Rhetorical Analysis of the Homless Veteran Time-Lapse

Degage Ministries, in an attempt to assert its role as an entity that helps better society, appeals to ethos and pathos through their video “Homeless Veteran Timelapse Transformation”.

In the opening of the video Degage reveals the image of a visually appealing, stereotypical homeless person with seemingly untamed hair, a wild beard, and a relatively large coat. However, in order to make Mr. Jim Wolf stand out as more than just some homeless man Degage chose to display that Jim Wolf is also a United States Army veteran. The appealing, not visually grotesque image of Wolf appeals to pathos by creating an “awe” moment where one would feel bad that such a nice looking man would be homeless. This challenges the preconception that the homeless are untamed, almost savage-like beings. Establishing that he is not only homeless, but also a former Army veteran appeals to the patriotic feeling that some have toward the U.S. and its service men and women. This also implies that Wolf had a career doing something that is considered to be the ultimate sacrifice for one’s country and that he had tried his hand at functioning in society and ended up failing. This creates a feeling of sadness toward Wolf’s situation. The video goes on to explain Jim Wolf’s situation, (dealing with homeless, poverty, and alcoholism for decades) and establishes that this is merely a physical transformation. This serves to separate Degage’s services from the mental aspects and effects of “decades of homelessness, poverty, and alcoholism”.

From about twenty-six seconds to approximately two minutes into the video Degage arrays the process of the physical transformation. Degage relies heavily on the use of music to guide the audience in the emotional direction that Dega...

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...f donating to Degage ministries “to help transform the lives of other homeless veterans inside and out”. With this Degage insists that they in fact changed Wolf’’s life “inside and out” with a simple physical alteration. ultimately they seek to gain the support of people through donation and offer this quick fix in a quick video that is short enough to hold the attention of today’s internet surfers quickly accessing online social, entertainment, and news media.

By taking a homeless man and framing a shave and a haircut as the solution to his problem, they’re robbing the problem of its bite. They’re making it something we need to worry less about. And, what’s more, it makes all those dirty, bearded homeless people look like they just don’t care. After all, if they really wanted to turn their lives around, they’d put on a tie. Just look what it did for old Jim Wolf!