In what ways does this ad use commonplace imagery to prove its point? Does it help or hurt its argument? Does the vagueness of the argument help?
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Week 5 Anti Prohibition Ad
In what ways does this ad use commonplace imagery to prove its point? Does it help or hurt its argument? Does the vagueness of the argument help?
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I am responding to Jeff's questions. This advertisement is a black-and-white photograph in favoring of the legalization of alcohol, as it states "Remember prohibition? It still doesn't work." The photograph depicts some dapper men, two of which are holding guns (shotgun and Tommy gun), and a driver waiting anxiously in case any trouble were to arise. This advertisement uses imagery to support its message because it allows the audience to come to the conclusion that people will always rebel against the prohibition of something they love. The Prohibition Era was a period in which crime skyrocketed due to the illegal importation and sale of alcohol, which allowed for mobsters and gangsters to arise, much like the show Boardwalk Empire. I feel that the image helps to reinforce its argument because it permits people to recall the failure of the Prohibition Era and the amount of crime that resulted. The vagueness of the advertisement helps because I personally feel that it allows the audience to draw their own interpretation of its message and what exactly the ad is attempting to convey. Overall, I feel that this is a splendid advertisement because it gets its message across efficiently without overdoing it.
ReplyDeleteI am responding to Prompt 1. This picture is from the 1920's and it depicts three men, who seem to be gangsters. They are standing around a car with guns apparently doing their jobs. This picture does not say much only, "remember prohibition, still does not work". This ad is for the legalization of drugs. As Trevor stated, not a lot is explicitly stated, it is mostly for the viewer to interpret it. To connect it to the current issues, it is about the legalization of drugs instead of alcohol. It shows gangsters, the head of the crime during prohibition, but now drug lord are the head of crime, by smuggling different types of drugs from all over the world. The prevalent drug war has cost many lives of people from all over. Do you think that the crime due to drugs being illegal is better or worse than prohibition?
ReplyDeletePrompt 7: The poster attempts to connect two time periods but in doing so, it hurts part of its argument.The poster has the old-time gangsters and shows them as a portrayal of crime and illegal activity that takes place after prohibition of a substance. By including such an old and out of date reference the poster is harder to relate to. While in today's culture there still may be crime organizations that do similar things as they did in the 1920's, they don't look the same as they did back then. The poster also seems to be lacking a "wow factor" as well. While the old-time gangsters may be shocking at first, it does not last for long. A combination of outdated pictures and vagueness lead to the poster lacking relevance and causes the poster to not get what across what it wanted to, which is remind how prohibition did not work.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Jeff's questions:
ReplyDeleteThe ad uses imagery of what appears to be gangsters in the 1920s when Prohibition was enforced. The ad attempts to connect the outlawing of alcohol in the 1920s to the banned drugs of today and say that the laws are pointless. While there are connections to be made between the two, I feel that the ad is ineffective. It requires you to know what the picture is referencing and why prohibition didn't work. This vagueness hurts the impact the ad has to many people. The ad could be improved if it compared these gangsters of the 1920s to drug dealers or drug cartels of today so the viewer of the ad can understand the comparison better. A picture of people with guns does not help the ads argument for legalization of drugs.
I am responding to prompt 1. This particular ad is not very explicit at all in what it is trying to portray to its audience. By only saying "Remember prohibition? It still doesn't work" leaves a lot of room for interpretation from the reader. The picture is of men from probably around the 1920's holding guns smiling for the picture being taken. By the men smiling, it can be interpreted that whatever they have going, whether that be drug dealing or selling alcohol against the law, they enjoy what they do and are not going to change. This can be applied to modern day where there are still illegal dealing and consumption of illicit drugs. This shows that prohibition then didn't work because there are always people willing to do wrong in order to make money and that will never change. From this interpretation, it can also be determined that the creator of this image is against the governmental control over alcohol and drugs because whatever they try and do there will always be people willing to sacrifice themselves in order to survive in America.
ReplyDelete