Note: For this revision, I focused on analyzing the ad rather than adding my own judgments. I also worked on organizing the paper so that it follows the steps the assignment requires and flows more naturally. The last big change I made was the type of emotions I described. For this piece I used shock, pity, and anger.
Words do hurt. This is the message that the advertisement is demonstrating through its disturbing visual. The ad above is displayed on many anti-abuse websites along with two other similar ads. While the other ads feature men with arms coming out of their mouths as well, the abusers in those scenarios are either pulling the face or hair of their victims. Even though all three ads are grim, the image of the arm actually punching the woman in the face best captures the message the ad is trying to convey: verbal abuse is still abuse. The visual displays a man and woman in a confrontation, bringing our attention specifically to abuse in heterosexual romantic relationships. And as we see a female being the victim in this scenario, the intended audience is probably women. But the ad could still have an impact on males either by making them aware of this issue or illustrating to those engaging in this type of mistreatment that they are hurting their victims.
The ad is powerful and persuasive because it provokes negative emotions in the viewer. One emotion that someone may feel when seeing this ad is shock. The arm streaming out of the guy’s mouth resembles a scene from a sci-fi movie. This creates a grotesque visual and makes the man seem inhuman. While the scene is disturbing, the arm is probably the most important part of the ad because it grabs the audience’s attention. People are attracted to novel items and by adding an image that defies laws of nature, the ad gets viewers to take notice. Besides getting the audience’s attention, the arm is essential in providing the main message to viewers. When the audience looks at the arm through a metaphorical view, they can see that cruel words can be just at hurtful as being physically hit.
When the viewers direct their attention to the woman they will notice her overall facial expression just exudes the fact that she is pain. Seeing the woman’s eyes closed tight and her teeth clenched could trigger the viewers’ mirror neurons to feel the same pain she does. Some audience members may even make a grimace like hers. We feel pity for the woman because we can imagine her pain. But the audience also realizes that the woman is suffering because of the man, and we become angry towards him. In fact, viewers may just become angry or disgusted with verbal abuse in general.
By using the fist as a metaphor for hurtful words, the ad wants the male audience to realize that being verbally attacked can be just as horrific as being physically assaulted, and men engaging in this type of cruelty should stop. But the ad wants females involved in this type of situation to know that they are being abused and to fight back. They can do this by either by calling the hotline listed in the ad or by dissolving their abusive relationships.
The shock and fear that the ad exudes would resonate with real life victims and it would help them realize that they are experiencing a real type of abuse. And when the audience is evoked with pity over the woman’s pain, viewers may have a strong urge to help the victim in the ad or just victims of abuse in general. But when the emotion of anger towards the man is developed, viewers may want to punish those who abuse women.
In Book II, Aristotle writes “The emotions are all those feelings that so change men as to affect their judgments, and that are also attended by pain or pleasure” (ch. 1, pg. 60). Aristotle explains that using words to instill an emotion in a viewer can be powerful in any situation (ch.1 pg.59-60). The ad above clearly demonstrates this point. What is interesting though is that we are taught at a young age in America that words should not have an effect on us. The usual example is the parent telling the child to ignore a bully’s remarks. But tragic examples, such as the stream of gay students who committed suicide after being bullied, shows that words do have impact on us and can alter our judgments (Hubbard). Most remember the classic saying “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” After viewing the ad above, it seems that that last phrase of that saying should be changed to “but words could definitely hurt me.”
Works Cited
"Book II." Aristotle Rhetoric. Trans. W. Rhys Roberts. Mineola, New York: Dover
Publications, 2004. 60-115. Print.
Publications, 2004. 60-115. Print.
Hubbard, Jeremy. "Fifth Gay Teen Suicide in Three Weeks Sparks Debate."
Editorial. ABC News. ABC New Internet Ventures, 3 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Feb.
2011.
Editorial. ABC News. ABC New Internet Ventures, 3 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Feb.
2011.
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