Video Visual Arguments

I was very interested in visual arguments after this week's reading of "Everything's An Argument." The reading examines visuals being used in books, newspapers, and powerpoint presentations, but I was curious to see how it was used in video. I went on youtube and found a great video with a strong visual argument. The artist is arguing that nuclear weapons are dangerous and should not be used. The video starts with pictures of nuclear missles to familiarize the viewers with the subject matter. Then, there are various political cartoons employed for satire. The most shocking part of the video was when images of young children who had been hurt by nuclear weapons were shown. The artist of the video chose to include this to appeal to the pathos (emotion) of the viewer and make them start hating nuclear weapons for doing so much damage to these innocent little kids. Right after these images, two very simple, yet powerful symbols were shown. The first one was a picture of a nuclear missle with a circle around it and a slash through it. The second one was a peace sign. These two simple images represent the artist's thesis: nuclear warfare should be abolished in order to try and achieve peace. By using a variety of images and making a clear thesis statement at the end, this artist made a powerful visual argument.