Forms of appeal

The main forms of appeal that America Ferrera uses in her talk “My identity is a superpower – not an obstacle” are ethos and pathos. Ferrera uses her experience as an actress and also appeals to the audience’s emotions to highlight the need for accurate and diverse representation in film.

Ethos 

Ferrera appeals to ethos by mentioning two of her most famous roles, that of Ana in Real Women Have Curves, and Betty Suarez in Ugly Betty. She first talks of the impact that Real Women Have Curves had over the audience: “In spite of what I had been told my whole life, I saw firsthand that people actually did want to see stories about people like me” (ll. 48-49). This reference makes her knowledgeable on the topic of the talk. It also shows that her acting has helped people understand that similar stories need to appear on television.

Furthermore, she shows that she is a skilled actress when she mentions that her role in Ugly Betty has won her an Emmy: “It’s been 12 years since I became the fir...