From what we have studied through the course, my perception has been shaped to view rhetoric as a sort of aid in communication that helps the speaker successfully express him/herself and achieve his/her goal. For example, if your goal is to convince an audience to buy a brand of soap, then correct and appropriate rhetoric would be used to sell that brand. Essentially, rhetoric [for me] is a tool we, as rhetors, verbally use in order to successfully convince and convey our desired messages.

     The controversy, primarily between Kate del Castillo and the associated press/Mexican government along with Sean Penn and El Chapo, became an international scandal that rushed through the news quickly and continuously. Play-by-plays were shown on news and magazine stories with the 'latest updates' from all angles. In relation to what we have studied through the semester, I think that rhetoric and its strategies -such as The Appeals, Visual Arguments and Foucault's Panopticism- are the main components used in the controversy. All parties used rhetoric and rhetorical strategies in order to convey their perspectives, defend themselves, and to appeal to their audience in order to attract them and get them on their side. 

     By taking a step back and carefully analyzing the steps each of the sides in the scandal took and analyzing them to see why they took each action, it becomes obvious how much rhetoric affects the rhetor's transmission/expression just as equally as the audience's reception and perception. With the associated press for example, inspecting details can reveal just how much media and rhetoric can affect not only how we view a situation as a whole, but how we actually view an individual in particular. It does not only help us shape our perspectives on someone or something, but can even serve as a filter that can break down preconceived notions, shape and even re-shape our views. I believe this to have happened not once, but twice wit Kate del Castillo. She was a national treasure in Mexico, loved by all who watched her novelas. When the original news came out about her and El Chapo, her image was destroyed and public opinion on her was altered and tumbled down. Here, we see how though people loved her,the media rhetorically reshaped the views of the public and turned them against her. Later on after she spoke and defended herself, they kind of shifted their vantage points and became more accepting of del Castillo. As a result, the audience again re-shaped their views and became forgiving and also accepting of their once-loved telenovela heartthrob.