Art

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2002

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Art was used in many different ways to persuade the viewer the message from those who were trying to win their attention. This is clear in the movie, "The Plow that Broke the Plains," used by Roosevelt to persuade the viewers that he knew what they needed and what needed to be done for the people. This was a way for him to win their votes and help out is political aspect in life. Of course during this time they didn't have to technology that we have now so they did what they could do. The director of this film used many different techniques to emphasize the point that was trying to be presented.

The first art form that he used was the music. Music, in it different forms and sounds, can be one of the most impact leaving tools out there, still to this very day. People are influenced by music everyday.

There is music used from start to finish in this video. The producer used the music as a reflection of what the narrator was saying. Like at times when the narrators voice would be strong and forceful the music would become very loud and hard. For example during the war portion of the video the narrator is talking about the war and wheat and he says; " Wheat for the Allies!" " Wheat for the British!" " Wheat for the Belgians!" " Wheat for the French!" " Wheat at any price..." " Wheat will win the war!" This technique was used to put impact into the viewers. This was telling them that we would win this war with wheat, we would overcome everything and conquer that which is out to defeat us. Obviously Roosevelt was using this to his advantage in order to prove to the people that he would help them survive through this devastating time. The music is altered all through out this movie to bring about the stronger points. It is softer and more calm to the mind during the happier, up-lifting parts of the movie. Like in the beginning of movie when all the scenes are of the grassy plains, where the wind in just sweeping through, there is no up stir, just the wide open spaces. Considering that the video was a government document, it was observed that there were quite a few political tunes to it, to put that idea in mind that the government was behind this, but willing to take care of everything. The music was definitely a big part of this video, especially for this time period. But it wasn't the only art form used for this document.

Another characteristic to this video that was used as a persuasive tool were the poetic devices. Now some poetic devices can be rather scheming and hard to understand, but the producer of this video did a very good job making things clear. Poetic devices can add a lot of emotion and feeling to something, like this video. It is another way to express how one is feeling or what one might have in mind. The narrator in the video continually repeats things that might have meaning or something that is a specific point that is trying to be made. For example during the part of the video titled "Grass," the narrator says, " A country of high winds and sun....High winds and sun..." But of course you couldn't have the poetic devices without having the perfect voice to properly read the script as it was to be read. Whom ever was the narrator of this video did a very good job of emphasizing the proper parts that were to be remembered. Like during the drought and devastation section of the video his voice is very monotone and calm, sort of a little sad. Obviously this wasn't a good part of the video and it was to be made clear that this was not how it was suppose to be. So it would be made clear how the viewer was suppose to be feeling at that time according to the way it which the narrator was talking to them.

Of course though what was the viewer suppose to connect with all of these words and the music. That is where the visual art comes in. The visual imagery is probably one of the strongest viewpoints of this video. A producer can use anything that comes to mind to help bring up what is being said or what is trying to be proved. An image can tell a person so much about what the idea is. For example during the part where the narrator is talking about the " Wheat for the Allies" and "Wheat for the British" the scene that the viewer is observing is a flash between a field full of tractors and a field full of tanks. This signified the war that was going on with the wheat. It signified the hard time that they were going through, but also showed how they would pull through.