Figure 1: Black Tuesday Newspaper(Comparison Artifact)

Above is the newspaper that was published on Black Tuesday. Black Tuesday is one of the worst days in American history. I chose this artifact to compare to the falling man because it takes place in a time that is similar to 9/11.

Figure 2: The Falling Man (Main Artifact)

9/11 was a national tragedy that left the entire country in fear during and after the events. Nobody would have ever guessed that attacks would take place on American soil. Since the civil war, America has fought all of our battles overseas. We thought we were untouchable.

Similarly, in the mid to late 1920’s America felt untouchable in another way. During the 1920’s the US stock market had rapid expansion. Stocks saw higher highs almost everyday and the growth made people rich beyond their wildest dreams. America’s market sentiment and bias allowed the markets to grow artificially. What this means is that the growth was not backed by any tangible entity. Markets grew because more and more people wanted to buy stocks just because the markets were consistently increasing.

This is what is known as a bubble. Like real bubbles, they always pop. Eventually the market becomes so bloated that it collapses. Bubbles make people lose millions and billions of dollars all the time. In 1929 the stock market bubble led to the great depression.

This artifact is a newspaper of one of the most notorious days of the crash. It is the days that the markets hit their very lowest point. People were all lined up to take their money out of the banks because their faith in the financial system went to zero.

This relates to the falling man because it shows just how safe we all felt. It shows the consequences of negligence. When America felt safe, 9/11 happened and very clearly people died. When America felt safe and overconfident in their markets, black Tuesday happened and millions of people lost their jobs and worse.

In short, this artifact argues that we must not be overconfident or ignorant to the dangers in our world. Even the greatest and most prosperous events can have major downsides.

The elements that I will most likely discuss in my essay is the two artifacts major pathetic appeals. They both play into emotions because the events that they link to were very emotional. I will also link them in the similar sentiment of America before and after each event happened. Logos will most likely be different because the falling man is a lot more clear cut than Black Tuesday is a little more abstracted.

Figure 1. Bumper Sticker

The bumper sticker above is a perfect example of the rhetorical appeal logos. The message is not explicitly clear at first, but it is actually very smart and witty. This sticker advances the fact that people need to drive safer. There is obviously an issue in the United States with bad driving. People die everyday due to the negligence of others. The problem is actually very simple. The solution is just to drive safer.

The general logic behind the sticker lies in the words. If you are able to read the sticker than you are too close. You therefore need to drive safer and back off. This is a very logical and strong call to action. The sticker engages the other drivers visually and promotes them to think about their actions. Although many people will not be swayed by this call to action, it is still very logical and strong.

The person with this sticker assumes that the audience understands the procedures of good driving. They assume that they are logical enough to realize that they are in the wrong and need to correct their actions. That is a fault of this bumper sticker. Many people who are driving that close to them are already driving recklessly. I think reckless driving is an illogical act to begin with. Therefore, the clientele that the sticker is appealing to will most likely disregard it.

I think the sticker should have a more tangible and statistical approach. I think they need to “wake up” the reckless drivers. They need to sway their viewpoint to see the true impact of their negligence. If it does work and they move away from that car, they may just continue driving recklessly somewhere else.

Figure 2. Baby On Board Sticker

This sticker made me think of the baby on board bumper stickers. I think they have a stronger message and are more logical. Children are a symbol of innocence. It appeals to most people’s sense of logic to not put children’s lives in danger. Therefore, people will slow down and drive safely around the car.

Overall, I like this sticker. I know I would slow down near it, but I wonder if others would as well.

Figure 1. Chris Morgan and “The Angry Bagel Guy Video”

In the earlier part of this past July the whole social media community saw a video of a guy in a bagel shop. He was a shorter man, and he was seen yelling at almost everyone in the bagel shop about his grievances with online dating. From the beginning of the video he is seen pointing and yelling at people until someone eventually tackles him. He is well known for his line “you’re not god or my father or my boss”.

The video went absolutely viral with millions of hits on numerous top tier media accounts. The media dubbed this man “The Angry Bagel Guy”. His real name is Chris Morgan, and at first he wanted nothing to do with the media or the video. However, he must have realized that he could monetize his unfortunate outburst. Since the video, he has taken to social media and started promoting various events, products, and services. This is a perfect example of the rhetorical appeal kairos.

Figure 2. The Angry Bagel Guy Instagram(Artifact)

Kairos is based on the timeliness of the artifact. Kairos is present when the artifact has predominant timing that will encourage the audience to act. However, kairos is not present when the timing is for a set duration. Therefore the creation and timing of Chris Morgan’s Instagram page is very kairotic.

Social media and memes like Chris Morgan’s are very time sensitive and volatile entities. They gain a lot of traction in the beginning and then lose it almost overnight. Chris Morgan’s Instagram is the perfect example of a timely artifact for that reason. He gained most of his followers in a matter of days, and he is trying to profit off every bit of his fame. He is creating ad based content and monetizing his small fame as much as he possibly can. In the “bio” in figure two there is a bookings email. What this means is that people can pay for him to come out to their events. This is yet another way that he is seizing the moment.

Figure 3. Celebrity Boxing Ad

An example of his kairotic ads are his celebrity boxing ads. Chris is famous for being angry and getting beat up in a bagel shop. Therefore, it is great timing for him to become a celebrity boxer. Although the boxing ads on his page are for a set date, he keeps scheduling more. It appears that this will be an ongoing “gig” or eventual career. The general logic is that people liked watching him get beat up in public, so one can only imagine the crowds that will come to see an organized fight. All Chris has to do is put out the message before his fame is gone. Therefore, his timing is perfect.

In a way it is kind of admirable. Although he is making a complete full out of himself, it is hard to say that his timing and execution are not somewhat smart. I liked watching the video of him in the bagel shop, so I would be the type of person to watch him box. In that way, his kairotic plot has worked.

*Some advertisements may have explicit or offensive language. In no way do I agree or approve of this type of behavior. My analysis is solely based on the timing of the artifact.

Figure 1. Starbucks Ad (5 May 2002)

Take a minute and look at this ad. It seems like just a simple old Starbucks ad. This was an ad that was specifically put out by a Starbucks in New York City. This Starbucks had problems before when they reportedly charged EMT workers $130 for water after the attacks on the world trade centers.

However, the ad still looks pretty good. The ethos mode of this ad is proficient. Starbucks is known for their great drinks and overall customer satisfaction, so their credibility is unquestioned. The logos mode of this ad is not so applicable, but it is still there. It is warm in May and people would be logical to want a nice cold drink.

Finally, we look at the pathos of this ad. It looks nice. There are some nice cool refreshments and a nice landscape. We would all love to “Collapse into cool”. It all seems great right? No, take a look at the fine print.

The date is 2 May 2002. This is where the disaster begins. What the heck were they thinking? The date that this ad came out was less than eight months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Take another look back at the ad and you will start to see a major issue. The two cups are familiarly staggered with flying objects all around them. Their placement seems all too close to that of the twin towers before the attacks.

Figure 2. World Trade Centers

The insect in the top left corner seems to be coming in at an angle of attack. It looks all too similar to the planes that hit the towers. To make matters way worse, the title has “collapse” in it.

Too soon or just a bad coincidence? It is hard to say, but I think everyone can agree that we hope it was the latter. I believe the uproar and disapproval is because the attacks were so fresh. However, eighteen years later and 9/11 references are still not good marketing tactics.

The sentiment of the viewers was likely skewed due to the events that occurred just eight months prior. Through the eyes of post 9/11 America, it is clear that the symbolism matches up. Two cups for the two buildings, flying bugs for the planes, an awful title, and grounded butterflies as the horrified onlookers of New York.

Although the ad technically looks very good and appealing, the whole package should mean the collapse of the marketing team. The moral of the story is to stay away from national tragedies. Whether they are intentional or not, they will always hurt.