Shelter and Amnesty comparison essay question

Analyse how the poster advertisement (Source A) has created meaning through the use of Media Language in this source by comparing it to the Shelter advertising campaign.

The definition for 'amnesty' is 'an official pardon for people who have been convicted of political offences' 

Amnesty international

-peace cuts through the wire, strong 

-barbwire prison

-colour red emotionally intense colour 

-beige background

-charity raising awareness

Shelter

-colour red

-faces (camera close up) straight face (instructed)

-copy 

-black background to contrast the front

Amnesty is an official pardon for people who have been convicted of political offences, amnesty international is a charity organisation who work to protect people. In the poster, there is a hand which is making a 'peace' sign to show that the charity's main aim is peace, contrasting the barbed wire which is acting as a prison in this image. Additionally, the peace sign is cutting the wire implying peace and purity overpowering all that is bad, this is the message the that the charity is trying to get across to the audience, emphasising the strength of the charity and the people in need. The peace sign is the colour red which is a very emotionally intense colour, engaging the audience, red has connotations of danger which may emphasise the urgency of the people in desperate need which is more likely to become apparent to the audience if red is used. The beige background in this poster not only makes the hand and barbed wire stand out but also is very dull which emphasises the little light these people in need have in their life and is more persuasive than if bright, happy colours were used such as yellow. Similarly, the red colour in the shelter poster implies the same things, the desperation and danger the homeless people are going through and the urgency for help. Both of the charities have similar aims, to help the people in need. Another similarity of both advertisements is the background, although they are different colours, they are doing the same job, they make the main image in the poster stand out which instantly attracts the audience to the poster. Both poster use a different body part to emphasise the aims of their charity, the shelter campaign use a close up of different faces, all of which have straight faces with the light and camera pointed directly centre of their faces, this engages the audience as it seems as though the people on the poster are directly communicating to the audience and makes it aware to them that this issue is serious and, the worry and emptiness of the faces are emotional for the audience which may encourage them to help. The amnesty poster also has the same emotional effect to the audience, through hidden meanings rather than the issue looking straight at the audience. The shelter poster includes more copy than the amnesty poster, providing the audience with more information about the cause, whereas amnesty almost assume that the audience are already aware of their charity.