Music Video Analysis

My family moved around a lot when I was younger. We've lived overseas 3 times and are now in our 4th location in the United States. While many things changed constantly as I grew up, one thing that never wavered was that country music was always in my life. My parents would always put on Garth Brooks, George Strait, and Toby Keith. When this song, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" came out after 9/11, it became one of my favorites. My grandfather was in the Marine Corps for 37 years and my twin brother is going into the Marine Corps as an officer when he graduates college. With my strong personal connection to our troops, this song hit home with me. Though the lyrics are very bold and in-your-face, it's a very passionate song defending the country we live in. The use of Ethos is very apparent in this video, as it has real footage and photographs of our troops at war. Toby Keith establishes credibility for himself through videos of him playing concerts for the troops overseas. He also establishes credibility at the beginning of the song. As he is singing "my daddy served in the Army, where he lost his right eye", they show photos of his father while at war. Pathos is probably the most effective aspect in this strongly patriotic video. First of all, if you just listen to the lyrics they are full of passion for our country and the anger that was felt when it was attacked. Another way it "tugs at our heartstrings" is the footage of the troops when Toby is singing for them. You can see the emotion in both Toby and our troops faces as he sings this powerful song. I had some difficulty thinking of how this video uses Logos. I guess the best way to describe it is if you listen to the lyrics. It makes it pretty clear that if you attack our beloved country, we will be deeply angered and demand justice. The song makes it a fact.