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he pathos or emotional appeal to this cartoon vary greatly, as it starts off sad, then goes on to being humorous, and closes off with a fearful note. The narrator effectively appeals to the emotions of younger children despite occasionally giving off negative emotions, for that the whole cartoon revolves around a humorous and unrealistic nature.
he pathos or emotional appeal to this cartoon vary greatly, as it starts off sad, then goes on to being humorous, and closes off with a fearful note. The narrator effectively appeals to the emotions of younger children despite occasionally giving off negative emotions, for that the whole cartoon revolves around a humorous and unrealistic nature.
The opening scene appeals to sadness as the harmless old lady dies suddenly, but almost immediately relieves of that as the cartoon depicts her bulldog acquiring all of her riches. For the most part of the cartoon, the narrator revolves it around a rather light, humorous, and fictional appeal for the children as it shows the dog living like a king everyday. The exaggerated images and eccentric speech and movements allow the cartoon to be more engaging with a young audience. The scenes starring the king bulldog is not merely an appeal to emotion, but it also gives off a critical vibe as it implies that with American capitalism, anyone, even an animal can live in luxury as long as they have the money. The pathos appeal extends even further towards the end of the cartoon, when there was a peace protest, the bulldog and its other wealthy friends during into demons, inducing a hint of fear in the audience, especially the children. This fear correlates with the idea that rich capitalists want nothing else but their own satisfaction, going as far as turning into raging demons when something seems to be in their way of comfort and luxury.
Written by Zhifeng ( Jeffrey) Wan
As the cartoon appeals to the emotion of children in hopes to influence them to view capitalism negatively, how would a cartoon positively portray communism? I agreed with your point of the demonic and satirical portrayal of capitalism that appeals to the audience's emotion. Playing on the use of fear of children is a very important facet of the cartoon that contributes to the depiction of capitalism. Also, I believe the biggest appeal to emotion is the humor, in the form of a fictional depiction of a capitalist society, used throughout the the cartoon, which could've been stressed more.
ReplyDeleteWhile the cartoon is relatively effective in using humor, I still find it strange that they try to influence children with such negative emotions. Do you think America does a better job of influencing them? The use of superheroes was very popular during the cold war, and they all influenced children by having them fight and win against bad guys (usually communists). The emotions associated with superheroes are definitely more positive, and you are always rooting them on. Many children even wanted to be superheroes in order to defeat communists. Would this also have worked on Russian children, or are the cultural differences too great to have the same effect?
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis of instilling fear of capitalism into young children is very good but why do you think they used negative emotion instead of positive ones like Capitan America did for young American children? I find it really interesting that they tried to make children fear America, instead of encouraging them to take pride in their own country. Other than that, I think the use of comedic relief in the cartoon helped show the ridiculousness of capitalism and that it could make anyone, even a dog, corrupt.
ReplyDeleteAs with your other text, I think it is interesting how an appeal to pathos is demonstrated through childish images and narratives. By noting this fact, you show an excellent analysis of the manipulative tactics of advertisements. Your summary of the text was concise but informative, and made it easier to apply your arguments to the source you were discussing.
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