Jillian Evans

Period 2

In his TED Talk at TEDxAthens, “Why we need to stop obsessing over World War II”,

Keith Lowe discusses the social repercussions of what he views as society’s continued fixation

on World War II. Lowe begins by introducing himself as a historian of World War II and its

aftermath, then continuing providing multiple examples of how different countries still remain

invested in World War II. He then goes into detail on why he believes this investment is harmful

to the public’s perception of the war and the countries involved; citing the fact that much of this

investment manifests as a means to stir national pride, often ignoring important events and facts

simply because they are not appealing to the public. He ends by stating that this continued

practice of “resurrecting” the Second World War often encourages people to think less critically

about modern day issues. Throughout this TED Talk, Lowe uses multiple rhetorical devices as

well as appropriate delivery and structure to clearly state and support his point that many

countries have an unhealthy perception of World War II.

Firstly, when it comes to rhetorical appeals, Lowe appeals to ethos throughout his

presentation. While this could have been left at simply stating his occupation as a World War II

historian at the beginning of his presentation; he reinforces the idea that he knows what he’s

talking about through clear display of facts relating to the topic. This action primarily appeals to

logos, but it is important to point out that it also serves the role of letting the audience know that

Lowe can be a trusted source for any information he presents. On a heavily related note, Lowe

not only appeals to logos through the aforementioned citation of key facts; but also by presenting

facts that are directly related to the examples he provides throughout his presentation. All facts

contained in this presentation are relevant to it, and all examples that aren’t statistics are shown
clearly for the audience to see. Though much less prominent, it could be argued that some parts

of this presentation also appeal to pathos, mostly due to how inherently emotional the topic is for

the vast majority of people. There are multiple points where Lowe expresses that he understands

why people are so susceptible to twisted narratives when it comes to the Second World War,

even though his talk specifically aims to change that.

Another extremely important part of this TED Talk is the way that Lowe structures it;

which incorporates facts and analysis in a natural way that is easy for the audience to understand.

There are no awkward pauses to introduce new statistics or new examples, or explanations that

feel too long. The presentation flows naturally from point to point. Another important structural

detail is that all of the evidence is introduced in an order that makes sense; starting off with

points that seem slightly less jarring to the audience compared to the content of the rest of the

talk, which deals primarily with analyzing how the unappealing parts of the war are largely

ignored and how media continues to use World War II as a highly emotionally charged way to

generate interest in current political discussions.

In conclusion, Keith Lowe creates a compelling TED Talk presentation through good use

of rhetorical appeals and structural choices. Lowe primarily makes his point through strong

appeals to ethos and logos. His careful use of evidence and examples persuades the audience to

consider his beliefs through evidence they may or may not have considered otherwise; while also

strengthening the idea that he is a credible source and can be trusted on this topic. Structure is

also important to this TED Talk, with Lowe incorporating facts in a natural way that makes them

easy for the audience to understand.