The Armstrong Lie - A research into the rhetorical construction of a tempered perspective on the Armstrong scandal

Abstract

This thesis researches THE ARMSTRONG LIE – a documentary concerned with Lance Armstrong, a former professional cyclist who had lied in the past to millions of fans to cover up his use of performance enhancing drugs during the Tour de France. The thesis will research into the question: ‘Which perspective does the documentary THE ARMSTRONG LIE give on the Lance Armstrong scandal and how is this perspective constructed?’ This question arose after watching the documentary myself. My perception is that Lance Armstrong came out of the documentary in a more positive light, whereas THE ARMSTRONG LIE is aimed at Lance’s misbehavior in the past. To be able to analyze which perspective is conveyed on the Armstrong scandal I based my analysis on the theory of Bill Nichols, an expert and key player in the field of documentaries. The theorist claims that the voice of a documentary involves not only the representation of an historical world, but also how a filmmaker wants to speak about it through the use of rhetorical strategies like editing, music or voice-overs. Based on this theory, and by applying three of Nichols described departments, (Invention, Arrangement and Style) it will be possible to answer the main question at hand, to reveal the documentary’s true intentions towards the Armstrong scandal. Further, the theory put forward by Garry Whannel about the representation of sport stars in the media, will help me to identify if heroic or positive stages of Lance’s life, like positive accomplishments or the overcoming of hardships, are highlighted to encourage a more positive view of Lance Armstrong, which could justify Lance’s misbehavior in the past. The analysis ultimately shows that THE ARMSTRONG LIE creates the perspective that even though Lance Armstrong had cheated in the past, the scandal should be viewed in context without rushing to conclusions. The filmmaker Alex Gibney applies several rhetorical strategies to do so and to convince the audience of the perspective that the Armstrong scandal wasn’t as bad as it seemed. This was shown through the perspective that in context, cyclists need to dope to be able to keep up with others, which is known as being common within the cycling world. Rhetorical strategies did not only seem to play an important role in the construction of this perspective, but the emphasis on positive aspects of Lance’s career seemed to have a big influence in how a more positive perspective towards Lance was created.