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

The Pathos Behind Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an organization that fights for human rights around the globe through connection to people. In other words, the organization connects to society through pathos, or emotion in pictures, videos, and poignant stories. The poster for the "Bringing Human Rights Home" concert evokes a sense of exigence through the symbolism of the rockstar at the heart of the poster. The silhouette symbolizes confidence, strength, and unity through the open stance of the rockstar. The silhouette, in conjunction with the contrast in light and dark colors, makes people of all backgrounds feel welcome because the rockstar's face is kept hidden and the guitar, which is globally recognizable, appeals to music lovers around the world. Because Amnesty International is a non-profit human rights organization, the charity needs a way to influence the emotions of the audience. One such way of connecting to pathos is through advertisements. Not only do advertisements convey a product, in this case support for human rights, but they also use pictures and music to sell this product. The video below is an advertisement for Amnesty International and for human rights in general. The ad utilizes John Lennon's song, "Imagine" along with images of abused individuals to draw out the caring nature in each one of us. Thus, the organization establishes pathos through the delivery of their advertisements, thus creating a sense of urgency and sensory stimulation in their message as well.
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2 comments:

  1. Emily ReimalFebruary 28, 2014 at 3:24 PM

    I agree with your analysis; Amnesty does utilize a great deal of pathos to get people to connect with the movement. Perhaps an important thing to mention is the barbed wire texture on the poster. Amnesty's logo is a candle wrapped in barbed wire to demonstrate that the light of hope shines through oppression.

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  2. UnknownFebruary 28, 2014 at 6:01 PM

    I agree with Emily. The dark colors and barbed wire fence seem to be important elements used to invoke emotion from the audience. The video, however, in my opinion relies much more on the use of pathos in its images and music choice.

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