Through a short film Alfonso Cuarón, Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine, and Jonás Cuarón, the film’s director attempt to draw attention to the topic of the writing…the rise of disaster capitalism. I was not impressed by the presentation of images as they are supposed to correlate to the book. I felt the direction of the film in no way made the message of the work as clear as it should have been.
The argument, as presented in the film, seems weak. In my opinion, during the attempts to shock the audience with the message of the work through images, the message itself was lost. The images as a visual representation seemed accurate, but as a whole the film was poorly constructed. The representations were not presented in an understandable fashion. Instead of thinking that i would like to read her book, I was actually left trying to figure out what the images meant. I feel the biggest problem with the short film lies in the pace and credibility of the images. They seem to flash so quickly that the director and producers may not have wanted the audience to think at all in viewing the film. It seemed as though it was a dramatic appeal only to the emotions of the audience…attempting to cause action, or more specifically reaction, without logic.
I must make it a point to mention the music in correlation with the visual representations, though. I felt this aspect was the strongest, most effective element of the film…The music choices helped to solidify the emotional and psychological impact of the images on the audience. What do you think… The Shock Doctrine - Naomi Klein
It is meant to help in defining and demonstrating a heart attack, which occurs when blood flow to a section of heart muscle becomes blocked. And if the flow of blood is not restored as quickly as possible, the blocked section of heart muscle becomes damaged from lack of oxygen and begins to die. The image and explanation work well to describe one of the more common elements of heart disease. Many people have heard of a heart attack, but may not have known that it is a blockage which can possibly damage or kill heart tissue. This information is effective if it can persuade individuals to further explore heart disease, a heart attack, and prevention tips or information.
One of the most recognizable elements of heart disease risk communication is The Heart Truth Campaign. A media campaign created in 2001, The Heart Truth, arose out of recommendations from more than 70 experts of women’s health. The goal of the campaign is to make more women aware of the danger of heart disease. It is a call to action for women to take a stand against their No. 1 killer. The campaign emphasizes the problem that most women do not take their risk for developing heart disease seriously. The target audience for the campaign is women ages 40-60. The Heart Truth is a program of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and reports that one in four women dies from heart disease. It also reports that although heart disease may not lead to death, it may still drastically affect a woman’s quality of life or lead to disability.
“The centerpiece of The Heart Truth is the Red Dress, which was introduced as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002 by NHLBI. The Red Dress reminds women of the need to protect their heart health, and inspires them to take action” (nhlbi). Here you will find a document used by the campaign in attempts to really drive home the urgency of the threat made by heart disease.
*The Heart Truth: A National Awareness Campaign For Women About heart disease <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/>.
The American Heart Association (AMA) provides a third strong example of heart disease risk communication. The AMA encourages the American public to participate in heart health advocacy by saying, “You’re the Cure.” This is also the name for the AMA’s nationwide network of people dedicated to finding a cure for heart disease and stroke. The AMA encourages citizens to become advocates and even provides information on how to join the network and help raise funds. The advocacy group says, “You’re the Cure! …Because you truly don’t have to be a doctor to save lives — just an advocate with the American Heart Association and its division, the American Stroke Association.”
In our society where an active search with Google is a verb (Googling) no longer a simple search engine, I find it very useful, enveloping, and time consuming…However, one of my many searches did result in an interesting piece of information. The objective of this project is an attempt to raise awareness or concern that heart disease is not only restricted to the aging population, but that the younger generations, without the know-how are more at risk for its development and at a more drastic rate.
The title of the study, which was published in the Journal of Community Health in 2004, is “Heart Disease Awareness Among College Students.” I have not yet been able to find a similar piece of information. The link I chose to follow merely provided me with an abstract (it is a subscription-only site). I will work through the databases in the digital library provided by Pitt to find a similar study, if not this exact case.
As I expected, the study reports that students had relatively low knowledge of heart disease in comparison to other health issues, such as STDs. The abstract states, “The results suggest that educational intervention is necessary to increase college students’ knowledge about heart disease; and, in particular, efforts need to be made to raise awareness about heart disease among women and minorities. Guidelines for future educational intervention must address common misconceptions about which demographic groups are at risk for developing heart disease and address gaps in knowledge that young people have regarding heart disease prevention.”
Given the result of this study I am determined to find other information…I’ll post any updates so stay tuned!
In “An Inconvenient Truth,” Al Gore employed many techniques to inform and persuade his audience. Many of the tactics proved to be visual, their purpose: to simply support his explanation of the global warming crisis. Sounds simple enough, right?
After watching the film a second time, I think not. One can tell that his visual cues were very carefully planned and practiced. The position of each visual element within the documentary and actual presentation was effective in its own way. Three of the most effective elements Gore uses in his presentation were a scissor-lift stunt, the demonstration of hurricane Katrina, and the use of humor.
In the film “An Inconvenient Truth,” (movie trailer) Al Gore shares his presentation on the effects and causes of global warming within the context of a documentary to 1) help construct his authority and 2) help retain the attention of the audience. Positioning the presentation within a film allows viewers to retain more of Gore’s argument, through better keeping the attention of the audience.
I do not often watch or enjoy documentary style films, but was actually impressed and interested in “An Inconvenient Truth.” It seemed as though Gore’s use of verbal and visual cues was well planned. Viewers can easily see his passion for the topic. Although I do not wholly understand its placement within the documentary, seeing Gore’s struggle with the presidential race and his realization that raising awareness as his ‘calling’ was eye-opening. In the film he reveals that he initially did not understand the purpose of losing the race, but ‘ran with it’ and now realizes that what he is doing is more important than winning the presidency.
Three visual representations for my heart disease project and their uses are as follows:
This representations primary purpose is to encourage and make the audience aware of three main areas for heart disease prevention and control. One conflict with this image may be confusion in its design. Perhaps one solution would be to include the image within a pamphlet to serve as a visual demonstration of 3 key areas where one can be responsible for personal control and/or prevention heart disease. (courtesy of Americanheart.org)
A series of images, which visually explain heart disease, seem to be the most helpful for the purpose of my project. They are able to be shown to multiple audiences, yet still provide the same important information. This particular image accompanied by an explanation of each point on the diagram and its relation of heart disease, would work to provide audiences with information on heart attack prevention and treatment dos and don’ts. (courtesy of Medicinenet.com)
Lastly, and along the same lines of basic education of the other visual representations, a series of videos would be made available as part of a media campaign. They would be featured on a relevant website and as PSAs (public service announcement). However, one problem with all three images would be to make the accompanying information interesting/eye-catching. (courtesy of Illumistream)
According to guidelines presented in How to Create Powerful Press Releases, written by Judith Welsh, three areas where I think a press release would best serve this project/topic are as follows:
1. To inform the public of a new treatment (medication or surgery). This release would be intended for not only the general public, but more specifically for those who treat and suffer from heart disease. It may also target any person who may know someone dealing with heart disease. The advancement of a new treatment would be the call to action for the release of information. It would most likely be released to news outlets (for Television and internet/online stories).
[After reading chapters 4 and 17, I think that I understand what an “A but B Problem Statement” means…so here goes:]
Deaths resulting from heart disease have been declining for the past 20 years, but with the rapid growth of the obesity epidemic, many officials (doctors, researchers, etc) are concerned that it will reverse the steady decrease of deaths. (Concern results from obesity’s correlation to hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and blood clots, which are all signifiers of heart disease.)
Explained: A indicates that death rates related to heart disease are continuing to fall, but B offers support that a problem may arise with the growing rate of obesity and its associated risk factors (which often lead to heart disease). Therefore, the problem is a possibility for the reversal of the number of deaths.
The article, “Risk Communication, the West Nile Virus Epidemic, and Bioterrorism: Responding to the Communication Challenges posed by the Intentional or Unintentional Release of a Pathogen in an Urban Setting,” worked to show how perceptions from those involved in risk communication affect its use. The article provided a well-constructed definition of risk communication in the abstract, but I feel as though the National Academy of Sciences gave a better explanation. Having read both definitions helped me to solidify the idea of risk communication.
Readings this week included chapters that have helped bring some areas of importance to my attention. Over the past few weeks, I have become more aware of ideas surrounding blogging. What impresses me most is the transfer pace of information, as well as the multitude of information and opinions available. It is also a good reminder that a person must check his or her source for credibility or support of facts.
These materials were created to satisfy the requirements for "Writing for The public," a course in the Public and Professional Writing program at the University of Pittsburgh. While the research itself is accurate, some situations were constructed in the interest of exploring a variety of approaches to risk communication.
Please find a list of sources provided under "This Work."
