Save Ralph" Analysis and Peer Review

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1) The short film “Save Ralph” uses the element pathos by showing a cute little rabbit vividly being mistreated. The film uses this element effectively by showing how the rabbit is tested, and all of his injuries due to the testing. The part of this film that could appeal to people's emotion would be the part when Ralph is talking to the cameraman and explaining how things like this have happened to his family, his children and parents. Another part would be when he is in the lab getting tested and the other rabbits are pleading for their lives. So throughout the film the element pathos was used effectively. 

This film is very likely to be effective to people who don't think about animal testing. I was one of those people who didn't really pay attention to animal testing but after watching this film, it has opened my eyes on the brutality of the matter. The film used graphic details about how animals are treated, and anyone who watches it will definitely affect them and make them think twice about animal tested products. The film will likely persuade the audience, like it has persuaded me, by the shaking details it presented. 


2) "Save Ralph" is a short film with Taika Waititi that tracks the experience of the tester rabbit Ralph to suggest people should stop animal testing for cosmetics. The film has effectively utilized pathos. In terms of pathos, the film has used the body position of the rabbits and their voice and tone. At 2:17, when the other tester rabbit saw the cameraman, they were excited because they thought the man might save them and get them out of the lab. Their excitement has been portrayed by their ears' position and the voice and tone they were talking in. They raised their ears and spoke in a high-pitched, pleasant tone to show their excitement and desire for freedom. Another example of pathos is utilized at around 2:30 when the person inserts an eye drop in Ralph's eye. At that moment, the other rabbits around Ralph were shouting to show their fear. And the "beep" sound indicated the painfulness of Ralph. At the end of the video, there's another pathos. Ralph talked in a low-pitched voice and with a lot of filler words such as "uh," "um," and "oh," and he breathed a lot, which indicated he was experiencing terrible pain while he was talking. 

     I believe this video is compelling and persuasive for people who do not have an in-depth understanding of animal testing. This video discussed animal testing from a tester animal's perspective. The video is an anthropomorphism that attributed human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to the tester rabbits. Using anthropomorphism makes the character more vivid, and the audience can easily relate to them because they are more human. 



3) Justice for Ralph

In the film, “Save Ralph - A short film with Taika Waititi,” Ralph, the rabbit, describes his life to the audience. He takes the audience along with him on his daily life as he describes his injuries that he got from being a tester. He showed how his right eye was blind, deaf in his right ear, and had chemical burns as a result of being a tester for human cosmetics (“Save Ralph - A short film with Taika Waititi”). The film shows the suffering that Ralph is put through and the pain that Ralph experiences for the sake of testing the safety of cosmetics for humans. This makes the audience feel sympathy for Ralph, who had to endure the harsh testing that left him battered up. As Ralph narrates through his entire day, he is shown to be naïve of what the humans are doing to him and acts like everything is okay. This makes the audience feel distressed for Ralph as he continues to suffer for testing makeup products. Ralph also mentioned that his sisters and kids were also testers like him “and they all died doing their job [just] like I will” (“Save Ralph - A short film with Taika Waititi”). This pulls on the viewer's heartstring by showing how Ralph had accepted his fate to die from testing cosmetic products for humans. 

Throughout the film, Ralph narrates his life as a rabbit tester and mentions all the injury that he has sustained from it. Showcasing the harm that is inflicted on animals from testing cosmetic products on them will effectively draw the attention of the audience who did not think about animal testing or didn’t care about it. In the film, there was also a scene where Ralph was locked up into a clear cage and a human hand injecting a substance into his eyes. As the substance was injected into Ralph’s eye, screams of pain were heard from Ralph which would show to the audience the pain that the animals were going through. This would show to the people how inhumane testing on animals was and would make people aware of the suffering that animals go through for the makeup and cosmetic products they used. For the entire film, Ralph continues to live out his days as a tester and brushes off the pain that he has experienced from cosmetic testing. He acted like he was unaware of the human’s intention to use him as a tester and that he was okay even when he was in so much pain. In the film, Ralph had said “at the end of the day i mean it's okay we do it for the humans right,” which shows his willingness to help the humans even if he had to suffer the consequences (“Save Ralph - A short film with Taika Waititi”). This would make the consumers of makeup and cosmetic products feel guilty for having bought and used animal tested products. Both people that were unaware of animal testing and that did not care about it would be led to feel sympathetic and guilty for the pain and suffering that animals had to go through. 



4) The short film Save Ralph by Spencer Susser uses pathos effectively by giving the main character, a rabbit, human-like qualities. At the beginning of the film, you can see the rabbit is in a house getting ready for its day. You can see that the rabbit has some injuries on his face and body. The rabbit brushes its teeth in the morning and then serves itself a bowl of cereal. If the viewer looks around the rabbit's home, they can see family photos of the rabbit. The writer of the short film is painting a picture of how this rabbit is like a human being. By giving the rabbit human qualities, the writer connects the rabbit's life and a human's life. In the film, there is a distinction where the rabbit says that a rabbit's life is not as important as a human's life. The main character, Ralph declares, "It's okay, we do it for the humans, right? They are far superior to us animals. They've even been to space" (00:01:05-00:01:10). It is an effective strategy because it makes the viewer feel guilty for thinking they are better than other animals. The rabbit goes on to talk about himself as a tester. He states that his whole family was a tester and died while doing their job. Ralph continues and says he will die too. He mentions that it is okay because rabbits were born to do it, then tears fill his eyes. This scene is a great way to evoke the feeling of sadness in the viewer. As the film continues, Ralph is taken to his job, where they test human products on him. He speaks to his peers which are also test rabbits. His friends ask why he has a camera crew with him, and Ralph advises them that the team is filming a documentary. Ralph's peers then ask if the crew was there to help them get out of testing. Ralph turns to the camera and asks the crew to edit that portion out of the documentary. Towards the end of the film, the crew asks Ralph a question, and he cannot see where the crew is standing. When he turns around, the viewer can see that the testing led to more injuries. I believe that the writer used pathos effectively by building a connection between the main character and the viewer by giving the rabbit human-like qualities.

The short film Save Ralph is likely to convince people that have not thought about animal testing. But the short film will not convince people who do not care about animal testing. An ethos approach is effective for people who care about the subject matter or who may have never been exposed to the information. If someone has never thought of the hurt animals are put through when testing is done on them for human products, they will most likely be moved to act. A person will most likely be impacted by sadness and guilt after watching this short film. However, if someone grows up hunting animals their entire life and is taught that animals are a resource for humans, they will most likely not be swayed by a fictitious character. If they were raised not to care about the animals they hunt other than what animals can provide, they would not change their minds with this film. Therefore, the short film will most likely convince viewers who have never thought about this subject but will not convince viewers who do not care about animal testing.

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