What Is Rhetorical Velocity?

Rhetorical theorist Jim Ridolfo, whose work focuses on the intersection between digital media and rhetorical theory, describes rhetorical velocity as a way of thinking about composition in the context of how it will be delivered, and strategizing how and why a text—or any mode of composition—might be recomposed by a third party, be it in print or digitally. In Ridolfo and DeVoss’s web article  “Composing for Recomposition: Rhetorical Velocity and Delivery,” they describe the rhetorical velocity as a “conscious rhetorical concern for distance, travel, speed, and time, pertaining specifically to theorizing instances of strategic appropriation,” which can be difficult when you consider how easily information can be recomposed in the digital age (DeVoss). Even in strictly print media a picture can be cropped or a quote can be taken out of context, which instantly redefines the composition. The information then can spread to people who have no knowledge of the previous composition, taking the third party’s information as fact. If you look at the diagram on the right, you can see how you might consider certain variables when you compose, such as what medium might it be shared in, in order to anticipate the evolution the reception of your work—whether it will be seen as positive, neutral, or negative (Figure 4, DeVoss). 

 

Rhetorical velocity also refers to the speed at which information can be recomposed and spread once the content has been released.  When considering the concept rhetorical velocity as it applies to digital media, the speed at which a piece of media can be recomposed and spread by a third party can be seemingly instantaneous—and utterly out of the original creators control. In this way, it is easy to see how meme theory can be examined through a rhetorical scope. Although, it may be seem like a controversial subject to consider how such a seemingly nonsensical image might have cultural and rhetorical importance which can cause socio-political impact, as I will show using the "Pepe the Frog" meme as an example. 

 

Consider each idea, or meme, as a composition of a rhetorical idea.  One morning you text your composition—a selfie, for example—to a friend, who posts it on the internet, where it is altered with a mean caption and spread through social media, and the next morning its on your twitter feed. You, the creator, are a now a part of a large internet-based culture, reluctant or not. People like actor Jerry Messing, who's face has become one of the most popular memes of the decade, have spoken out about being emotionally and economically affected by this process (Esposito). Your rhetorical idea--even if you considered it private--you have shared has been altered from its original context, spread at an exponential rate through that culture, and evolved past your ability to recompose the piece or reclaim your image in any way. Your image has become a meme, in both definitions of the term, and one with a negative outcome. DeVoss and Ridolfo give the example of the popular 2007 video meme "Chocolate Rain"sung by Tay Zonday and its variations as an example of this type of rhetorical transformation. As you can see in Figures 5 and 6 on the right, the original context of the composition is that of a political and racial commentary, while the third party transformations of the content strip the song of its context and put it in a more humorous, nonsensical mood. As you can see in Figure 8, however, in 2017 Tay Zonday recreated his original video with better production value for its 10 year anniversary and the tone is much more serious, causing you to focus on the lyrics rather than the singers movement-- in this way, Zonday was able to reclaim some of the original motive behind his performance.  

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 Unlike the Chocolate Rain meme, however, sometimes memes can become famous for the wrong reasons, and the worse the public association behind an image, the harder it is to recompose its original meaning. In the case of this essay, I will be using the "Pepe the Frog" to illustrate how meme theory and rhetorical velocity can be analyzed in the context of an internet meme, and how difficult, if not impossible, the process of reclamation of the original meaning of the image can be.