Analytical Research Paper Proposal
Moms Demand Action, a grassroots movement of moms, released a gun control public service announcement in April 2013. The PSA was published five days before the Senate voted on nine gun control reforms. Moms Demand Action draws attention throughout the use of school children in their PSA. The two children are placed in the middle of the PSA and are kept at the focus. One of them is a boy holding a Kinder Surprise Egg while the other child, a girl, is holding an assault weapon in her hands. From the dark background, a bright light is illuminating them which automatically directs the audience to pay attention to the sad looks on children. Probably by just looking at those innocent kids, this PSA is strong but there is a small detail hidden inside the text and the image that makes this PSA more effective in its purpose. At the top of the image is stated that “One child is holding something that’s been banned in America to protect them. Guess which one.” “Guess which one” is written in red font compared to the white font used for the rest of the image. By analyzing the red font, the audience is not only dragged to think about which object is forbidden, the Kinder Surprise Egg or the gun, but it could also be making a correlation to blood. Through it, Moms Demand Action campaign is making parents or every American citizen that children having access to assault weapons could end in blood. Now if we see again the children, the boy holding a Kinder Egg is wearing a red shirt which symbolizes that the boy might be a possible victim of gun violence.
Moms Demand Action’s powerful and successful PSA on gun control utilizes ethos, pathos, and logos and seizes the opportunity to highlight the absurdity of gun laws in the US through the juxtaposition of lenient gun laws and over-protective American parenting. Seeing a little girl with her finger on the trigger of an assault weapon would quickly grab the parents’ attention because it is an extremely disturbing sight to see. A parent would want to make sure that this would never become a reality. Parents do not want to see their children in possession of a deadly weapon. The pathos appeal is very apparent throughout this advertisement. The piece is aimed and tugging at the heartstrings of parents and guardians who want their children to be safe.
Furthermore, by incorporating a logical view into the argument, the audience is persuaded through the use of facts and logical reasoning. Moms Demand Action incorporates logos into this advertisement by appealing to the audience’s sense of logical reasoning. What sense does it make for a small chocolate egg to be banned while it is perfectly acceptable for large assault weapons to be accessible to children? If a child’s safety is so important that we, as a society, ban chocolate why aren’t other numerously irrational objects banned? The PSA gives the impression that it is easier for children to get their hands on dangerous assault weapons, but they are nowhere near allowed to get their hands on a piece of chocolate. These questions arise in the audience’s mind after viewing the text. Why aren’t assault weapons banned if these meaningless objects are banned? What sense does that make for the safety of the youth of America?
Through various rhetorical tools and the careful incorporation of text and images in this PSA, it persuades society to reconsider its priorities regarding children's safety and as a community, we need to do something to prevent our children from being hurt. This ad sends out a powerful message and the compelling need to reform gun laws to protect the lives of our families.