moughabghab, E., Nish, J. M., . . . Ward, A. Beirut: Educart, 2015. 593-598. Print.