Ukraine: The Role of Visual Propaganda

The recent and tragic events in Ukraine have created a devastating environment and atmosphere for all of the innocent citizens.  After Russia's invasion in various parts of Ukraine, including the capital, Kiev, destruction has been broadcasted all over the world.  Visual propaganda has played a major role in portraying the destructive and cruel behavior in Ukraine (primarily Kiev and Crimea) by Russia as well as using persuasive skills to display a certain message for the viewers concerned about the riots.

At first glance, your attention is drawn in my the joyous toddler sitting on the shoulders of who seems to be his father.  If you look further than the child, you realize that the setting are most probably in the middle of a protest.  So why is a child happily sitting on his father's shoulders in the midst of what could turn out to be an epic revolution?  This is what captures an audience.  A child showing positive spirit for his country appeals to a feeling of pride in a viewer.  It symbolizes the pride of the entire nation of Ukraine in one person.  I think, in any type of argument, using children creates a stronger emotion in the audience and a stronger message.  Without the child, we would still understand the abundance of dignity and honor in Ukraine.  However, we wouldn't FEEL the impact that we do with a young child.  This photo is an effective tool in presenting a persuasive case to audiences who could potentially oppose Russia.  Using pathos is sufficient for he context of this argument, only displaying protests.

This next one is slightly more political and favors the American point of view more.  In December, John McCain visited Ukraine to offer his support to the protesters.  Approaching the protesters with a friendly handshake and kind words created an acceptable reputation for John McCain and even America, as he was representing us as a nation.  If someone from a different country were to see this, they would initially believe that America is the "do-good" country and wants peace.  While that may be true, these photos definitely depict an ideal America that makes us look, frankly, better than we are.  But, nonetheless, it gives us a good reputation among other countries, which never hurts.