Animal cruelty is wrong. As an avid animal lover, it is hard to understand what could go through someone's mind when they have decided to harm their pets or other animals. With the many hours that we spend watching television each week, it is hard to meet someone who has not seen the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' video featuring Sarah McLachlan and her song "Angel". Because this video gets me every time, I have decided to analyze it as my digital media artifact for this assignment.
The ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was the first humane society to be established in North America. Formed in 1866 by Henry Bergh and headquartered in New York City, the ASPCA is one of the largest humane societies in the world today. According to their website, the nonprofit organization was also the first humane organization to be granted legal authority to investigate, arrest and prosecute those who commit crimes against animals.
In 2006,
the ASPCA released one of their most haunting and depressing fundraising ads
featuring singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan and her song “Angel.” Although
McLachlan only appears for a short amount of time in the video to make the plea
for donations in support of the animals that follow, the moving shots of
starving cats and injured dogs really hit your heart. As a longtime supporter
of the ASPCA, McLachlan’s ad has raised a lot of money for the organization;
close to $30 million since it began to air. They were even able to purchase primetime
slots on widely watched channels to try and gain even more supporters.
Because
this ad gets me whenever I see it (and because I sometimes even have to change
the channel so that I don’t start bawling) I decided to use it as my digital
media artifact. I would argue that this ad is a digital media artifact for the
following reasons: 1) it is broadcast on national television and uses a “public
figure” to persuade you to donate money, and 2) the ad uses visuals of animals
to show people that this is a real problem and that people actually treat their
pets and animals in this way.
Gitelman: History of the digital media artifact. This ad
still airs in its original form from when it first appeared on television in
2006. There have other ads made with McLachlan, using other songs including
“Silent Night” in 2008 and “Whisper” (January) 2009. I would argue that a
history is being created or already has been created because of the
memorability of the ads and the hundreds of times that they have aired on television.
Baudrillard:
Animal cruelty a simulation? These images are successful because they
are “reflection of basic reality,” although some hope these horrors aren’t
true.
McLuhan: “All media works us over completely.” McLuhan
thought that all print and digital media were/are things that affect our
society and affect our lives over a long period of time. This video ad would
fall into this category because of its quick message to donate, but also
because of the images that accompany the words. They are something that isn’t
easily erased from memory.
Sources:
1. aspca.org
5. McLuhan
6. Gitelman
7. Baudrillard
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