In this post, I will aim to analyze the overall pathos in the article, as well as a few of the photographs. I won't attempt to tackle each one, because there are 42 images in total. The initial paragraph sets the tone for the audience. This tone affects how the audience will view the rest of the images. The author, Alan Taylor, phrases the article in a reflective manner, starting the article with the words "Fifty years ago." This tells the reader in an emotionally neutral manner that the events and images in the article are part of history. By mentioning the police brutality and "harsh opposition and threats of violence" that civil rights activists faced, Taylor reminds the reader of the struggles that were made in the civil rights movement and calls them to empathize with MLK and other civil rights proponents. The first image portrays a woman struggling, her face betraying a feeling of pain while she is carried by 4 men into custody for staying at a riot scene. This calls the audience to feel pity for her plight and her pain. The fifth image pictures a man sitting in his car while his windshield bears a bullet hole in it. The man's face shows an expression of anger and the caption explains that the bullet that made this hole was "fired from a truck driven by white men" in response to black people "[marching] in an integration demonstration." The audience is caused to feel a sense of malcontent, filled with horror that a fellow human being is attacked for merely fighting for his rights. The final image that I will analyze is the 34th image, which pictures a young black man bleeding from his head after being clubbed by an officer. The caption provides further insight, saying that the man was injured like so for "refusing to move along." This is an incredibly powerful image. The man's face is contorted with horror as the white police officer corners him, pressing his club against the man's bloodstained shirt. The man is unarmed, with only his hat in his hand, and he seems bewildered and scared. This image invokes a strong feeling of pity for the man and his terrible situation, as well as disdain and disgust for the officer that is attacking and brutalizing him. There are mixed feelings throughout the article, as each image portrays a different situation, but the ones that stood out to me were feelings of fear, sympathy, and sometimes, hope.
The photographs that you have chosen to analyze are extremely powerful. I found the 34th photograph to be very moving. It's sad to think that even though the white police officer clearly sees the pain the black man is in he continues to hurt him. The fact that the man does not even have a weapon shows that the reason for this brutality is deeper than the moment at which the photograph was captured.
ReplyDeleteI like that you mentioned how the initial photo sets the tone for the audience. I think when it comes to using pathos to appeal to an audience's emotions, the order of the pictures matters just as much as the content of the pictures. The first photo portrays discrimination and brutality. The second photo shows president LBJ talking to civil rights leaders and third photo shows a civil protest. The order helps tell a story and evokes more emotions.
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