Keywords: absurdity, humor, exaggeration, hierarchy, political, mustn’t be criticizing someone, should criticize what they represent.
The uses of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Examples:
1. There is irony in the fact that there is a child holding the gun. The deadliness of the gun contrasts with the innocence of the child.
2. The fact that the black kid is holding the book and the white kid is holding the gun. It is ironic because discrimination against black people and police brutality is a big problem in the US
3. As the ad explains, the book little red riding hood which you would assume is safe, is actually banned. Whereas the gun is legal and supposed to protect us. The more popular opinion would feel that it should be the other way around.
4. It takes place in a school library which is usually a safe happy place, but the fact that the students look so scared contrasts with the setting in an ironic way.
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The visual element of a child holding a gun next to another child holding a book is comparing a weapon to a normal everyday object. The irony is knowing that guns are not banned in America so by the process of elimination the storybook is – which the child is ultimately using to protect themselves. The text below confirms “we keep little red riding hood out of schools because of the wine bottle in her basket.” When compared to weapons, it seems foolish/nonsensical/absurd to ban a storybook for such a minor reason when guns – which are not banned, are definitely not any less child friendly. Although we know that guns are not banned, we may be surprised by the fact that a children’s storybook is, even though we know the consequences from both of them differ hugely. This comparison depicts the illogical way in which laws are formed creates frustration and confusion within the audience.
In the third PSA advert, we see a young black girl holding a copy of ‘Little Red Riding Hood,’ and a little white girl holding a gun. The text reads “One child holds something that has been banned in America to protect them. Guess which one.”
Initially, it is assumed that the advert means the gun, but ironically, it is the fairytale that is banned. The ‘reasoning’ behind the banning of the book is that she has a bottle of wine in her basket, which does not make it kid-friendly. The gun, however, isn’t banned, heightening the peculiarity of the situation. The irony, in this case, is that, to be very point-blank, is that although 15000 kids died in school shootings in the US in 2019, the guns are still not banned; while Little Red Riding Hood has harmed absolutely nobody, and still is illegal. Thus, the tone of the advert is sardonic, deliberately contradicting the meaning behind it.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GIC11W_rEXEhGk32J1f_HGaxpiPStprbTV_vdAQXc6o/edit
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UUqdcwy_xSXUYe4Y54Mix2AYhxF430XTEPgvGQ-sL_c/edit#slide=id.g838bf43193_1_90
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pJf5T32tZCn7WRk5zir3l3EMnNfXOyIMXe4acsaMVZQ/edit