Rhetoric Techniques In The Film: Which Way Home

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“I was watching how two women were being raped by fifteen men, and the truth is it was extremely unpleasant for me” stated Kevin who is only fourteen years old. Just like Kevin many have had a traumatizing event throughout their journey. In the documentary film Which Way Home migrant children of various ages travel hundreds of miles to reach the same destination which is the United States, all while encountering different kinds of risks and challenges. Which Way Home serves as an eye opener to its audience on the sad reality of the danger migrant children face in trying to actualize their American dream. Throughout the film statements such as Kevin’s were used to capture its viewers’ attention. Even though it was not said straight forward the …show more content…

For instance, a census of annual death rates of minors trying to get to the United States could have been inserted in the documentary. By doing so its viewers would have a better understanding of how many children die in their efforts for a better life. Not only this but it would also emphasize that the young migrants are constantly in peril. Although some of the logos used in the film did have the intended effect. For example, in the documentary it stated that central American children make a 1,450-mile trip. This fact gave an exact number of how long this trip in in which the children are alone. One of the logos most effectively used was the one in which the founder of House of Migrants, Memo Ramirez Garduza, states that out of every one hundred migrants ten to twenty or more die. Another example would be how the border patrol apprehends one hundred thousand children trying to enter the United States. Or how it is not uncommon for border patrol officers, such as Andrew Adasme, to find children wandering around the desert abandoned and raped by their smugglers. The usage of numbers and direct testimonies really helps generate the fact that numerous children travel unsupervised facing many dangers including death. However, very few of these statistics actually made an impact as it was …show more content…

In a way the documentary offers its viewers a firsthand experience of the children’s expedition because it was filmed during the whole process, from the time they got on top of the trains to times in which they were detained in detention centers and sent back to their hometowns. Therefore, the audience has no doubt in mind that these were actual events and real stories. The introduction of each child included their name, age, and hometown and backstory, such as Kevin who is fourteen years old, his friend Fito who is thirteen years old or Jose who is a ten-year old Salvadoran who is trying to reunite with his parents but was abandoned by his smugglers. As a result, every one of their stories and experience, which the audience “experiences” along with them, is absolutely credible. Even though there was not one speaker throughout the documentary, each child is a reliable source because they are directly giving their testimony on their experience, such as being mugged by dirty cops or seeing someone die in the tunnels, and what they expect further in the trip. As a result of this, ethos was used adequately to convince its audience and gain their

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