PSA Analysis Paragraph- Donald Chan 8F
Advocates for gun sense and gun control, Non-governmental organization(NGO) Moms Demand Action’s public service announcement(PSA) presents the idea that we should control the usage of guns and be sensible with the usage of guns. Specifically, this PSA specifically focuses on the exposure of gun violence to young children in America, and want to prevent this matter. Moms Demand Action persuades a wide-ranging demographic through the use of meticulous rhetorical devices such as characterization, mood, setting, shock value, juxtaposition, and ethos. Within this PSA, Moms Demand Action has effectively used characterization. The focal point of this PSA is two children sitting down in a library, presumably
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at school. The organization characterized the children to be innocent, to create an emotional impact on the audience. The children, both look innocent with the closed lips and big eyes; they are both looking directly at the camera, which arises an upsetting mood of the audience, making them feel upset and shocked because such a young girl could bear arms legally while the book is banned.
The combination of both the characterization of the children and setting strengthens the innocence of the children, therefore, making the audience feel shocked and upset. Accompanying the characterization, Moms Demand Action also used juxtaposition within this PSA. The PSA contrasted a book and a gun, one African-American girl is holding the “Little Red Riding Hood” book while an American girl is holding a rifle. This text persuades with ethos, questioning the audience’s morals, and bringing up the thought of how it’s legal for a child to bear arms, but the book “Little Red Riding Hood” is banned just because of a direct reference to alcohol. This brings out a reality, where it doesn’t seem to be ethical, a reality where a child could legally bear arms due to the absurd laws of gun control and violence in the US, a shocking reality which Moms Demand Action wants the audience to change. Although one might claim that a young girl won’t carry a rifle a school and the PSA is too overly exaggerated, however, in this case, the young girl carrying a rifle seems to fit into the context as with the current gun control issue, this could be possible. The girl carrying the rifle strongly persuades the audience with ethos, as it somewhat hints that the audience
could prevent this unscrupulous situation. Personally, the PSA is deeply powerful in the minds of the audience, including me. Creating a repulsive image in their minds that calls them to action and promotes change, due to the variety of rhetorical strategies used within this PSA.
In his article “Our Blind Spot about Guns,” Nicholas Kristof argues for making guns safer for the people who use them by bringing up the comparison of guns to cars; “Cars don’t kill people. People kill people,” (261). Kristof’s purpose is to address the fact that guns are not as safe as they should be and are the cause of thousands of deaths each year. Although his ideas for increasing gun safety are interesting, there is a shortcoming in the comparisons he used. In order to make a stronger argument, one must use literary devices. In this case, Kristof used ethos, pathos, logos, and additional rhetorical devices.
A fresh recruit to a discarded system is Mr. Jaime Escalante. In the film, Stand and Deliver, he had to adapt in his environment in James A. Garfield High School when, without prior notice, he was assigned to teach Mathematics instead of Computer. Quickly, as he set foot in the classroom, he had, most probably, a better discernment in human behavior. The reality of the high school he was employed in, he understood and tried to completely remove the universal gap between a traditional teacher and a disregarded student.
In the passionate article, “The Digital Parent Trap” by the renowned Eliana Dockterman, the author convincingly portrays that there are benefits to early exposure to technology and that this viewpoint needs to be more pervasive or else there would be a severe problem with broad consequences. The author effectively and concisely builds the argument by using a variety of persuasive and argumentative rhetorical techniques including but not limited to the usage of ethos, evidence, and pathos.
“All machines have their friction―and possibly this does enough good to counterbalance the evil… But when the friction comes to have its machine… I say, let us not have such a machine any longer” (Thoreau 8). In Henry David Thoreau’s essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” the author compares government to a machine, and its friction to inequity. He believes that when injustice overcomes a nation, it is time for that nation’s government to end. Thoreau is ashamed of his government, and says that civil disobedience can fight the system that is bringing his country down. Alas, his philosophy is defective: he does not identify the benefits of organized government, and fails to recognize the danger of a country without it. When looked into, Thoreau’s contempt for the government does not justify his argument against organized democracy.
In the cases of school shootings that took place at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary, Virginia Tech University and Northern Illinois University, the media highly publicized the fact that the perpetrators were avid video gamers, but why is this important? The media want’s your attention and they are more than willing to say almost anything to get it. They reported that the perpetrators were avid gamers with the implication that there is a well establish connection between the two when there is not. They exploit the fear of parents and concerned citizens by not including relevant corresponding information in order to leave you more interested lea...
Being a servant to your baby,copying your child’s emotions,or taking your baby’s food, pretty normal right?Not, that was verbal irony, which Mark Twain’s “Speech On the Babies” and “Me Time” by Tina Fey both have through the use sarcastic situations, humorous scenarios, and over exaggerating things that come with being a parent.
Violent Media is Good for Kids, by Gerard Jones, is an article which makes many claims to support the argument in which a controlled amount of violence could be beneficial for a young, developing child. Even though the topic of this article can be controversial, the claims serve to support the argument in many noteworthy ways. It is written in such a way that it tells a story, starting when the author was a child and works its way to his adulthood. In this case the author uses, what I believe to be just the correct amount of each rhetorical strategy, and fulfills his goal for writing the article. This argument is interesting and at the same time, effective. Throughout the analyzing process logos, ethos, and pathos are searched for and scrutinized.
Guns do protect us, but they can also be very dangerous to us if used improperly, for instants when a teenage boy went to school and shot one of his classmates looking for revenge against a librarian. Books on the other hand aren’t as dangerous to us, but they can put thoughts in children’s heads if the book is very graphic. There is no need to h...
“It takes someone strong to make someone strong.” The Procter and Gamble Company, better known as P&G, proves just that in one of their most recent commercials, “Thank You, Mom”. P&G manufactures household, personal, and laundry cleaning products all over the world. With that being said, nearly 100 days before the 2016 Olympic games in Rio, P&G released yet another heartwarming commercial thanking moms for all they do. In this commercial, P&G uses, pathos, tone in music, and ethos to capture their audience’s attention and effectively promote their brand.
Within Hon. Shirley Chisholm’s well known speech, Equal Rights for Women, which she presented on May 21, 1969, she discusses in detail the ideology of woman’s rights before the United States House of Representatives. She touches base on her own experience with discrimination, how society has prejudice against women, and introduces the Equal rights act, in which she states “that has been before every Congress for the last 40 years and that sooner or later must become part of the basic law of the land.” With her speech, Hon. Shirley Chisholm makes a substantial argument about women’s rights. With her use of anecdotes, counter arguments, and statistics, her speech obtains great value.
...ssibly help more than harm. Experience has taught me that when a child walks in fear of expressing their feelings they bottle up all of their emotions; simply because they’re afraid of the consequences. Teaching children to appropriately use and appreciate violent media will help them build confidence, “power, and selfhood.” (Jones 287) He successfully executes the use of rhetorical methods and offers solutions to the opposing viewpoint. Jones’ consistent use logical and emotional appeal entices the reader and effectively persuades; this clearly substantiates his deserving of the top persuasiveness prize.
When creating a comparative rhetorical analysis of two different feminist essays, we must first define the term “feminism”. According to Merriam-Webster.com, feminism is “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities”. Feminism is a also a long term social movement, one that’s been in the works since the early 1900’s. However, as any challenger to the norm might receive, the words ‘feminism’ and ‘feminist’ have gotten a bad reputation. Throughout the years, popular opinion has agreed that if you’re a feminist, you hate men, and don’t shave. It’s a very close-minded belief, and both Lindy West and Roxane Gay agree. Both authors of the essays I am comparing today, West and Gay try and convey their beliefs that feminism isn’t what you think it is. However, they do it in very different ways. Who conveyed their beliefs of feminism better and the superior argument? That is what I am going to display today.
Family environment and the press are two major influences resulting in the recent tragic school shootings. As much as society continues to focus the killing rampages on factors such as television and music, what children are exposed to in reality contributes to the violence. The most recent school shooting in Michigan involved a six-year-old first grader who killed a classmate with a .22 caliber pistol. The news coverage had vanished after two or three days, and I was left wondering what had happened. Considering the fact that the media wore the Columbine incident out, I wanted to know why they did not pay more attention to this school shooting. As evidence did arrive, it was discovered that the child lived in a household where cocaine, heroin, and many other illegal drugs were commonplace. Also in this “home” guns were easily accessible to the child. Children growing up in this type of environment certainly are likely to be held accountable for future violence. Even though I am against the news media presenting too much school violence, Americans should have been deeply disturbed by this shooting because of the child’s young age. The Michigan shooting should have enlightened Americans to the dilemma we face in this country. Two weeks after the Columbine High School shooting, information on the mass murder was still being broadcast on television. The press was feeding young viewers ideas on how to kill their classmates. News was reported how the teenage murderers acquired information regarding building bombs, obtaining guns, smuggling guns into the school, and proceeding to kill their classmates. A mentally unstable teenager could simply watch these news reports and write a book entitled, “How to Slay Your Classmates”. This onslaught was ridiculous and the news coverage should not have been permitted to continue for countless weeks. Society has determined three reasons on which to blame the shootings. First, the nation blamed it on television’s violent programs. Following that, Americans gave the music recording companies the evil eye as well as attacking the gun manufacturers. All of these reasons involve material objects that are unable to think for themselves. Televisions and CD players do not control themselves, people control them. Finally, boundaries controlling the television programs children view should be set by the parents. The same explanation applies to firearms. How can it be a gun’s fault that a person killed another human being?
Jones, Gerard. "Violent Media Is Good for Kids." Mother Jones. 27 June 2000. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. Rpt. In Current Issues and Enduring Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking and Argument, with Readings. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 195-99. Print.
the protest poster 'Moms demand action for gun sense in America' is a convincing poster that communicates that mothers of America want gun control to make life safer for children. Gun control in America is a significant problem with over 1300 child deaths per year. This poster aims to make the viewer feel shocked, disgusted. It displays the complete madness of worrying about the possibility of a child choking on a toy which they could just put a choking warning on and it already has an age limit on it. The gun, on the other hand, is obviously a much bigger problem and has no age restrictions placed on it. Both children have almost identical expressions as if to symbolize that both items are powerful weapons.