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Jas-mesha Evans

Prof. McDonald

English 102-14

February 13th, 2017

Animal Testing: Video V.S. Photo

Did you know that every year around the world about 100,000 to 200,000 animals suffer

and die just for cosmetics? Just a little food for thought for you to think about the next time you

are applying makeup or spraying perfume. The suffering of animals for our own benefit is

something we no longer can ignore. Whether it is a 3 minute YouTube video by people for the

ethical treatment of animals entitled 1,2,3 Testing or an advertisement by Animal Liberation

using satire, we must educated ourselves on the problem at hand. There are different ways to

bring awareness to a problem;however, the goal never changes, the goal is to get the message

across.

Purpose/Audience

The first genre being analyzed is the video created by PETA. The video is a mere 3

minutes and 12 seconds; however, the message is well perceived. The video was intended to

bring awareness to the cruel procedure and environment animals endure during testing as well as,

get viewers to change their views. During multiple parts of the video, it was mentioned that

animals testing was inaccurate as well as unnecessary. A tactic used to push the agenda of

making animal testing illegal. It is correct to say the purpose was to bring awareness to the issue

of animal testing, but a deeper look will reveal that they also want the audience to think about

fighting to make testing illegal. The video had some entertaining parts such as the costume rabbit

dancing, but the overall purpose was to inform as well as persuade. The second genre takes a
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different approach while still promoting the same message as the first. The second genre is an

image meaning it isnt as in depth as a video. The purpose of this genre is to quickly get the

message across in the most appealing way possible. One purpose of the image is to bring

awareness to the harm humans cause for selfish reasons. The small text below the image also

states they want the viewer to boycott animal tested products. The image brings awareness to the

harm people cause animals using cosmetics.

The audience of the PETA video was any company who test on animals as well as anyone

who uses cosmetic products that test on animals. The audience for the image by Animal

Liberation would be anyone who wears makeup. The audience and the purpose of both genres

correlate. With the audience of the PETA video being those who test on animals the goal is to get

animal testers to side with PETA and stop testing. With the audience of the PETA video being

those who use cosmetic products the purpose is to shed light on the process some companies use

when making cosmetics. Much like the audience and purpose of the PETA video, the Animal

Liberation photo is trying to bring attention to the behind the scene process that goes into

makeup. Although the video is 3 mins that could bore the audience therefore it is wise to make

the first 60 secs strong. The image on the other hand is straightforward therefore the reader is not

required to spend a lot of time looking at it.

Rhetorical Issue

The first genre is a video posted on YouTube which is a public site in which anyone can

post a video. However, the 1,2,3. Testing video establishes a sense of ethics by being posted by

a reputable source. Not only is the video posted by the actual PETA organization, the video also

has a verified stamp. The verified stamp is given by Youtube to reputable sources. The ad by

Animal Liberation lacks ethos. The ad is found on a website that blogs about miscellaneous
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things. On the photo at the bottom you can see the website in which the ad came from;however,

when you type in the link the website does not work. This hurts the ad overall because one of

their goals was to get the audience to boycott animal testing products, unfortunately the audience

is likely to be discourage because there is no way to contact the advertisement creators. This is

one of the differences between the genres. The video has a link to the PETA website;therefore,

giving their audience a chance to actually support the cause, but the ad by Animal Liberation

does no such thing. The Animal Liberation ad tries to provide evidence to support their message

by listing a statistic starting, Every year 6 million animals are killed from cosmetic testing at

the bottom of the photo. Unfortunately, viewers are likely to think it is just a mere exaggeration

because there is no concrete credibility of the advertisement. The YouTube video supports the

claim of animal testing being wrong by actually showing testing being done during the video.

The one thing the picture advertisement does have is emotional appeal. The photo is a makeup

compact as a lethal trap. This overall purpose is to make us think about the process some

companies use to make cosmetics. The use of the lethal trap should evoke sadness and guilt over

the fact that animals are trapped and killed for cosmetic testing. The video can cause a strong

emotional response, some may cry because of the graphicness of the video. The video has a

strong use of pathos because you can visually see the process of animals being tortured as well as

hear the screaming of the animals. With one genre we are visual able to see the harsh treatment

and with the other we can paint a picture in our head.

Structure and Delivery

Being as the video is 3 minutes long the creators are aware that they have to keep the

audience entertained and engaged. The way they do this is by switching the voice between a little

girl, and older man and a woman so that the video is not one mundane voice. Another way they
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make the video more relatable to the message is by having elements that make it feel like an

actual experiment is taking place. Those elements include the beginning when a researcher

says, alright bring him in, hold him down and then initiating a countdown. Also there is a

comedic moment when they have someone dancing in a rabbit suit probably to show the cute and

soft side of an animal being tested on. The video at one point highlights bullet points such as

hurt, pain, bleed, lonely, suffer, sad. After bullet pointing keywords they then flash the three

words; pain, hunger, and thirst. The video has such strong text elements the viewer could watch

the video on silent and still get the message. Overall the video has multiple elements that

contribute to getting the message across to a different range of audience. The photo on the other

hand does not have the element of sound or usage of a lot of text to get the message across, the

picture has to speak for itself. The photos usage of a spiked animal trap gets the message across.

The trap is one in which if you step foot in or in the viewer's case if you reach your hand in you

will get caught. The photo is very satirical. In the ad the makeup compact is in the middle of the

trap so that if you use the makeup you will get caught. Much like how the animals get caught and

are used for testing. The elements of the picture get the message across in a way that makes the

audience think about what comes with using makeup.

Conclusion

The most effective genre was the video because of all the elements it was able to include

with it being 3 minutes. Being able to actually see the animals being tortured and cages versus

having to paint your own picture in your head is more effective. The video allowed us to see as

well as hear what goes on during animal testing whereas the picture we were only able to

imagine what happens. The video also established a better ethos than the photo making it a better

choice for conveying the message. With different topics, different types of genre may be more
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effective. With a topic such as animal testing the best way to get the message across is to actually

show your audience what is happening behind closed doors versus just telling them.
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1. O. (2012, May 03). Testing 1...2...3. Retrieved February 13, 2017, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E3lxIacTwg
2. "Animal Liberation Cosmetics." The Inspiration Room. N.p., 02 Nov. 2015.
Web. 13 Feb. 2017.