Rhetorical Analysis on "The Culture of Thin Bites Fiji"

Goodman (in Lunsford et al. 2008) on her piece “The Culture of Thin Bites Fiji” explains about a culture one-eighty degree turn which occurred in Fiji. As she explains, before 1995 in Fiji, the culture believed big meant beautiful; the reverse image of the American culture. As American television entered their lives after 1995, the belief turned into an opposite, fat is repulsive. Goodman’s argument is the western culture corrupted the Fijian culture and made “going thin” not a social disease but a necessity.
Goodman presents the argument by describing before and after of Fiji’s culture values, providing facts and uses logic to persuade readers. Before television entered their lives, the women would flatter each other with remarks of weight gain. Eating was a cultural thing, a symbol of hospitality. Now the after, the statistics say it all. Goodman shows evidence with statistics that within 38 months of the arrival of American television, percentage of eating disorders among teenagers doubled to 29 percent, bulimics went up to 15 percent, and 74 percent of girls said they felt too fat.
With the girls watching popular American shows, they are constantly seeing the same generic image among the actors; young, good-looking, and thin. When they see they are not in the category of that generic image, they gradually see themselves as repulsive. This is becoming more common around the world that Goodman says it is not a social disease among people anymore, but a perceived requirement to be successful by their own means. Her style of presenting the argument makes readers open their eyes for the reality of these facts is harsh.
The purpose of Goodman’s argument is to persuade readers to be more vigilant about what is happening with girls now before it gets out of hand. She uses the example of Columbine massacre as an emotional reinforcement to her argument. Before Columbine, violence in schools was not a big deal until it got out of control, hence Columbine. Action wasn’t taken until it was too late. Action needs to be taken in order to protect the girls falling victim to eating disorders.
I believe that not only women are affected by the media image, but men and the actors as well. The percentage of eating disorders among men is not as high as the women, but men suffer too. And I believe the actors are so thin because of the pressure they feel with all eyes on them. Some may keep their weight in control but some end up struggling like Mary-Kate Olsen and Karen Carpenter for example. Mary-Kate, a famous child actor, felt the pressure to be pretty since childhood. After she turned eighteen, she entered rehab to treat her eating disorder that developed over time. Karen Carpenter was a singer, she gradually lost weight then eventually it turned fatal before anyone could help. The media is one big chain reaction that can affect anyone involved.