Critical Introduction

This blog is written by first year undergraduates in the Scholars Program at the University of Maryland College Park. The purpose of our blog is to investigate and compare and contrast the different subculture gatherings of the 1960s and the contemporary era. We compared the power and exigence of each movement but contrasted the principles, method of communication, and targeted audience of each subculture gathering. We chose two distinct texts. Our first text includes a poster advertising of the “Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be-In” movement in San Francisco, CA. Our second text consists of an Amnesty International poster advocating for human rights through the advertisement of the Bringing Human Rights Home concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. We first analyzed the audience of each text, finding similarities and differences between both, as well as the rhetorical situation/exigence that each text brought to the table. Furthermore, we explored the ethos and pathos present in each text, finding the authority/credibility and the specific emotions each text expressed through its poster. Finally, we explained the logos, mood, and imagery within each text. Through analysis and discussion with our English 101S class, we concluded that as time proceeded, subcultures of America lost the drive for a targeted audience (focused on the individual) and began to rely on reaching out to the general public in ambiguity. Expanding the audience allows for a more diverse group to take notice of subculture advertisements thus creating a larger fan base.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Ethos for Amnesty International

Amnesty International uses a great deal of Ethos in every event they hold, explaining why they chose the bands for the concert at the Barclays center. Among the chosen bands, Imagine Dragons, The Fray, Pussy Riot, and Madonna are the most popular, however, every band chosen to play contributes to the Ethos of the concert and of the Amnesty International organization. These are respectable bands with millions of fans each, bringing credibility and authority to the event and organization. The bands play for current followers, new followers, soon-to-be followers, and to those victims of human rights abuse. Pussy Riot, a punk rock protest band residing in Russia, will also play at the event. They bring in a sense of urgency to the concert because they specialize in the human right of those who fall victim to the Russian government under Putin. They have played at many public areas in Russia, sometimes being stopped by security, all in an effort to bring justice to the victims, and hope to everyone. Not only do the famous bands provide a considerable amount of ethos, but Madonna does too. She is set to introduce the event in New York, creating even more authority and reliability to the organization. Madonna became famous partly through pushing the limits of her song's lyrics in mainstream popular music and though her imagery in her music videos in which MTV became very interested in. She is not only a song writer, but also an entrepreneur, philanthropist, actress, author, and director. With her introduction to the concert and organization, Madonna, a cultural icon, will bring in even more credibility and authority. Followers and even the competition will see how much support and hope Amnesty International provides for everyone, no matter who they are.
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1 comment:

  1. Sophia WeisbergFebruary 27, 2014 at 8:38 PM

    I think that it is so interesting that Pussy Riot is set to perform at this concert. They do add a lot to the credibility of the human rights campaign. Their protest brought a lot of attention to the human rights issue of free speech. Madonna, like you said, is also a great way to add credibility to the event.

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