Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Dante Lawson
Lori Bedell
7 October 2016
Years following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s monumental I Have a Dream Speech,
racial discourse is still a major obstacle throughout American society. Racial tensions are
increasing, despite the progress made since the 1960s. One example of this is shown through the
current increase in documented cases of police brutality against minorities, Police killed at least
102 unarmed black people in 2015, nearly twice each week (mappingpoliceviolence). These
incidents have elicited a variety of responses that have made the topics of police brutality and
racial injustices the center of national conversation. Time Magazine published a cover in
response to the 2015 Baltimore riots, and the We Are Here movement created a video in
response to all of the recent deaths of unarmed African Americans due to law enforcement.
While the Time Magazine cover and the We Are Here movement video both demonstrate the
use stylistic choices combined with the use of strong intrinsic proofs, the Time Magazine cover
presents a strong challenge to the dominant ideology, during a kairotic moment, that things have
changed since 1968, and the We Are Here movement video creates a call to action for
Before being able to fully grasp the gravity of these artifacts, some historical context is
needed. On April 12th, 2015 a Baltimore, Maryland citizen by the name of Freddie Gray was
taken into police custody. A week later on April 19th, Gray was dead after sustaining a severe
spinal injury and being in a coma for several days. Gray was unjustly arrested, without probable
Lawson 2
cause, and then proceeded to receive extremely brutal mistreatment from the six officers that
arrested him, ultimately leading to his death (Keneally). The circumstances of this incident
brought outrage to the streets of Baltimore resulting in a riot that turned the city upside down.
Time Magazine used this moment in order to make their powerful claim that things are the same
as they were in the 1960s. We Are Here is a movement founded by Alicia Keys whose mission
is to use culture to create change. This group fights for equality and justice, women and children,
and climate and consciousness (weareheremovement). The video they created in 2016, 23 Ways
You Could Be killed If You Are Black in America, strives to leave an emotional impact on all
who watch it in order to call the nation to change the exigence of police brutality against African
Americans.
Time magazine systematically used stylistic choices along with intrinsic proofs to present
their claims. Time magazine is a national company that has been in business since 1928. Their
reputation alone provides them with an enormous amount of ethos. People trust in their
credibility and that is why they are able to make the claim that they do. When looking at the
magazine cover, the most striking choice in style was to use a black and white photo with a bold
headline. By using a black and white picture, Time Magazine causes readers to first think that
this is an older picture from the times when protests on race issues were more prevalent. The
headline also plays along by evoking the intrinsic proof of logos. Time Magazine presents their
argument by saying, America, 1968, and then crossing out 1968 in red and placing 2015 above
it. After that, the magazine goes on to write, What has changed. What hasnt. Another major
choice in style was the picture itself. You see a black male running away from what looks to be
an army of police, which is similar to the pictures you would see in the 1960s during the Civil
Rights movement. Through pathos, Time Magazine arouses the readers emotions because they
Lawson 3
may feel saddened and or angered that this exigence of police brutality against African
Americans still exists. People want to believe things have changed because that would represent
The video created by the We Are Here movement intricately shaped its call to action by
using all three intrinsic proofs evenly while implementing decisive artistic choices. The video
states 23 situations in which unarmed African Americans were murdered by law enforcement.
Each incident is said by a different prominent figure in pop culture. By using important
celebrities to state each case, this video draws credibility from a wide prospective. Chances are
out of the 23 different people talking in the video, the viewer will know at least one of them
therefore making a connection that causes them to listen closer. From the moment the video
starts to play, the artistic choices made by the producer set the tone. The video is filmed in black
and white with solemn music playing in the background. The viewer is immediately taken into a
mindset where they realize that what they are about to watch is a serious matter. After each case
is presented by the speaker, the picture of the victim is flashed. By connecting a face with the
story, a deep emotional connection is created. This pathetic appeal furthers the impact of the
video. The videos impact is also furthered by the captions that are displayed as each speaker is
speaking. As each case is being presented, the words are there to back it up. This is also how the
As opposed to the We Are Here movements video, Time Magazine strongly contests
the dominant ideology that society has changed since the 1960s through their cover. One of the
main aspects of the cover that supports this is the headline. Time Magazine clearly presents the
words America, 1968; they then proceed to cross it out and write 2015 above it. They are
literally conveying that these two times are so similar that they are almost interchangeable. They
Lawson 4
also wrote, What has changed. What hasnt. Here Time Magazine is asking questions, but they
do not place question marks after them. It is almost as if they already know the answer, which is
that things are still the same. All they are attempting to do is inform the reader. The picture also
plays a big role in backing Time Magazines claim, because without the headline, one may
actually mistake the picture as one from the Civil Rights movement. The stylistic choices made
for this cover create the initial thoughts in the viewer that this is Americas past, but when looked
at deeper level, viewers realize that this is Americas present. Thus, Times claim that things have
In contrast to Time Magazines challenge to the dominant ideology that things have
changed since the 1960s, 23 Ways You Could Be killed If You Are Black in America calls
Americans to fulfill their civic duty by making the change America needs. At the conclusion of
the video, Alicia Keys prompts viewers to go to the We Are Here movements website to let
our government know that we as a society need to change now. She declares that the time to end
the systemic racism in our country and create a world where everyone can live equally is now.
Having a united and equal society is one of the fundamental principles of what it means to be
civic. Being civic means that as a society we should be united under a sense of nationalism. That
is one of the main concepts that Alicia is trying to pose. Her credibility as an A-List celebrity
provides her the authority to make this call. She also uses the entire video to build her argument
through logos and emotional appeal. Viewers have been presented with several instances where
unarmed African American were murdered for almost trivial reasons. This video does a great job
of making the audience pay attention to the information it is presenting. The We Are Here
Despite the fact that Time Magazine presents a strong challenge to the dominant ideology,
during a kairotic moment, that things have changed since the 1960s through its magazine cover,
and the We Are Here movement video creates a call to action for Americans to make the
change society needs, both artifacts use a variety of choice in style combined with intrinsic
proofs. At the core of both artifacts is the same meaning. They both recognize and address the
exigence of police brutality against African Americans in the United States today. Systemic
racism is a real problem, and the only way we can overcome it is together. In the words of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot
Works Cited
Keneally, Meghan. "Freddie Gray's Death Ruled a Homicide, Officers Face Charges." ABC
News. ABC News Network, 01 May 2015. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. http://abcnews.go.com
/US/freddie-grays-death-ruled-homicide-statesattorney/story?id=30728026
"Police Killed More than 100 Unarmed Black People in 2015." Mapping Police Violence.
http://weareheremovement.com/
https://youtu.be/U_VaNhI4CLo