When I first saw the image above, I instantly thought of political parties, those costly campaign ads that constantly downgrade the other candidate(s), and of course, when I only had 3 channels on television to watch and the President would be on every single one. Yeah television was horrible on that part without the wonderful inventions of cable or satellite. As I was saying, it’s pretty obvious this is against politicians fighting in campaigns. I, for one, think this was a very useful way to get its message out to the masses. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. It most likely would have been less successful in a form of text. Personally, I read something about politics, I could care less. I’m sure there are numerous people in the audience that can agree with me on that statement. I believe the message of the image is about how oppressive political campaigns can be, and often times, can even lead to numerous forms of violence, such as riots, bomb threats, or even assassinations. Even in the campaign ads, there is so little security in what the ads are downgrading about the other campaigner, that it’s hard to even conclude yourself to a choice between who would be the better president, congressman, etc.

In its way, the image is very oppressive. Not necessarily is it saying all campaigns are this way, but the particular imagery is pretty general in its inferred statements. Violence is an issue when it comes to politics. It always has been. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that every single politician that steps to the plate and gives a speech is the cause. Campaign ads are typical in this issue. Most of the time, the offending campaigner is downgrading the other in some form in order to gain voters on his side. It’s similar to an argument. However, this argument is fought indirectly. I believe the image does show the oppressive language helps further their cause very well. It helps get their point across with greater ease than using a long form of text like a newspaper article or even a news segment on the television.  I believe the oppressiveness of this image helped the author reach his audience so much easier than anything else. As I said, a picture is worth a thousand words. And if you think about it, most people tend to get more irate about an image rather than a piece of reading.

Amanda W.

(411)

http://www.peaceofthecircle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/political-rhetoric-pic.jpeg