This song written by Jeremy Gilchrist in 2011, was made as part of the protest of wall street known as Occupy Wall Street. This is a series of ongoing protests based in Liberty Plaza Park in New York City protesting "the greed and corruption of wall street banks" (Occupywallst.org) among other things. This song displays the anger of the protesters on the injustice they believe is occurring while the video shows a slide show of pictures of protests to enlighten its viewers and appeal to their emotions to get them on board with the cause.
Lyrics below:
They can take our money
They can take our homes
They can steal the future
Mortage our souls
Occupy the politicians mind
Buy the truth and sell us lies
But there's a rising on wall street
I am you and you are me
We are the 99%'ers
On the right side of love and history
It's hard to say where it went wrong
Decades before me and this song
Through the banksters and the wars
You know I just can't take it anymore
There's a rising on wall street
I am you and you are me
We are the 99%'ers
On the right side of love and history
Jeremy Gilchrist
2011
They can take our money
They can take our homes
They can steal the future
Mortage our souls
Occupy the politicians mind
Buy the truth and sell us lies
But there's a rising on wall street
I am you and you are me
We are the 99%'ers
On the right side of love and history
It's hard to say where it went wrong
Decades before me and this song
Through the banksters and the wars
You know I just can't take it anymore
There's a rising on wall street
I am you and you are me
We are the 99%'ers
On the right side of love and history
Jeremy Gilchrist
2011
One thing struck me almost immediately after watching the video; there is a complete lack of anyone in any kind of uniform, the only exception being those in police outfits. Why?
ReplyDeleteIs the video maybe passively telling us that they are also victims, or hinting that police officers are forced to handle situations that have arisen out of their silently working corporations?
Another bit of imagery I found really interesting is at :12, where a 'well-groomed' businessman is standing, looking up, with a large but not easily noticed noose hanging around his neck. This is evidence that the illustrator of this music video is trying to pair the audience with the bankers, the well made out members of society. The message I believe they are trying to get across is, firstly, WE are the bankers, the ones wearing suits, WE are the 'greed' shown at 1:50.
The illustrations, paired with the song, seem to be of a binary themselves and conflict with messages. It even seems hard to piece together what exactly it is the pictures are trying to say.
This video and song use the influence of emotion to persuade viewers toward their cause. The message is based almost entirely on pathos. Images of police officers subduing protestors out of context give the image of “the man putting us down”, another shot at the corporations supposedly running the country. The title of the video alludes to a well-known statistic, that 1% of the population control roughly 38% of the national wealth. “We are the other 99%” is saying, we are the everyday worker, the everyday citizen protesting the elite. The first few lines are interesting as they use “take” twice in a row followed by “steal”, these are powerful words and a big accusation to invoke anger at the beginning of the video towards the wall street bankers. The video also uses the repetition of the word “you, and our” to show the viewer that they are in this together.
ReplyDeleteThis text provides an song and video that outreach to the emotions of viewers. Persuading viewers with pathos, the song is reaching out to people for their support in the Occupy Wall Street protest. The images that are shown through out the song either showcase people that are protesting Wall Street or being knocked down by authority. When the singer says "Hard to say where it went wrong", the picture flashes to four policemen carrying a protester. The image could represent the level of authority in this country and how people treat others on different levels. It also could represent the attempt to stop the rise and shut people out from this cause. "Through the banksters and the wars" is a line where the singer places the blame on those who have caused the issues in the United States. "There's a rising on wall street" is a line that stands out and defends the acts of these people. They are defending their acts and rights to start a cause that benefits their future. The image at 1:11 has a powerful message that coins how the government and big banks are not helping out the people that are considered the "99%" but only helping "themselves".
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that stood out to me in the very beginning of the video was the man wearing a noose around his neck. His statement implies that its getting to such a bad point that death could quite be an option. In the song lyrics it says "i cant take it anymore", which leads me to think the guy with the noose "cant take it anymore." Also, the lines, "They can take our money, They can take our homes, They can steal the future," it seems as if Wall Street can steal all that away from a human, the last thing we can control is our decision to live or die, which again leads back to the guy with the noose.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure to everyone, it is apparent that this video directly impacts our pathos. This video will especially hit home to people that have struggled growing up so it is very emotional based. With the slow strumming of the guitar to even the low pitch of the mans voice as you listen to his words and watch the images throughout the video. It all invokes a sense of emotions we all can relate to as we are a part of that 99% One part I found pretty powerful was the man with the suit on and instead of a tie. I think that what this man is trying to say is that the top 1% is essentially strangling the 99% because of the corporate schemes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Bobby and Brittanee. This video focuses on persuading its views through an emotional appeal. This video does contain almost entirely pathos. There isn't very much ethos or logos. The most powerful image in this video would be the image of the man in a business suite with the noose around his neck where a tie should be. This shows how corporate American has pretty much "hung" the American people. They are the ones that are responsible for the majority of the debt that our nation is facing.
ReplyDeleteGenerally, this song is writing to those who still want to pursue their wonderful future with fair treated and who care about politics and justice. Pathos is used almost in every sentences and pictures in this video. Writer use “I” and “WE” to show that he is on our side and fight for our rights which would make people trust him and feel like we are involved and unfairly treated, too. He called those rich people “they”, and states that we are the 99% who are living in the world where politics and wealth are being charged by those 1% instead of “us”. by these description,he wishes to stimulate audience to feel angry about the current circumstances of American society. There is one picture which is really impressive for me. In the picture, a man with a cloth of American flag picture covered his mouth raises a paperboard said “America wake up!” It seems to show that American politicians are trying to stop people to saying the truth and facts, because rich people are controlling the nation and law which is unfair to the general public. When a small group of people have access to stop media to expose facts and even crimes, they are lying and living with privilege. Then law is only set for those comparatively poor people, 99% of population. Newspaper, website and magazines are main ways for us to know what‘s going on in the world, but those 1% can easily banned us to know what they don’t want us to know. That can really drive people to focus and enrage people to support this author by fightting for our right and justice.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everybody. The song and the video are based entirely on pathos. The pictures show a great amount of feelings and emotions that catches the viewer’s attention right away. In the beginning of the video we notice a man standing in a suit while having a noose around his neck, this demonstrates how they are tired of the situation and began to think that death is the only thing they have to choose from. This is a very powerful song because it shows a lot of emotions and it brings a clear message to the audience, which in this case is “us”. The song states that “we are the 99%’ers” which shows that the writer is in our side and feels our pain.
ReplyDeleteThis video has a very powerful message. It depicts the every day people as being the "99%ers," those who do not run the corporate businesses, and those who are not rich. Gene mentioned how one of the main persuasion techniques used in this video was pathos. I agree with him and I wanted to expand on his point about the singers voice. The singer seems as though there is very little energy in his voice, giving the listener the impression that he is at the end of his rope and tired of going through what the 1%ers have put him through. The images do a very good job of showing that there are other people who feel very strongly about his cause, and showing lots of people rioting(??) in the same picture shows that there are lots of people rising up together to make a change. The maker of the video probably did this to get the viewer fired up and feel encouraged to add to the masses and make a change.
ReplyDeleteThe first image that really stood out was the guy with the noose around his neck in a suit. This image was very intriguing and it could possibly mean that the suit (wall street) are killing the average american because of their greed. The second picture that stood out to me was the guy with the sign that read "It's not a crisis It's a scam". This is captivating because the news media always says that it is an economic crisis, or financial crisis but never a scam like this guy is claiming. The last thing that i got from the song and pictures together is a call to join them in their fight. The video opens up with a sign that says, "We are the 99% and so are you-Join us!-We welcome you" and this could be used as a general image to stick in a persons mind to start off the video. Then in the song the artist frequently uses inclusive words and phrases like "our" "us" and "I am you and you are me" to pull you in and make you feel like you are the same as the people in the video and should feel the same way. Then the last picture is the same as the first and could be used for a person to reflect on how they felt before and how they feel now.
ReplyDeleteThe video tries to use sets of pictures and a song to make the audiences feel pathos. And among these pictures there is a very impressive one. At the very beginning of the video. The picture shows a man dressed in well suit and with a sunglasses, he rises his head seems like trying to find something. But around his neck there hangs a noose.From his appearance, he tries to act like a banker or a politician. Even though he looks up but he could hardly see anything before him because of the sunglass. It indicates some bankers and politicians are shortsighted and that's the reason why they may destroy America's future. And the noose also shows that if politicians and bankers do not stop the behavior of taking homes and money from 99%'ers, they will finally ruin themselves. From this point the video tries to appeal for the audiences to be the the 99% and in favor of occupying the wall street.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that stuck out with me was the way the video made me feel. The emotional aspect of this video was very strong. It was like making me feel like if i wasn't trying to bring down wall street then i was the bad guy too. What was surprising to me too was how the people are still not only blaming wall street but the government too. The picture of the guy with the noose as the tie was very symbolic. I mean you get the authors point right away. It makes me realize that the "99%" is feeling like its running out of options to become successful and wall street and the government is using the american peoples hard work to make money.
ReplyDeleteI think that the main thing that the singer wants our attention to go to is the protests going on all over the country by the name of Occupy Wall Street. He has done this by doing two things: singing a song and showing a slide show. Both are filled with pathos because the strong words and images used in this Youtube video appeal to all our emotions. Some oppositions to human emotions such as justice have also been shown by the policemen. Some lines that use strong corporate vocabulary to create imagery are:
ReplyDelete"Mortgage our souls
Occupy the politicians mind
Buy the truth and sell us lies"
These are actions being committed by the "men in suits". As far as ethos and logos, there isn't much. Credibility is unknown and there is way more emotional appeal used than logical reasoning.
Watching this video shows alot of emotion, with the music playing in the background. The things that stood out to me while watching this is when the police took down a protester and took him away. The people standing around and holding signs, as someone was holding sign saying "stop trading our future" that was a strong point in that video. The guy holding the sign saying "stop corporate crime" they are steady blaming the government also that causes more attention to Occupy Wall Street. Politicians.
ReplyDeleteThe song keeps repeating I am You and You and me to arouse the sympathy of the audience. And it implants the idea that the protesters are on the side of the audience. Using the picture and the music can impress the audience visually and auditory. It uses lots of pathos like the comparison between the ordinary people with signs and armed police which invokes the sympathy of the audience.
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ReplyDeleteBasically, the way this video maker used to persuade the audience is pathos. The song with a little sad and emotional tone may touch the audience more easily. One of the interesting points I found is that the 2 elements the author used in the video are music and a slide of pictures. Instead of adding in extra texts, the author expressed the thoughts by the help of those words showing on the signs which people hold in their hands. Another thing which makes this video popular is "NEW". Because this is an ongoing event, everyone is talking about it. Consequently, the audience will get more involved then they are familiar with this event. Writing such a song and putting it online is a smart way to make this video popular though media.
ReplyDelete