Abstract

The study of rhetoric is a complicated discipline with a long history. As a representative of new rhetoric, Kenneth Burke develops the rhetoric from the persuasion to identification and other points of view. Identification is concerned with the functions of language in identification, persuasion and inducement of emotions, values and actions. This paper aims to explore Burke’s theory of identification and its three basic ways of identification and its successful application in the sci-fi movie Avatar. As an important form of persuasion, movie is also rhetoric which makes it possible for the audience to accept its values, emotions, attitudes, etc, thus the identification among the characters themselves and the identification among the directors, characters and its audience could be achieved. Through analyzing how these three basic ways of identification are applied in the movie, the author concludes that they play an important role in persuading the audience and contribute a lot to the wide appeal of the movie.

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