Applying Sensory Perceptions into Understanding Concepts - Essay Example

The clip debates on the topic of whether child molesters should be given the death penalty or not. It is being told in the clip that the message to the molesters is “If you are going to harm our children, we are going to exact punishment on you that meets the crime.” Punishment cannot ever be measured and given to meet the crime accurately. So, it becomes difficult to decide which punishment is to be awarded for a crime. Another fact is that no punishment can undo the physical or mental trauma meted out to the victim through a crime. Punishment is given so that the crime may not be repeated and the criminal is shown the right path of life while he is imprisoned. Even so, criminals who have served their tenure in jail, when they come out, begin the same old cycle of committing crimes, child molesting in this case. They can never be stopped.

The only way, then, left is to award them the death penalty. But it is out of the league of anyone to understand whether a person who committed the crime once will again do so or not. Thus, by giving the death penalty, society is eliminating that person’s chances to become good. There is a possibility in death penalties that a person who earnestly wants to mend his ways may get executed. Throughout the clip, the terms “death penalty” and “child molester” have been repeated. This repetition lays a strong emphasis on the topic. The rhetoric strongly strikes home the significance of the issue under debate.

It is true that the child molester kills even the child’s soul and he or she suffers throughout his or her life for the wrong that has been done. It becomes a black mark on the child and affects him or her physically, mentally as well as emotionally. Towards the end, the anchor adds a comment, “Coming back we are talking weather worries of Doctor Whitman.” This seems totally out of place as all along the serious topic of child molestation and its effect on the survivors as well as the punishment for the molesters was being discussed. But then all of a sudden, she tells that after the commercial, the next section is about the weather. So, it seems a little out of place.

Just watching the video without the audio felt weird as it is really difficult to make out what they are saying. The images conveyed the message that the topic at hand is one serious issue, as can be seen from the expressions of the anchor and the Oklahoma State Senator. The child molesters are explained to and even given rehabilitation for the crime they have done once, as is seen when a criminal is shown being brought to an official. But the death penalty is to be given to those who have no chance of regaining a proper state of mind and still repeat the crime of child molestation. Another message that I got was that children, especially girls, are losing their childhood, and in some cases, their whole life, to these child molesters.

This is shown by the three photos that portray a happy small girl. The photos give a faded effect showing that the girl’s happiness is no more, or maybe that the girl is no more. Later the anchor is being cast as talking to a criminal defense attorney. The images, in my opinion, did support the auditory clip. But at a point, when the American Supreme Court and a judge are shown, it seemed to complicate the earlier heard message. It is difficult to analyze through the photo whether the court would be in favor of this bill or not. This image is a little out of place as there is no need to show it. There is a connection as the question is whether the Supreme Court would rule the bill as unconstitutional, but still, I do not think that it needs to be shown here. But as the auditory cannot be heard, we cannot understand exactly what they are talking about. If the Supreme Court’s image is shown, then we can acknowledge that the court has a part to play in what is being talked about. At times, when the audio is not accompanied, such images have great significance.

As far as I am concerned, this exercise is a very good way of understanding subtle elements since only one of the primary senses is used at a time. This helps to make a deeper analysis of the content. Being a visual learner, visual images have more impact on my mind. After hearing the audio, when I watched the video, I could relate the things as I have already heard the clip before. I could grasp more of what I heard in the audio without the images. So it was a whole different sensation in a way. Yes, it indeed helps in delaying jumping to conclusions and, thereby, makes it easier to understand the hidden details or specifics. This approach can be put to many types of assignments that include videos and audio. It would surely help a lot as only one sense is being used at a time. This would enable the full focus of the mind towards that one source of information. Read More