Weekly Blog Post 6

"Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride is constructed into a context involving a three-part "musical PSA" on child abuse. The music video starts out with the introduction of a little girl, is briefly interrupted by some scenes of Martina McBride narrating the story, and ends with information for the National Child Abuse Hotline.

All of these three components are developments of logos and really help tie the video together. Martina McBride acts as the voice for the thousands of children that hide their pain from abuse. While acting as the voice, she also helps guide the story along by serving as a transition between scenes and narrating the story. The story of Angela serves as an example of one little girl and her battle with abuse. This helps pull the audience in and really make them feel the emotions that these abused child feel every day. Therefore, it deepens the understanding and emotions behind what Martina McBride sings about. After pulling on your heartstrings and making you think about this issue, there is a child abuse hotline displayed. This is the silent offer for you to speak up for a child as well.

While being very organized in how the video is presented, Martina McBride's "Concrete Angel" also comes off as very professional. The effects of the video, such as the little ghost boy at the funeral walking through the person, do not come off as "cheesy". While still being professional, the video designer of "Concrete Angel" also made the video personal. The clips of Martina McBride and her emotions involved with telling the story make the video more of a flashback than a computer-generated, staged video. This shows a good tie between logos and ethos and how they contribute to each other.

Pathos is not shown in this video in typography, but rather in the words themselves. Word choice is something that contributes greatly to the way we perceive things. Comparing Angela's abuse to a "secret storm" helps put an image to the "winds and rain" she endures: It's like a hurricane that tries to pull her in several ways violently and strong. But Angela is the "concrete angel" that endures this violence and appears, at first, unaffected by it. Looking deeper into the concrete, however, there are cracks and signs of the violence she has endured. Eventually, this storm breaks these cracks and she falls (dies). I think that this word choice really helps build understanding. You also need to look at auditory part of the video. Martina McBride never mentions a name in her lyrics. Everything is just referred to as “she”. This word choice helps the song pertain to any child, anywhere. It’s not just one child; it could be your child’s best friend. It could be anyone. This video's purpose is definitely meant to be a public service announcement in disguise. It is meant to make you think and maybe take a second look into the lives of the children around you.

Overall, these are just a few examples of logos in this music video and how they contribute to ethos and pathos. Using logos in these ways help build a better reaction from the audience- in thought and emotion.