Video Analysis Script: The piece of propaganda I decided to analyze is a commercial for Human Papillomavirus vaccine awareness. HPV is a common infection among young people that can lead to cervical cancer and other types of cancers. It is preventable by vaccinations starting around age 11.
What ideas, information and content is presented in the message? So the commercial starts off with a woman and her first sentence is “I have cervical cancer. From an infection.” The video then takes us back through her childhood, as she appears younger and younger her voice plays in the background. She says “who knew that there was something that could’ve help protect me from HPV when I was 11 or 12, way before I was even exposed to it.” Finally the noise stops and appears a young girl, around age 11, and she looks into the camera and says: “did you know? Mom, dad?”
Why is this message a form of propaganda? In Jowett and O’Donnell’s “How to analyze propaganda” we learn that “The purpose of propaganda may be to influence people to adopt beliefs and attitudes that correspond to those of the propagandist or to engage in certain patterns of behavior—for example, to contribute money, join groups, or demonstrate for a cause.”(Jowett & O’Donnell 271) This particular ad is doing just that—influencing people to belief in HPV vaccination. They are urging you to take your child to the doctor and get the shot, that in itself is a clear form of propaganda.
Also, we know this is propaganda because of its use of advocacy. In Professor Hobbs’s article “What if Propaganda and where to find it” we learn that propaganda comes in the form of advocacy where “a group of people may stage a public event (like a rally, a sit-in or other public demonstration) in order to attract media attention to their cause.” (Hobbs, 3) If this particular company Merck or another similar group were to hold a fundraiser or walk in order to raise funds and attention for HPV vaccinations, that would be a perfect example of Propaganda.
Who is the target audience for the message? The target audience for this commercial would be adults, particularly parents. The goal isn’t to reach out to 10,11 and 12 year old kids and convince them to go get vaccinated for HPV. The goal is to grab the attention of parents, and make them feel responsible (somewhat guilty.) They want a parent to see this and think, if my child one day gets cancer from HPV, it will be my fault because I never had them vaccinated.
What techniques are used to attract and hold attention, activate emotion and influence attitudes or behaviors? Within this commercial, we see a heavy focus on guilt. In Hélène Joffe’s The Power of Visual Material: Persuasion, Emotion and Identification we are introduced to the idea of “disgust-evoking” material. Joffe writes “Contemporary health campaigns draw heavily on disgust-evoking material.” (Joffe, 87) This particular health campaign is definitely playing with emotions because they are trying to get a reaction out of viewers by showing a small child’s life fall apart all because someone didn’t take proper precautions. Similar to the film “From One Second to the Next” the HPV ad uses techniques to evoke an emotional reaction. Within “From One Second to the next” the viewer is able to feel a whole range of emotion, including guilt and reliability. In the HPV ad, adults are expected to feel a similar way about getting their children vaccinated. The obvious goal of both pieces of propaganda is: Keep your children safe
WORK CITED: Herzog, Werner (2013)“From One Second To The Next” AT&T
Hobbs, R. (2016). What is Propaganda and Where to Find It. Mind Over Media: Analyzing Contemporary Propaganda.
Joffee, Hélène (2008) Diogenes “The Power of Visual Material: Persuasion, Emotion and Identification”
Jowett, Garth & O’Donnell Victoria (2005) How to analyze propaganda