Rhetoric, Inc.

Rhetoric, Inc. volume 1 examines the expansive history of the Ford Motor Company's internal motion picture production. Starting in 1914, the company established a dedicated laboratory to educate workers and promote products, eventually reaching an audience of sixty-four million people by 1961. Timothy Johnson utilizes nearly three hundred hours of archival footage from 1914 to 1954 to trace how this educational initiative transformed into a massive global marketing strategy. This work sits at the intersection of communication studies, film, and economic history.

The text analyzes the visual and narrative techniques used to shape American perceptions of labor, suburbanization, and consumer culture. By studying these films, Johnson explores how corporate messaging influenced production practices and the broader American way of life. As a significant contribution to rhetoric and business history, Rhetoric, Inc. volume 1 documents how imagery helped form the modern corporation. This study provides deep insight into the roles of film and communication within the field of economic history.