It's well known that Asia is a hotbed for human crimes such as human trafficking. Some areas are worse than others. In fact, some places are so rampant with these crimes it is seen being carried out in public streets and establishments. To catch a glimpse of how surreal it is, I have incorporated a clip from one of my favorite movies of all time, Slumdog Millionaire. I want to explain this clip, so if you haven't watched it, please do
now.
Video Breakdown:
This takes place in India, broad daylight, and at a busy train station. It also takes place in the PRESENT TIME.
The guy in the green shirt is Jamal's blood brother, the guy he has grown up on the streets with. Jamal is the one trying to get to Latika.
Latika is cut on the face for resisting her captors which is why she is holding her face in the last seconds of the video.
Other Comments:
Slumdog Millionaire is an extremely raw and uncut reality of the lives of Jamal, Latika, and Salim as they grow up in the slums of India and learn how to fend for themselves even though it's a fictional movie.
Without necessarily trying to evoke emotion from its audience, Slumdog Millionaire has raised awareness to the issue of trafficking among other issues such as large-scale massacres of villages, murder, prostitution, and child labor and violence. Although many children are bought from their families in hope of a better future, this isn't the case for the young trio. Their journey into slavery and trafficking begins after they lost their parents and must take care of themselves. Not knowing good from evil, they accept a man's offer to feed, clothe and take care of them. This is where the young children's story begins into a seedy, India underworld truly begins. You can trust no one in this cut-throat environment, and sadly, this statement holds true today, right now.
In order to completely understand the context of the movie and understand trafficking and how many crimes relate to this, I encourage you to watch it. Not only is it a great movie and a good topic for my blog, it has won numerous awards, has an amazing soundtrack, it is a love story, and has an interesting plot. Here's the trailer for an intrigued reader who may want to watch.
Showing posts with label human trafficking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human trafficking. Show all posts
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Rhetorical Analysis of Human Trafficking Through the Media
Americans often relate human trafficking with other countries such as India or China. However, not only does human trafficking have a broader scope of definition, it is very prevelant in America, a seemingly established, first world country.
Out of the three articles that I found, two were from an actual news source such as night-time news on FOX or ABC. The other articles was found on "the Onion." Keep in mind, our general views about these two outlets. I want to generalize the common reaction that an audience would have when hearing something about human trafficking. Human trafficking is viewed as immoral under any circumstance, therefore a common reaction to an article about it would mainly be of disgust or a similar response.
The first news article I read was about a man by the name of Vincent Edward Broussard abducting two women and planning to obtain money in exchange of the girls demonstrating sexual favors on another man. Without going into further detail on the story, the article seems objective enough. Very little pathos was displayed from the news source itself. However, the beauty of displaying a "side" on a certain situation by a media source is letting other people share their thoughts and opinions on the subject at hand. Many comments were made about the stupidity of women getting into a stranger's car and the concern/relief that they were lucky enough to live another day. This obviously shows discontent towards Vincent and his schemes. Key words can also play on pathos of an audience through the knews. For instance a quote from the article states, " Luckily, that's when Sand Springs police intervened chased, stopped and cuffed Broussard."
Along with the article just mentioned, the video clip of another human trafficking case uses logos to induce its audience with an emotion. With a common knowledge that human trafficking is represented as a despicable act to ever commit throughout any given population, simply reporting an instance of this stirs negative emotions towards the violators. The consensus of the act is already weighted towards the favor of the innocent people who are victimized by human trafficking. However, this is the general ethos of a regular news station: report the facts, possibly investigate foul play and share it with the public. There aren't visible agendas people are trying to take care of.
Finally, we arrive to a short article found on the Onion. This article makes light of human trafficking by using sarcasm and witty comments. Although the blurb is literally a sentence with some quotes by different characters, the pathos is definitely greater. This article can literally be seen by anyone who has internet access and has a desire to go to the website. That's a quite diverse population. Since it's so diverse, many people will have their own ethnocentric view towards it. An old, white woman might be appalled that anything like this would be posted, a younger adult might find it humorous, yet a woman who has been subjected to trafficking or even a similar type of violence might find it crude and unsympathetic. The ethos of the organization is to be judgemental towards no one particular group or person but to make fun of everyone equally. There is already a predetermined thought process before any article is written that you can't please everyone with your opinion, so you might as well say what you want. Despite the jokes surrounding a serious matter, there is still a weighted opinion, shared between writer and reader alike, that human trafficking is atrocious. Ultimately, even though these type of articles do evoke pathos from most people (even if it is a laugh and not a grunt of disgust), logos provides common ground between the author and its audience on this situation.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
So...what's the deal about Human Trafficking?
Before I begin, I want to clarify a couple things.
1. This is an assignment for my English 241 class: Rhetorics of Violence and its Alternatives
2. I have never really blogged, so I'm kind of nervous about this whole process, especially the grading.
Now then, this blog is designed to talk about human trafficking, a form of violence that people may or may not realize is an extreme threat to women all over the world. So what is human trafficking in a nutshell? Wikpedia describes it as "the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour, or a modern-day form of slavery." Yes, I just used Wikipedia.
Human trafficking can be found in multiple media outlets whether it is on the big screen (Taken, 2008) or Twitter. There are so many stories out there revolving around this seedy business of buying and selling girls. I have multiple questions that I, ultimately, want to find the answer to over the course of this blog, and I feel like once I answer one, it will only lead to another unanswered question.
Why is this issue so important to me? One of my best friends is about to endure a year-long missionary trip called the World Race, something that I am also looking into after college. She will be going to 11 countries in 11 months. Most of these areas are extremely dangerous and include countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Thailand, Cambodia, Latvia and Lithuania. She will only be with 5 other people for an entire year. If these are countries rampant with human trafficking (among other things), how safe is she? Is she at greater risk than the natives of each country? If she is at a less risk, is it because men don't care who they take, it's just their job. How many women are willingly submitting themselves to trafficking for their family's benefit or other sacrificial reasoning?
I hope I am able to find some type of relief and gain a greater knowledge of the subject throughout this project.
Until Next Time,
Rachel
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