Month: September 2019

Introduction

It seems every day when we turn on the news we hear another tragic story about a school shooting happening in the U.S. With this plague that diseases our nation it is obvious that there would be PSA’s and Ad campaigns that fight to change these horrible occurrences. Which leads me to my civic artifact, a PSA made by Moms Demand Action an organization that advocates for gun control to stop school shootings across the country. In my upcoming rhetorical analysis I will be structuring it as follows, Background on the artifact, why it is civic and common places and then a general to specific rhetorical analysis of the piece. To frame the rhetorical analysis properly, I will not be advocating for gun control or not but what my interpretation of the PSA is. This can all boil down to a thesis, The PSA issued by Moms Demand Action uses commonplaces, and rhetorical strategies(that will be defined throughout the speech) to call for a change of the gross atrocities that are occurring in the US.

To give a good understanding of the PSA some background information must be presented

Artifact Background

• Who→ Moms Demand Action, an activist group comprised of Mothers who are pro Gun control
• To Whom→ Realistically anybody, students, parents, policy makers, or anybody that is honestly willing to make a difference. 
• Usually the Audience will encounter this message online or through some form of social media
•  The Audience usually interprets this PSA as a pro gun control ad as a means to raise awareness of fallacies in our law making system

This can lead directly to why the article is civic

• Call to Attention→ The PSA is looking at not only the citizens but even more specifically lawmakers to change gun control laws and fix some of the loopholes in the U.S Government
• Civic Infrastructure→ It calls to the idea that it is our job as citizens to protect the future generation of this country but the status quo does not allow for that(refer to child holding a gun)

This can lead directly into the commonplaces present within this PSA

Commonplaces

• Guns are the reasons behind all of these school shootings
• It is our job to change the government and nurture future generations

Analysis of Rhetorical Devices

• Rhetorical Strategies→ Rhetorical imagery leads to two elements
  • Pathos→ The thought of a child holding a large assault weapon should illicit some feelings of disgust or an unnatural feeling in the audience
  • Tone→ negative, the child holding the gun coupled with her facial expression can show that the child does not want to be in that situation. This can cross apply to the overarching idea of school shootings. 
• Rhetorical Logic(Logos)
  • The PSA comes to the conclusion that Lawmakers inherently do not know what they are doing when it comes to school shootings
    • The logic follows a pretty easy step by step process
    • 1. Kinder eggs are supposed to be harmless candy but are banned to keep people safe
    • 2. Kinder Eggs have not killed nearly as many people as guns
    • 3. However, guns are not banned but kinder eggs are

Conclusion

To conclude commenting on the Kairos is very important, it may crystallize why this PSA might actually matter to the audience. In light of the recent political climate there has been much talk about harsher gun control laws and their place in the U.S political system. At this exact moment the talk about school shootings and gun control is escalating, so what better time to analyze the rhetorical strategies involved in this exact topic. Through the use of Rhetorical Imagery and Logic, Moms Demand Action puts together a persuasive PSA that calls to the validity of what it means to be civic. 

The gun control PSA made by Moms Demand Action is condensed with rhetorical strategies used to persuade the audience of their ideology. Now, an interesting tool to note is the kairos that the article presents even to today’s audience. As of right now, gun control and gun banning is a hot topic in politics with a lot of politicians advocating for both sides of the argument. Kairos is used in this situation because it takes advantage of the political climate in the United States. For example, in conjunction with the recent El Paso shootings, Presidential Candidate Beto O’Rourke has started advocating for stricter gun control policies during democratic presidential debates. Now essentially, the PSA uses Kairos and takes advantage of the popularity of the issue at this time. It does not need much background information to explain the situation and it makes the assumption that the audience understands the school shooting problem that America faces. Although argumentatively, it is a very strong assumption to make, which is why the PSA is so effective but it is an assumption none the less. This assumption, coupled with the urgency of the ideology present in the PSA draws upon a strong sense of kairos, which is one of the reasons the PSA is so effective. The most prominent rhetorical device that the PSA uses to get its message across to the audience are the graphics that are used. Seeing a child in school holding an assault weapon looks to evoke strong emotions of disgust or sadness about the situation at hand. This is the most effective rhetorical appeal that the PSA uses because it illicit a strong reaction in the audience. However, the logical appeal that the PSA also uses proves highly effective. It draws upon the illogical idea of banning a chocolate egg rather than weapons that have killed a multitude of children. This logic, although simple, appeals to a wide range of audiences because it draws upon a chain of reasoning that is understood easily. This line of reasoning is extremely effective upon audiences that believe in gun control, and not as effective on audiences that are opposed to gun control, however, it can persuade a myriad of audiences. This is because it calls to the purpose of US citizens. The purpose of US citizens is to protect future generations and that call to civic duty resonates with all audiences no matter the political orientation.  There is also an underlying fear appeal plays a crucial role in the rhetorical effectiveness of this PSA. The sight of a child holding a gun calls upon the fear of losing a child to gun violence, which has a strong impact on the average audience of this PSA. The rhetorical appeals of the PSA funnel into an implicit claim that assault weapons have been killing children in schools. That claim is built up by the graphic rhetorical appeals present in the PSA while also showing the illogical actions of US lawmakers by banning kinder eggs instead. To conclude, the PSA weaves rhetorical appeals to highlight the pressing issue of gun control and how it affects our students.

 

The artifact that I have chosen for my civic artifact speech is the PSA, made by Moms Demand Action, showing the ridiculous notion that kinder eggs are banned for child safety where assault weapons are not. Moms Demand Action is an organization that has been advocating gun control laws for the safety of school children, most notably by releasing PSA’s that highlight some seemingly harmless products that have been banned for child safety over guns. At the surface level, the audience is the general public. The PSA highlights a policy in the United States that seems absurd, therefore all people in the US are considered the audience because this could affect them in some way. However, at a more analytical level, the audience of this PSA could be lawmakers due to the fact that they are the ones who introduced the ban on kinder eggs in the first place. The organization, Moms Demand Action, not only want the general public to see this but also lawmakers so that they see the consequences of their actions in the eyes of the organization. The audience will usually encounter this PSA through either their website, social media platforms such as Instagram or Twitter, and youtube commercials. The audience can interpret the information in many ways but the intent of this specific PSA is quite clear. They demand reform in US gun control laws and they accomplish this by showing a fault in the US policy making system to highlight the effect of guns on children. The audience will interpret the PSA as this organization wants gun control change for the safety of their children. Whether banning assault weapons is the best route for that is up to the audience to decide but it is clear that is what Moms Demand Action stand for. 

The PSA proves civic because it calls attention to loopholes in gun laws in the US. Also, it calls upon citizens to take action to protect the children and the future of the United States from guns entering schools. As US citizens and as a country the protection of its citizens is one of the most important civic duties, and this PSA shows that without action the status quo is very dangerous to children. The type of action that the PSA wants citizens to take however is up to audience interpretation. The main ideology that is present within this PSA is that gun control laws will make students safer in schools. The context behind this are the school shootings that happen at the result of students handling assault rifles. The PSA calls upon some level of deductive reasoning which follows the lines of students use assault rifles during school shootings, school shootings kill students, therefore assault rifles kill students. That line of reasoning does, present some fallacies however the pathos involved in the PSA attempts to overshadow these fallacies rendering it an effective piece of rhetoric. This reasoning is why I have decided to use this PSA as my Civic Artifact Speech.

Satirical Political Cartoons 

One place that overflows with strong rhetoric are the political cartoons that catch the eye of the average teenager surfing the internet. Therefore, one idea for my civic artifact would be cartoons that satirically highlight some of the common conceptions in todays politics. Furthermore, I would provide an in-depth analysis of the political ideology that is behind the cartoon, what the cartoon is trying to accomplish and is it affective. I take a lot of interest in todays political climate and analyzing humorous political cartoons seems like a perfect way to accomplish just that.

Kinder Egg and Gun Control Comparison

In the United States the chocolate easter egg, Kinder Egg is banned dude to its apparent choking hazard. However, the internet took this idea and ran with it making an abundance of memes involving kinder eggs and guns. It provides an interesting commentary and rhetorical techniques that appeal to the average teenager browsing the internet. Therefore, I would provide an analysis of why kinder eggs are banned in the US and how they are significantly harder to obtain than a gun. Also, how that has affected not only the media but the entire nation, through relaxed gun control laws. Looking at the publics response to these memes are really important because it sheds light into the underlying feelings of these issues.