Persuasive Appeals: TRI & Invisibile Children

Part 1:
TRI was "short and sweet." There was no narration but instead, they let the background music and the images "do the talking." The music really set the mood of the video, dark and spine-tingling. What was also effective was the use of everyday images that the audience identifies to: Starbucks, $3 USD, and the peace sign. By using these images, the video makers created a "hey, this is you" feeling in the audience. Starbucks is a pandemic icon that people can identify. A dollar bill is an item that people use everyday. And the peace sign, is a quirky hand gesture that many people like to flash. And with these three items, the video makers convey the message that having one less Starbucks drink a week can save someone's life. The crumpled and graffitied $3 USD bills also conveys the message that money is not important, and to help only takes $3. And with the $3, you can contribute to peace.

Part 2:
The main goal of the documentary Invisible Children was to bring awareness to the corrupted country of Uganda, which I feel it had achieved. In making the documentary more connected to the audeince, the shaky hand-held footage brings the audience into the point of view and position of the narrators, and this is effective in establishing the feeling that the audience is there with them, standing and looking at the same desolate sight. The humor they added about how "Jolly can open coke bottle caps with her teeth," also appealed to the audience, they added a touch of refreshing delight to a documentary full of misery. One of the memorable scenes was when the camera panned across the hospital/bus station grounds. The camera was slowly moving across the room and the audience could see a wall coming, but then suddenly, the camera crossed the wall and the audience is taken aback by the millions of people squished together sleeping on the other side of the wall. This is almost like throwing the facts in the audience's face, and it leaves a strong impact, the audience is left speechless by the horrid conditions.
The interviews the three young men conducted was the most effective in moving the audience. These kids, barely older than 12, talked about how "they can not cry anymore," and how they were forced to watch their siblings/parents get tortured and could do nothing about it. These close, intimate, interviews gives the audience a 1st hand account on what life is like in Uganda. The audience is oblivious to what is happening but after hearing things such as "I get nauseated if I don't see blood," the audience gets the real facts about how the society has impacted these child soldiers and how helpless they are against the LRA. And the final scenes of this documentary really hit the point home. The narrators interviewed two brothers who were in hiding, they talked about their older brother being killed and losing their parents. One of the brothers then start to cry - the dry, wheezing, and helpless sound really pierces the audience's heart. And with the heart wrenching ending, the audience is left shocked and guilty, wondering how come they live such a privileged life while the kids in Uganda are suffering.