Empty Seat Ethos Pathos Logos

According to “Teen Suicide Statistics,” suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24-year-olds. With this in mind, Building Life and the Suicide Awareness Voices of Education made the “Empty Seat” PSA, in an attempt to combat not only suicide, but to focus on suicide among teens. To reach this point, a literal and symbolic approach to purpose, the use of a general, yet specified audience, effective appeals to ethos and logos, and a fundamental appeal to pathos were used in the “Empty Seat” PSA. Though the purpose of this PSA is quite obvious, simple aspects of it are used to emphasize its importance, and catch the viewer’s attention. The video presents us with multiple empty “seats”, beginning with that of a desk, and continuing on

The goal was a prevention of suicides, and to complete this, the authors including many tips about the signs of a suicide, and other ideas. However, the logos of the piece extends further than baseline facts. These tips also include counterarguments to statements about suicide. The first attempt at this with the statement, “Take them seriously,” after listing off the signs of suicide. This piece of logic is preparing for someone to claim that these signs are common. However, by including this, the authors are encouraging the viewer that even a common event has to be considered. The second of these counterarguments presents a much stronger logos, with the statement, “It’s better to lose a friendship than a friend.” Many times, when someone knows that a friend wants to commit suicide, they don’t anything, on the logic that they can’t bear to lose a friendship. But the claim made by this PSA shows that this common logic is a fallacy, as a person is more meaningful than a relationship with that person. Yet, to convince many that this logic is acceptable, it is beneficial to have

However, the authors were able to extend this to their cause specifically by including only a few features. The most superficial of these elements included somber music, distressed faces, and a gravesite scene. All of these factors put the viewer in the mood for the topic. By simply playing the music and presenting the gravesite scene, the viewer will present concern, and when the viewer sees the faces of these teenagers who are despairing at the positions they are in, they will begin to sympathize with these teenagers. The empty seats continue to support the pathos of the piece by making the viewer consider what it is like when someone is gone, compelling them to also consider their own loved ones. However, the PSA does make a few mistakes in trying to appeal to the pathos of an empty seat. In scenes presenting chess without an opponent, or a “GO-TEAM!” squad without a letter “E,” the PSA seems to connote humor, a form of pathos that would be inappropriate and insensitive for this PSA. These scenes, and others of the same type, easily confuse the viewer about how serious this issue is. Overall, the pathos of this piece was predominantly focused on the self-generated emotional response to