Visual Argument Draft

For some reason, blogger isn't letting me post my blog post that I wrote in Word, so here it is in a Google Doc. Sorry for the inconvenience. The link to the prezi is in there too.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FxkqDFiBhunLuPXFCTPHFfLwYPa2gfHW_8NAp8BQKMU/edit?hl=en&authkey=CJWzpPkG

Visual Analysis Revised

This image is part of a series from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) portraying wild animals in homeless situations. They are found in landfills, under bridges, and huddling around cans on fire – the places we would typically associate with homeless people. The series of WWF ads was on speckyboy (http://speckyboy.com/2009/04/16/55-inspiring-creative-and-potent-ads-from-the-wwf/), an online design magazine. The context of a design magazine tells us that those readers probably were not the ad’s original intended audience.

A first look at this image provokes the emotions of sadness, pity, disgust, and surprise. The makers of the ad likely wanted readers to primarily feel the emotions of pity and sadness towards this situation. We generally relate to tigers as noble, elegant, and almost regal, but in this image, the tiger is laying sadly and helplessly in the open. It is a debilitating and humiliating position for any animal, just as it is for any human: surrounded by trash in a lackluster environment. It seems like a high-traffic pedestrian area, and most people are just passing by, with one person looking down on the tiger. The image is in black and white, emphasizing the contrast between harsh light and gloomy gray. We miss all of the rich colors of the tiger, contributing to the dreariness and feelings of helplessness in the picture. The ad contains all the emotions of pity and sadness that we would feel towards a helpless and homeless person. However, the element of surprise comes as we see the tiger take the place of a homeless person.

The phrase at the bottom of the advertisement also serves as a pathetic appeal. It states in four succinct words: “mindless deforestation wrecks homes.” The message is clear: human deforestation destroys the natural environments of wild animals. However, the authors use powerful and emotional words to evoke more emotion and dilemma out of the viewer, just in a simple phrase. Deforestation isn’t just bad, it is mindless. It gives the connotation that deforestation isn’t necessary, and that the people responsible for deforestation aren’t giving any thought to the plight of the wild animals. Also, animals don’t just lose their homes, but their homes are wrecked. This simple phrase of emotionally charged text coupled with the mix of emotions in the visual appeal clearly states the argument of the advertisement: deforestation causes tragedy for wild animals, driving them away from their homes, and you should do something about it. As we understand that humans are responsible for the deforestation of animal homes, we also experience the feelings of guilt and shame. At first, our emotions are of pity and sadness towards the tiger in a polluted environment, but as we realize that we are to blame for its plight, we feel the shame of responsibility.

From these emotional appeals, the advertisement urges the viewer to do something to help the tiger. Obviously, it’s not a real situation, and even if it was, you couldn’t physically go to the place to help the tiger. The only logical behavior left is surely what the authors of the ad intended: to support their cause of wildlife preservation through the donation of money. Other than the phrase at the bottom, there is no additional text on the ad, but the brand and logo of WWF are in the top left corner. The everyday viewer does not have a direct hand or influence in deforestation, so it’s clear that donation is the simplest path to supporting the cause.

The authors create the analogy of a homeless person versus a homeless animal – they are in parallel situations. We interpret the situation of homelessness as pitiful and saddening, but these feelings are amplified with the presence of a noble animal like the tiger. The tiger clearly does not belong in this degrading environment. To add to these emotions, the writers of the ad show us that deforestation is the fault of humans, implying that we cause the homelessness of animals in our mindless hording of resources for ourselves. Our interpretation is: “This is wrong! A tiger shouldn’t be subject to conditions like this, but deserves to be in the wilderness.” It is emphasizing the reality that animals deserve to live in their natural habitats, and deforestation destroys that possibility. In order to stop this, the World Wildlife Fund is asking the viewer to donate to their fund in order to save the animals.

As for Aristotle’s stereotypical types, this advertisement doesn’t really appeal directly to any age group or even any certain class.  It could be argued that young people who are quickly passionate and believe in goodness fit the mold of who this advertisement might appeal to, according to Aristotle. The anger and passion evoked from this situation of an animal in the place of a homeless person, if strong enough, could spur a young person to take up the cause of wildlife preservation in a radical way. Of course, more generally, the WWF would prefer that the advertisement moves wealthy people to donate to their cause, but nothing in the ad is particularly targeting wealthy people. As with most all of the WWF advertisements, they hope to target people who have high regard towards animals and their conditions, and who want to make a change through their advocacy and donation.

In general, this advertisement is memorable because of the surprise factor of seeing a wild animal in a position of humiliation and homelessness. We should feel sadness and disgust towards this situation, and therefore the advertisers from the WWF were successful in arguing their point, but perhaps the deeper question is why we are shocked at animal “homelessness” and not humans in homelessness. A simple ad exactly like this but substituted with a person would not have the same effect.

Pathetic Appeal -- The Reality of Human Trafficking.

In my written pathetic appeal, I'm exploring the issue of Human Trafficking; it is real, it is widespread, and it is an atrocious injustice. My claim is that human trafficking can affect us more than we think, and that there is something that we can do to help end it. The emotions I aim to evoke with the appeals in my enargeia are disgust, hopelessness, anger, and sadness towards the injustice of human trafficking. However, I also hope to empower the reader into knowing there is hope if only we will take action. Hopefully these emotions will be strong enough to move the reader to action, and I list some practical ways people can begin to get involved. This is a very real problem, but has a solution that we can all be a part of.

Go here to read it.