Apartheid Rough Draft

Andrew Koleski

2/23/16

Rough Draft

Dr. Brown

“Anti-Apartheid Movement” Poster

 

At the top of the page is a poster made by the “Anti-Apartheid Movement”, a group based in the U.K. dedicated to raising awareness of apartheid in South Africa. More specifically, this group is using the object to protest The 1967 Terrorism Act. This piece of legislation gave the authorities the power to “detain people indefinitely without disclosing where they were being held” (Michigan State University) Using pathos, logos, and ethos, this poster demonstrates to its audience how vital it is to help the “Anti-Apartheid Movement” so they can stop the system of racism in South Africa.

Throughout history, there have been many examples of injustice in the world. Many things can spring to mind once the word “injustice” is said, such as slavery, war, murder, etc. However, none of those words seems to be conjoined with “injustice” quite like racism. For many people, especially in the United States, is seen as a great evil that still persists today, whether it is a part of police brutality, or preconceived notions of different races. In fact, as recent as 2015, nearly half the population of the country “say racism is a big problem in society today.” (Soichet) However, the United States is not the only country to experience racism, and a sad example of this can be found in the history of apartheid in South Africa.

A definition of apartheid could go something like this: It was a system of racial segregation, and “political and economic discrimination” against those that were not of European descent (Webster), even though the majority of those living in South Africa were black. (Stanford)  This system was adopted nationwide in 1948, when the National Party took control of the country. (BBC News) For the next 80 plus years, the country operated under a system of apartheid. Throughout this time, the government cracked down on protesters and opposing parties and other leaders, such as Nelson Mandela, were jailed. (BBC News) Eventually, Mandela was released and later elected leader of South Africa. (BBC News) However, that does not excuse the shameful history of apartheid in South Africa.

A strategy used in the object would definitely be pathos. Since the group knows that corruption and abuse of power stirs strong feelings in people, the poster wastes little time in attempting to shape the public’s perception of the policeman shown in the photo. “…He can question them in secret for as long as he likes…” (Michigan State University) the caption on the photo says. With this sentence, the poster is trying to convince the audience that 1.) The policeman is up to no good and that 2.) This particular policeman would have no problem abusing his power. This second point is driven home by what is said after the first quote: “…And cannot be forced to account for any of his actions.” (Michigan State University) With that statement, the poster is letting the audience know that if they don’t do something quick, this evil man will “get away with it”.

However, the object at hand does not only use pathos but logos as well. It does this by appealing to the audiences reasoning, more specifically in relation the job of a policemen. For many people, the police are meant to protect and take of their citizens. Make sure everybody is safe, stop criminals from stealing, calming down people and deescalating situations. How strange then, that this particular person is not referred to as a policeman once in the entire caption. Instead, the poster refers to his as a “versatile gentleman” that “with his many colleagues, arrests around 3,000 Africans every day”. (Michigan State University) This quote could make the audience do a double take and ask themselves questions, such as what makes this man so versatile? Why has the author used this word? Is it a bad thing? Further down, though, is where the audience may really start to think about what is going on, and might begin to question the policeman’s authority through reasoning and logic. If he is a policeman, why is he traveling in a group with colleagues? Shouldn’t he be able to do his job alone? Also, why is he arresting 3,000 people a day? Isn’t that too much? The strongest use of logos, however, comes when the poster states “…at least 15 people have died under his ‘questioning’ (Michigan State University) in the past several years. Surely, a policeman doing routine questioning shouldn’t be killing anyone? It’s moments like this, as well as the others, where the object is attempting to shape the audience’s opinion through logos.

Though it may not seem like it at first, along with its appeal to emotion, reason. Logic, rationality, & evidence, the poster also uses ethos to some degree. While it may seem to be criticizing authority itself, one way to interpret the object would be to say it simply replaces one type of authority with another. In the poster, as mentioned before, a policeman is pictured while an unflattering characterization is made by a caption next to him. However, without the authority of the police to relay on the poster addresses its audience directly by telling them what has happened, and what to do about it; “This is South Africa’s police state. This is how apartheid is enforced. Help us work toward ending it. Join the Anti-Apartheid Movement” (Michigan State University) Having said this, the poster seems to leave all of the power, and authority, in the hands of the audience. With injustice rampant in South Africa, and a police force not to be trusted, it is up to them, and those that have been informed of the situation, to join the movement that will help end apartheid in the African country.

Apartheid was a shameful time in history for South Africa and its people, much like segregation and racism in recent American history. However, it is important to note that in time of frustration, hatred, and bigotry there was always those ready to fight it. In the poster, the “Anti-Apartheid movement successfully used the rhetorical strategies of pathos, logos, and ethos to sway their audience into  not only thinking about the injustice of apartheid, but perhaps a way to end it.

Works Cited

Michigan State University “A South African Policement, Judge, and Executioner:." African Activist Archive. Michigan State University, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

Soichet, Catherine E. "Racism Is a 'big Problem' to More Americans, Poll Finds." CNN. Cable News Network, 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

BBC News "South Africa Profile - Timeline - BBC News." BBC News. BBC, 25 June 2015. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

Stanford "The History of Apartheid in South Africa." Students.standford.edu. Stanford, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

Webster "Apartheid / Definition of Apartheid." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.