Symbol

As my logos reduced image, I have selected the Gadsden flag. While the flag was first created during the Revolutionary war, I will only be talking about the modern-day meaning and interpretation. The flag displays a rattle snake with the words “Dont Tread on Me.” The background of the flag is yellow to symbolize danger. When all aspects of the flag are connected the meaning is revealed, the flag advocates for the viewer of the flag to be wary of treading or in some other way injuring the snake, or owner of the flag. The purpose of the flag is to convey the ideology of limiting or eliminating the government and other’s ability to interfere in the lives and rights of private citizens. Not only does it advocate for the limited government, but the flag also espouse an ideology of retaliation if the owner or their rights are violated. The commonplaces that convey this message are the concepts like it is dangerous to restrict the rights of others and it is morally wrong to restrict the rights of others (both of which are principles of the Revolutionary war), along with the idea of live and let live (which is implied by the dont tread on me).

 

Effect

The message both succeeds and fails in it’s use of logos. The central appeal of the flag, which is to leave others to their own devices, is a logical appeal. It is logical because it implies reciprocation, meaning that if the flag owner is left alone then they will leave others alone. The logos fails in the second part of the ideology, in which the flag owner threatens violence against any who would tread on them. The lack of logic here comes from the fact that violence is typically not the solution to issues, especially when an individual’s rights are being violated.

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Flag Source

The Kairos

Cthulhu for America (also called Cthulhu 2016) was a satirical presidential campaign in the 2016 election. The online campaign began as a way to mock the two party monopoly before widening it’s range of satire to encompass the candidates of the year. The genius of the campaign comes from Cthulhu being chosen as the candidate. For Cthulhu is a malevolent squid demigod creature who is seeking to wake from his millennia long slumber and destroy the world in the H.P. Lovecraft’s horror series the Cthullu Mythos.

 The campaign creates kairos through the site’s various articles. Using satire the various articles on the site criticize Cthulhu’s “opponents” (Clinton and Trump) by showing flaws in their platforms and views, which in turn creates a sense of urgency. The urgency arises from the reader realizing that both of these candidates are pretty awful and that their policies are poorly thought through or not in the best interest of the public. The campaign also uses hyperbolic messages of doom to create a sense of urgency. These messages range from pointing to failing system to bringing attention to various problems that are unlikely to ever be solved by politicians from either the Democrats or Republicans. The campaign attempts to convey kairos by using logos and pathos appeals. Logos is used to discredit Clinton and Trump with some of the most noteworthy examples being blurbs included about Cthulhu’s opponents policies at the bottom of each of Cthulhu’s policy discussions. One of the more effective ones come at the end of Cthulhu’s economic plans in which Clinton is said to “make outrageous promises to curb the very system that engorges her campaign and her network of shell companies and “charity initiatives,” while Trump is said to “promise to curb the system he directly benefits from with the same old deregulation and tax break song and dance.” Pathos is included throughout the various articles on the site in an attempt to amuse and outrage the reader into agreeing with the campaign. Even though the campaign can be quite amusing, there are times when it goes overboard in the satire and Cthulhu theme which ends up diluting the message of the site. An example of this being Cthulhu’s view on illegal immigration which is that by “conquering the world… all humans will be Americans… and then they shall be eaten.” After browsing through the site, I can’t say that I am motivated by it’s message. The reason for this is that the campaign’s overindulgence in satire and simplistic message makes it hard to be motivated to act. If the campaign reduced it’s humor and focused more on analyzing the faults of the two political parties then it would have been far more effective.

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Cthulhu 2016 Source

A Bad Ad

This is a pretty bad ad. I don’t know where to begin with this one, except to begin stating the issues that I have with it. The ad has serious problems with a lack of information, the “edgy” phrase, and bland visuals.

The ad contains no information except the model of the camera and the companies name. There is no information about the camera’s functionality, benefits, or any innovations that demonstrate that the camera is a novel enough product for consumers to buy. Instead of the ad delivering useful information that would lead a consumer to pick it over the competition, the camera relies on a “edgy” phrase in an attempt to jar the viewer into paying attention to the ad. The issue with this strategy is that there is no information on the poster to capitalize on the shocking line, so ultimately it ends up failing. The final issue with this ad is the bland visuals. The background is a boring bluish-gray and white color, which is typically used to draw the viewers attention to the foreground. The issue with this is that there is nothing to look at in the foreground except a bad picture of the camera (it is a weird angle that does not showcase the camera at all), and the “edgy” phrase. That is why this ad is ultimately a failure.

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Ad Source