Instagram- Simone BilesSimone Biles became an American sweetheart after sweeping numerous titles and medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She stole the heart of people around the United States and the world with her strong athletic ability and glowing personality. After her Olympic debut, TV shows such as Good Morning America and Dancing With the Stars gave Biles the ability to showcase not only her talent, but her smiley face and giggly personality.
With every rising star, there is an increase in Instagram followers. Two years after the Olympics, Biles now has approximately 3.4 million followers on Instagram, and numerous amounts on other social media platforms. Looking at Simone’s page overall, one can conclude that she is a very happy girl. She has achieved her dreams of winning Olympic gold medals, has a family and friends who love her dearly, and loves to have fun while continuing to train for the 2020 Olympics. Most of her typical posts are able to portray this message. However, on January 15th, 2018, Biles took a stance. Up until her post in early January, Simone was never extremely vocal about current events and issues in the world. She may have posted a picture if something she felt strongly about a current issue brought to the public’s attention, but it would usually stop there. That changed when she decided to make a personal statement about the rising movement #MeToo. In her first post regarding the issue, Biles shares with her followers her personal experiences with Larry Nassar, a child molester, during her Olympic training. Right away, she recognizes the happy image that she has portrayed in the past but then reveals that throughout the years she has struggled internally from the abuse that she has endured. This specific post uses pathos as she shares with her followers her true feelings from the past two years by stating “…I’ve felt a bit broken, and the more I shut off the voice in my head the louder it screams”. These feelings are ones that most victims have similarly felt. She also uses logos by addressing the fact that she is not the only person that Nassar has abused, which shows an obvious problem within the structure of the system for why it has taken several years for such stories to be shared and charges to be pressed. Throughout the following month Simone continued to post about the updates in the sentencing of Larry Nassar. A picture of Judge Janice Cunningham is another example of Simone taking a stance in the #Me Too movement. In her caption, Biles continues to show support for the countless others who have joined the movement and shared their stories. She also states: “He (Nassar) will no longer have the power to steal our happiness and joy”. Simone recognizes that she can no longer allow this instance to bring her down and debilitate her from achieving her future dreams. By acknowledging this, she also reminds people that what has been done should never be forgotten, and Nassar has received the punishment he deserves. Her audience throughout her career has been large from athletes, fans, and other celebrities following her journey. However, in theses specific posts, I believe that her main audience was women, especially around her age, who have experienced similar situations. I also think that by posting multiple times about the sentencing of Larry Nassar, Simone took a stance against a very large and influential structure that she is involved in – USA Gymnastics. Ethos is used as Simone, an Olympic gold medalist, stands with her teammates and countless other individuals to uncover the tactics that USA Gymnastics had used to cover such claims about the trainer that they hired to “protect and heal” their athletes. Through her two powerful posts, and others, Biles has redefined both herself and other survivors.
2 Comments
Caroline Runge
2/7/2018 01:29:10 pm
Margaret, this blog is so well put together. Your introduction, body, and conclusion are so well written and easy to read and follow. Everything flows so well, one thing into the next. It was such an interesting blog to read because Simone Biles is such a popular figure right now. You bring out Ethos, Pathos and Logos all in detail and show case all different sides of Simone's posts. I would love to see more analyzation of the actual captions and their connections to the pictures. You have such a great overall cohesiveness, but more specifics wouldn't hurt. Overall, your blog needs minimal tweaking. This is amazing!
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Marissa Cuevas
2/7/2018 05:47:52 pm
Hey Margaret, I love the celebrity that you chose because she has had so much to say on recent topics and she continues to stay strong at her young age. I was also always rooting for her on Dancing with the Stars. You pin pointed the ethos, pathos, and logos perfectly well in her profile page. We all know it must have been hard for her to keep being active after revealing her personal experiences with Larry Nassar but she stayed strong for her fans. Overall your analysis speaks out perfectly on how Simone portrays herself to her audience.
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