Creditability changes perception. In today’s society people will listen and believe anything as long as they trust the source. In Josh Fox’s Gasland he builds this trust and creditability through the use of pathos. Viewers sympathize with the small town man from Pennsylvania whose peaceful lifestyle has been invaded by the negative effects of fracking. The interactions with fellow victims seem real and genuine; the audience begins to feel remorse for the health and well being of those affected. A lot of attention was brought to the film and viewers fear Fox’s statements are true. Phil Mcaleer creates the documentary FrackNation to supposedly expose the truth about fracking to clear up the controversy. However, the documentary is more of a direct
…show more content…
Josh Fox makes it his sole purpose to reveal fracking’s destruction on the environment. When Josh Fox is introduced in FracNation, an image of him with a cigarette in his mouth is the first thing displayed (Mcaleer, 2013). Cigarettes are known to be one of the most littered items in the world; this automatically discredits him as “environmentally cautious”. With cigarette smoking’s negative effects on the body, this image also discredits his appreciation for general health of the people. According to Christian Norqvist (2015) in his article, “Why is Smoking Bad for you?” smoking is referred to, “The largest cause of preventable death in the world” (para. 3). It is no coincidence that this is the image chosen to introduce Josh Fox. Not only does it relate him to all of the negative connotations associated with cigarette smoking, it also slanders his reputation. Giving Fox a bad reputation opens doors to further vilify him as a source all …show more content…
Phil Mcaleer continues to draw attention to the fact that Josh Fox is avoiding his questions and phone calls. Guiltiness is often associated with the avoidance of questioning. Fox avoiding Mcaleer causes the audience to automatically assume he does not want to admit his supposed “false testimonies” however, there is always more to the story. Mcaleer goes to an event at a museum in Los Angeles to question Fox who is clearly in no position to be bombarded by journalists/reporters and avoids Mcaleer. The scene is then flipped to a museum staff member asking him to leave several times; Mcaleer refuses and this causes tension. The staff member snatches the camera phone from the woman filming the scene and inflicts an open cut. Even though the cut is not serious, Mcaleer makes a point to draw attention to it, showing the blood drawn (Mcaleer 2013). This overly dramatic scene is intended to make Fox appear guilty by association with the staff member. Although it is obvious Fox did not want to be questioned by Mcaleer, the aggression displayed by Mcaleer could have easily been the reason behind his forced departure. With little evidence to explain the behavior presented in the film, Fox has no
Josh Fox makes it his sole purpose to reveal fracking’s destruction on the environment. When Josh Fox is introduced in FracNation, an image of him with a cigarette in his mouth is the first thing displayed (Mcaleer, 2013). Cigarettes are known to be one of the most littered items in the world; this automatically discredits him as “environmentally cautious”. With cigarette smoking’s negative effects on the body, this image also discredits his appreciation for general health of the people. According to Christian Norqvist (2015) in his article, “Why is Smoking Bad for you?” smoking is referred to, “The largest cause of preventable death in the world” (para. 3). It is no coincidence that this is the image chosen to introduce Josh Fox. Not only does it relate him to all of the negative connotations associated with cigarette smoking, it also slanders his reputation. Giving Fox a bad reputation opens doors to further vilify him as a source all …show more content…
Phil Mcaleer continues to draw attention to the fact that Josh Fox is avoiding his questions and phone calls. Guiltiness is often associated with the avoidance of questioning. Fox avoiding Mcaleer causes the audience to automatically assume he does not want to admit his supposed “false testimonies” however, there is always more to the story. Mcaleer goes to an event at a museum in Los Angeles to question Fox who is clearly in no position to be bombarded by journalists/reporters and avoids Mcaleer. The scene is then flipped to a museum staff member asking him to leave several times; Mcaleer refuses and this causes tension. The staff member snatches the camera phone from the woman filming the scene and inflicts an open cut. Even though the cut is not serious, Mcaleer makes a point to draw attention to it, showing the blood drawn (Mcaleer 2013). This overly dramatic scene is intended to make Fox appear guilty by association with the staff member. Although it is obvious Fox did not want to be questioned by Mcaleer, the aggression displayed by Mcaleer could have easily been the reason behind his forced departure. With little evidence to explain the behavior presented in the film, Fox has no