Popular Culture Review 29.1 (Spring 2018) | Page 38

We hold these Truths to be self-evident , that all Men [ sic ] are created equal , that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights , that among these are Life , Liberty , and the Pursuit of Happiness ….
Just as Sylvanas ’ uncontested terms focus on the right to racial survival , so Clinton ’ s ( as those found in the Declaration of Independence ) are grounded in the notion of the inalienable right of all sentient beings to certain conditions of flourishing . Both women ’ s positions emphasize the rights of victims and oppressed minorities while the men ’ s position emphasize the authority of the victors , including , in many ways , their freedom to oppress with impunity ( including , in the case of Trump , the freedom to “ grab ’ em by the pussy ”). Nonetheless , despite these ideological differences , what Weaver ’ s analysis shows is that the actions and beliefs of these four very different characters , two real and two imaginary , two men and two women , are nonetheless grounded in the same mechanisms of uncontested god and devil terms setting the grounds of debate and differences in uncontested terms precluding rational debate or even effective communication between opposing viewpoints .
Forsaken Leader : The Narrative of Sylvanas Windrunner
The Lady Sylvanas Windrunner has a central position in WoW lore , beginning life as the High Elf Ranger-General , valiantly leading the defense of Silvermoon city from the evil undead Scourge , being captured , enslaved , and turned into an undead “ banshee ” by Arthas , the evil leader of the Scourge , and eventually breaking free of Arthas ’ influence to become the leader of the Forsaken , a group of outcast undead hated by the Scourge for their rebellion against Arthas and by everyone else for being undead . In breaking free of the Scourge , Sylvanas exhorts her fellow freed undead :
“ The Lich King falters . Your will is your own . Are you to be outcasts now in your own land ? Or do we embrace the cruel cards fate has dealt us and retake our place in this world ?”
This places Lady Sylvanas within a postcolonial rhetorical situation with respect to her construction of authority . As a female rape survivor and leader of a formerly subjugated race once widely despised and feared , she faces the issue of how to move herself and her community from victimhood to independence . Several aspects of Sylvanas ’ story are rhetorically significant . First , she exemplifies an immediately recognizable personification of the “ rape and revenge ” trope , with her hatred of the Scourge and
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