Chasing Ice Summary

Melting glaciers: sign of climate change The documentary Chasing Ice utilizes high techniques of photography with personal experience to persuade the audience to consider the reality of climate change. Targeting skeptics who may not realize or believe the significance of climate change and has opposite opinion with this issue. This movie moves viewers to feel the tension and seriousness of climate change by using low tones of voices and fast tempo music. The film is written by Mark Monre, who wrote about the effects of climate change that were publicized by National Geographic photographer Jame Balog and his Extreme Ice Survey. Monre uses various strategies to provide the impactful photos as evidence that audiences are able to recognize, and

In the beginning of the film, the music is very fast tempo and using string music instrument to make the situation tenser and the faster temp and lower voice increase and build up the climax situation. This strategy leads the viewer to feel a sense of seriousness and guilt. In the end of the film, the music called “Before My Time” composed by J. Ralph, this music become much slower than before, and it fit into the images of picturesque environment and appeals to the viewer’s emotion such as sadness and sorrow. Moreover, the song lyrics are pathetically touching, it says “If should run ten thousand mile home Would you be there?.” This is because the viewer may feel regretful that people are a main factor to the climate change and did not take responsibility to protect the beautiful environment. This strategies may enhance to appeal the pathos and build a credibility of this whole

The visual in the film make strong appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos. He uses photos to compare the before and after, six months later in the same position of angles when he noticed a huge and enormous glacier has disappeared. This evidence evokes viewers’ curiosity and credibility, the audience may be terrified and shocked with these two pictures and some audiences may not trust the photography because so many techniques are developed. Through Monre’s visual strategy persuades audience to consider and relate to the issue of climate change. Another example of this method is in Balog’s presentation; he uses time-lapsed photos to show how glaciers were melting down faster than what people expected and he marked the date of year and number of miles under the photos. This photo may appear logical to viewers because they are able to see the big changes by time passing and it also can be logical evidence rather than the first example. He is also using different angles of time lapsed photo to support the evidence that those who are not believe climate change is not happening and suspicious about the technique of photography. Monre implements the rhetorical strategy of image to appeal to pathos, using different angles to develop credibility, and the specific date to show the image as remarkable