The Language of Persuasion

Still playing ketchup it seems, but I've nearly finished the bottle. I am going to reflect on something we looked at during Week 2. The article we looked at entitled Introduction to Media Literacy had a very extensive section of "The language of Persuasion". This is a very prominent topic when talking about Media Literacy. A traditional text has words, possibly some cover art, and maybe some art inserts. That is typically all the persuasion available. However when dealing with these NML, there is a plethora of new tactics and approaches an author can take to persuade the reader. This can be a good thing, it can also be a bad thing as there is a wide spread epidemic of misinformation. I thought I would take some time and highlight some of the ones I found more interesting and potent.

Jumping into the advanced tactics, as the basic ones are somewhat self explanatory, I think Ad Hominem is very important to address. Especially around election times, these can be seen everywhere.

Attacking the person rather the argument. Digital Literacy allows this to be so much more potent. If those words "Harry Reid The Best Friend An Illegal Alien Ever Had"  were simply read in plain text they would hold little meaning. The connotation would be subjective and in some interpretations it could be seen as even a positive statement. However technology allows us to amplify the message with colors, images, fonts, that persuade the reader to view it a certain way. The Red Text associates Harry Reid directly with Illegal Alien. The color of the text also suggests a negative connotation. The Gray scale scheme of the rest of the ad suggests again a negative image. All of these attributes are only available in this type of medium opening up a whole new avenue of persuasion. 

Another one that is common today is hidden Symbols. These are often seen in advertising in an attempt to influence the subconscious of the reader. For example the american flag juxtaposed against anything makes it seem patriotic and instills a sense of nationalism. Some times symbols are harmless, like this one that blew my mind.

I have been eating Tostitos for years and only recently realized the "tit" in "Tostitos" is two people dipping a chip into a blow of salsa. *Mind Blow SFX* Sometimes however they are more potent and potential harmful.

Here is an obvious juxtaposition of sex and food.The image brings to mind sexual desire and transmits those feelings onto the food. It is in my opinion tasteless and crass. Again this type of literacy is rampant today and would have little effect if viewed in traditional literacy medium. 

Another interesting aspect is the combination of tactics. The message above uses the "Sex Sells" concept along with the "Symbols" concept to really drive its message home.

Digital Literacy allows for a wide array of persuasive powers that can be used for good. Unfortunately the flip side is also true. It is our job as educators to teach students how to see through these types of advertisements and to use these techniques for ethical and moral reasons.