Visual Pathetic Appeal

In my prezi titled “Unarmed but not Unharmed,” I am arguing in support of concealed carry on university campuses. My main claim within the prezi is that without concealed carry laws, universities fall victim to anyone who chooses to bring a gun on campus. I feel the only reason campus shootings are as tragic as they are is because no one could defend themselves with a gun and stop the shooter. Without concealed carry laws, the only people with guns are criminals who chose to break the law.

The first image in my prezi depicts a street sign that prohibits anyone from carrying a weapon on the campus of The University of Arizona. This image provides a nice starting point for my prezi as it works to show that the students and faculty on campus are unarmed. This image also works as pathemata as it displays the vulnerability of the campus to those who want to commit random acts of violence. The young woman walking in the image alone and unarmed demonstrates this vulnerability. The second image in my prezi depicts a gun in a backpack. The image works as evidence to show that shooters have and will continue to go to the lengths necessary to commit a shooting by unlawfully bringing a weapon on campus. The image works as pathemata as it pairs the innocence of the backpack with the danger of the gun. The backpack exhibits innocence as one immediately relates the backpack to a young and harmless student. The bright colors in the image also contribute to a sense of innocence that is contrasted with the darkness of the gun. The third image in my prezi is very startling as it shows an example of a shooter that has gone to the lengths necessary to commit a terrible tragedy. This is Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter responsible for the shooting at Virginia Tech. The pathemata at work in this image is Cho’s threatening pose with two guns along with the anger written all over his face. This pathemata works to show the types of evil and coldhearted individuals our university campuses are susceptible to without concealed carry laws. The fourth image in my prezi really hits home and works as evidence as it depicts The University of Texas massacre in 1966. The image works as pathemata as it depicts smoke coming from Charles Whitman’s rifle at a meaningful location to the students and faculty at UT. Not only are the students and faculty unarmed in this situation, but they were also powerless to Charles Whitman’s skills as a sniper and his range from the tower. The fifth image in my prezi works as evidence as it depicts the shooting at The University of Alabama. The image also works as pathemata as it depicts two innocent victims being taken to the hospital. The sixth image in my prezi works as evidence as it depicts the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech. In addition, the image works as pathemata as the innocent victim is being carried to safety and is bleeding. The seventh image in my prezi is of Colton Tooley, a student who shot off rounds into the air at The University of Texas and killed himself in the library. This image works as pathemata as Colton appears to wave at the camera and looks very frightening in his mask and suit. The last image in my prezi acts as a conclusion. Numerous things have been done in memory of those innocent individuals who have lost their lives in unnecessary tragedies like these. The image works to leave the viewer in a mournful state.

The specific emotions I’m trying to provoke in my audience are fear, shock, and sadness. I appeal to these emotions strictly through the images in my prezi along with the title. I also want my audience to change their attitude toward concealed carry laws on campuses. The interpretation that connects the audience’s emotions to this attitude is that prohibition of weapons on campuses is not preventing these random acts of violence from happening. Therefore, the audience should then support concealed carry laws in order to better protect students and faculty.

View my prezi here: http://prezi.com/a6de51mdswqx/unarmed-but-not-unharmed/

Photo Credits

Bates, Gordon. Street Sign. http://wildcat.arizona.edu/news/public-debates-guns-on-campus-1.1121002. 31 Mar. 2011.

Campbell, Matthew. Lights. http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/7092846.html. 31 Mar. 2011.

Cho. http://netwmd.com/blog/categories/virginia-tech-shooting. 31 Mar. 2011.

Conn, Robin. University of Alabama Shooting. http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2010/feb/13/. 31 Mar. 2011.

Gun. http://collegecandy.com/2011/02/23/university-of-texas-student-speaks-out-against-allowing-guns-on-campus/. 31 Mar. 2011.

Ohio State University Shooting. http://pinoytutorial.com/lifebytes/ohio-state-university-campus-shooting/. 31 Mar. 2011.

Tower. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30075905/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/. 31 Mar. 2011.

The University of Texas. PCL. http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2010/10/14/utpd_offers_additional_details.html. 31 Mar. 2011.

Brennan, Ch 5-7

These chapters were very interesting to read. However, there were a couple points in chapter five that really caught my attention. On page 105, Brennan says “The twentieth century conclusion that the difference between good and bad is no more than the difference between ‘I like it’ and ‘I don’t like it’ follows logically from a situation in which human action has been explained in terms of a succession of passions and passionate judgment mediated by more or less deliberation. In these deliberations the guiding principle is self-interest.” I disagree with this discussion as I don’t feel that the difference between good and bad is no more than the difference between “I like it” and “I don’t like it.” There is also the difference between right and wrong which must be considered here. For example, someone can like something that is wrong but this doesn’t make it good.

On page 115, Brennan says “The decline of the generation is understood in relation to what he calls the ‘defining moment of Sinai,’ when those in touch with the direct revelations of Moses understood them through the heart as well as sight and sound.” Brennan goes on to say “In Abramson’s terms, as we move further and further away from the defining moment of Sinai, our hearts have become more and more 'sealed' – and less and less 'communicative' – to apprehending the affect which others transmit to us.” I thought this discussion was interesting as, personally, I feel that my heart is very sealed. It makes sense to think that people who were in touch with the direct revelations of Moses had more open hearts and minds than people today. They were much closer to Jesus than we could ever hope to be.

Brennan, Ch 1-2

I find the subject of the transmission of emotions to be very interesting. On page six, Brennan discusses projected feelings and the different possible energetic dimensions of these feelings. She states “the more cognitive emotions may appear relatively bloodless, precisely because they are projected outward. Via a forceful projection, they may be felt and taken on board by the other, depending on circumstances.” Brennan goes on to say “[emotions] enhance when they are projected outward, when one is relieved of them; in popular parlance, this is called ‘dumping.’ Frequently, affects deplete when they are introjected, when one carries the affective burden of another, either by a straightforward transfer or because the other’s anger becomes your depression.”

I’m sure we have all experienced these occurrences for ourselves on many occasions. Personally, I have carried “the affective burden of another” due to a straightforward transfer. On this occasion, a friend started texting me about his feelings towards a recent break up. I was in a relatively good mood before we started texting. As we continued to text, his feelings gradually began to depress me. I even got to the point where I felt I had to say something in order to stop this emotional downward spiral for both of us. In the end, however, I can’t blame him for this as I often find it difficult to keep my anger and sadness to myself most of the time.

Revision of Visual Analysis

Note: In order to improve my visual analysis, I have added more explanatory information about the ad. I have also explained what the ad asks viewers to believe in order to better tie the affect to the desired behavior. Finally, I have improved my explanation regarding how the ad appeals to Aristotle's analysis of the young. Within this paragraph, I have also added more information.

This ad is about the dangers of texting and driving. The ad was created by a company called Vodafone, one of the world’s largest mobile communications companies. I found this ad online at www.adsoftheworld.com, an advertising archive and community. Given the context of the ad, the intended audience includes teenagers and young adults as well as their parents. The ad appeals to a younger generation as it utilizes commonly used abbreviations among youth today. The ad also appeals to their parents as the text at the bottom right encourages the audience to “make sure you and your teenagers stay safe on the road.” In addition, ads like this one always attract the attention of parents, who are constantly worrying about the dangers out in the world that their children are exposed to on a daily basis. The text “to find out more go to vodafone.co.nz/driving” at the bottom right also reveals that the ad is from New Zealand. In New Zealand, drivers drive on the left side of the road. This is why the texting begins in the left lane.

This ad provokes fear as the primary emotion, nervousness and disappointment as secondary emotions, and alarm, anxiety, uneasiness, and worry as tertiary emotions. Primarily, these emotions are provoked by the words. Each word has its own shadow, giving each word its own physical form and showing that each word carries its own danger along with it when typed by the driver. Each word with its own physical form gradually leads the viewer into the wrong lane and eventually to the accident at the power line pole. This progression catches the viewer’s attention and adds suspense. These emotions are also provoked by the trivial nature of the text message itself. Telling a friend that you have been invited to a party isn’t worth having an accident. Finally, the absence of people, cars, and the accident makes the viewer focus completely on the words as the driver would have done in this situation. This provokes the emotions listed as it recreates the immense distraction of texting for the viewer and, consequently, brings the viewer into the experience. The absence also makes the viewer think “what if?” Since the ad works, the exclusion of pedestrians and the accident at the power line pole or a collision with another car that could have raised the pathetic appeal of this ad demonstrates that the issue itself is powerful enough to stand on its own.

The ad is mainly aiming to educate the public about the issue of texting and driving. However, the ad also inspires people to change their behavior if they text and drive and inspires parents to talk to their children if they are drivers. In addition, the ad asks viewers to believe that texting and driving leads to accidents. No one would want to get into an accident and endanger the lives of innocent people. Therefore, the ad will cause viewers to change their behavior if they text and drive or talk to loved ones since they don’t want that to happen to them or their loved ones. Through this ad, viewers see the severity of the issue of texting and driving and that the importance of safety immensely outweighs any text message.

The ad does appeal to some of the stereotypes Aristotle describes in his analysis of the young. Aristotle states in chapter twelve of Rhetoric that “[the young’s] hot tempers and hopeful dispositions make them more courageous than older men are; the hot temper prevents fear, and the hopeful disposition creates confidence.” This analysis is appealed to by the ad as teenagers have hopeful dispositions when they text and drive. These hopeful dispositions make them confident in their abilities and courageous enough to multi-task while driving. They often think that nothing like what is depicted within this ad will ever happen to them. The “expectation of good makes [them] confident.” As I thought of my own stereotypical characteristics of the young, I thought of carelessness. Aristotle does not mention anything about carelessness in Rhetoric, but this characteristic is clearly cautioned against by this ad. Teenagers are often careless when they drive as they always think they have a good handle on their driving situation. There are also ideas and symbols within the ad that resonate with certain segments of the population in a particular way. For example, the commonly used abbreviations resonate with the younger generation who uses them when they chat online or via text messages. The ideas of safety and possible danger on the road resonate with parents as these ideas are very significant to them.

Texting and driving can be just as dangerous as drinking and driving. Therefore, the pathetic appeal of this ad is necessary in order to impact those who do text and drive.

Written Pathetic Appeal

In my written pathetic appeal, I am trying to change my audience's attitude towards magazines retouching images through the use of Photoshop. An outrageously large majority of images in magazines have been retouched but, yet, it seems as though this fact does not penetrate the minds of society. As a result, retouched images are negatively affecting society's health, self-esteem, self-consciousness, and body satisfaction. The pathetic appeals within my written pathetic appeal include questions, my own emotions and feelings, and a fictional but plausible situation involving a young girl. With these appeals, I aim to evoke outrage and disgust in my audience. The interpretation that connects these emotions to a change in attitude is that magazines are deceiving and influencing society by retouching every image through the use of Photoshop.

View my written pathetic appeal here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HYivUWfj8BmU35uzXRAu2kPu39xin18wKDE8uekL0Bk/edit?hl=en&authkey=CPSDn58K