Dave Barry mocks the over glorified profession of music and dance in his satirical article, “Bang the Tupperware Slowly”. Barry uses contrasting tones, satire, and similes to subtly encourage his readers to understand that music is not a career to be impressed by. His blunt usage of these rhetorical strategies creates a sense of pathos that is not obvious at first. Barry merely hints and alludes, through his humorously sarcastic tones, that a musical career is not one to be proud of.
A tone of importance and suspense is created when Barry regally recounts his short lived Tupperware fame. At the Tupperware party where Barry’s song was originally unveiled “the song was a large hit,” though “after the party it pretty much languished”. As Barry is describing the unfortunate fact that his Tupperware song was a “one hit wonder,” he creates a tone that is far too serious for the occasion. By creating such a tone, Barry is able to show his audience what a joke he considers musicians to be. However, Barry does this in an inoffensive manner by creating a humorous atmosphere through his stark contrast in the serious tone of a not-so-serious situation. When Barry and his band arrived at the “Tupperware convention center [they] became a tad nervous” for several reasons: many more people were in the audience than they had thought there would be, and they had never practiced as a band together, because they were too busy “deciding that [their] band outfits should include sunglasses.” Barry once again creates a tone that does not match the situation at hand in an effort to describe the mediocrity of the music industry. By creating this contrast of tone he points out that too many artists today sacrifice their music for their image. He also depicts the music profession as an easy endeavor that does not require skill or practice or rhythm.
Regardless of what article Barry is writing, his main rhetorical strategy is always his use of sarcasm to degrade the ways of society in some form or fashion. Barry says that “[he] chose the members [of his band] very carefully”, however, Barry goes on to say that the members were chosen based on “their ability to correctly answer the following question: Do you want to go to Orlando at your own expense and perform before Tupperware distributors?” This sentence alone shows just how sarcastic Barry is in his writing. He chooses his band members based on their loose wallets and not their ability, thus casting even more doubt on the issue of the legitimacy of the music industry. Barry mainly achieves this sense of illegitimacy through his sarcastic wit. As the “Urban Professionals [get] off the stage” Barry feels that their heads are already inflating and “that unless [they] hold their egos in check, keep this thing in perspective, we could start having the kind of internal conflicts that broke up the Beatles, another very good band.” By saying that the same type of internal conflicts are beginning to occur in Barry’s Tupperware band that broke up the Beatle’s, Barry is using sarcasm to belittle the dramatics of a very famous and successful band. Barry is also using sarcasm to undermine the talent of the Beatles by calling them a “good band” and putting his own band in the same category as the Beatles.
Similes are also a main staple of Barry’s subtle argument that the musical profession is a profession that has been made a sacred cow. Barry doesn’t just degrade the musical profession; he also degrades the dance profession by comparing Lou, one of the “dancers” in Barry’s band, to a “Krispy Kreme jelly doughnut”. By calling Lou, an overweight, middle-aged man, a dancer, Barry once again mocks an occupation that is overvalued by our society. True dancers spend hours and hours practicing their techniques and timing, but Barry effectively undermines these efforts with one stroke of his pen. Barry also compares Lou and Tom, the other “dancer” in his band, to the “The Temptations” as they “[wave] their Tupperware products in what they presumably thought was unison.” The Temptations are a highly respected and well known singing group that broke through many barriers in their time through much hard work and dedication. By comparing two uncoordinated goofballs like Lou and Tom to such a successful group, Barry cannot claim that he is doing anything but ridiculing the music profession.
Barry has a definitive style in all of his writings and this article is no exception. Through a fluid use of contrasting tones, sarcasm, and similes Barry belittles the careers of musicians and dancers. Not only does Barry successfully claim, in a humorous manner, that the music industry is something to be mocked, he also questions the integrity of society. Society is responsible for the over glorification of these careers and professions, therefore it is society’s ignorance that has led to such a meaningless past time becoming as idolized as the music industry has become.
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