An Inconvenient Truth Summary 3
An Inconvenient Truth In An Inconvenient Truth, Albert Gore presents us with a thought-provoking oration by employing three persuasive appeals. He utilizes the elements of ethos, logos, and pathos in order to better achieve the goal of notifying the severity of global warming as well as awakening people’s environmental consciousness. An appeal to ethos deals with credibility and what makes the author qualified to speak on a particular subject, Al Gore does this in both selections. The entire film is presented in the context of a lecture hall in a university, which gives the audience a sense of seriousness.
Additionally, Gore suggests his persistency and commitment by pointing out his political career as the Vice President, worldwide travel experience and abundant research on environment which as well can substantiate his qualification to be a spokesman on the mainstream issue of global warming. Moreover, Gore calls on expert testimony for a number of times, including that of his Harvard professor, who first promoted measuring carbon dioxide in the earth atmosphere which effectively establishes Gore’s credibility.
Albert Gore appeals to logos by piling up deliberate evidence to further convince people about the crisis of global warming. Dynamic graphs and charts, one of which indicates the rapid change in temperature associating with the escalation of carbon dioxide, are displayed with movement owning to the multi-media. Also, by using time-lapse photography, striking changes in places, such as Argentina and Grinnel Glacier, are shown in photographs to prove the scientific theory that the earth has been severely affected by global warming.
Gore, in addition, mentions other effects of the global warming in an alarming tone, which comprise species lost, natural disasters, and new-found diseases; displayed footages of news about hurricanes, primarily Katrina, pictures of extinct creatures, and discoveries of viruses leading to illness, such as Avian flu, West Nile flu etc. By these methods, Gore effectively makes the audience aware of the significance of preventing global warming from being aggravated. Yet, in this seemingly pure-scientific presentation, Gore targets the audience’s emotions several times in appeal of pathos.
By recalling his son’s car accident which nearly took him away from Gore, he not only provokes the listeners’ sentiment of sympathy, but also emphasizes the point that we often fail to value what is precious until we are in danger of losing it. Gore makes a profusion of projections which startle the audience with the effect of alerting them to the crisis. For instance, he employs a concerned tone by predicting the devastating future of mankind when hundreds of millions of people are killed due to global warming. On the other hand, Gore’s sense of humor alleviates the solemn atmosphere.
His occasionally self-deprecating jokes (“I am Al Gore. I used to be the next President of the United States. ”) and sarcastic comments ease the listeners’ mood and exert a pull on their attention. What is more, the use of comical cartoons not only gives the audience a laugh but also provides them with a more comprehensible view of global warming. By analyzing Al Gore’s well-organized steps to proving his main idea, we can ascertain that Al Gore has adroitly utilized the three above-discussed appeals, ethos, logos, and pathos when imparting his viewpoints on global warming to people.
