Aural Elements in "What We're Fighting For"

Dave Dudley’s song, “What We’re Fighting For”, uses many aural elements to convey Dudley’s message.  The song starts in a minor key.  The minor key conveys Dudley’s melancholy feelings on the subject. While the song is in a minor key, Dudley describes the anti-war protests and opposing viewpoints.  This makes the anti-war supporters seem to be in the wrong.  As he shifts his argument to why the war is good, he also shifts the key to major.  This transition occurs when he sings, “Tell them that we're fighting for…” at 1:06 in the video.  The major key helps reinforce his own arguments.  The key of the song significantly impacts the opinions the audience.  Minor impacts things negatively and makes the argument seem weak; while major has the opposite effect, impacting things positively and making the argument seem strong.

Kyle Strouth

Logical Fallacies in "What We're Fighting For"

As I'm sure many of you thought when you listened to Dave Dudley's "What We're Fighting For" (if you did actually listen to it), the song's message is essentially flawed. In sum, Dudley argues that the Vietnam War is justified and necessary for a variety of reasons. This is a valid opinion; it is his reasoning that raises some red flags. In the song, he responds to peace protesters, asking "Did they forget Pearl Harbor and Korea?" Although this line would definitely appeal to the audience's emotions (pride, patriotism, etc), it does not really make sense. This could certainly be considered an argument to the people, a non sequitur, or even a bandwagon claim. It does not make much sense to fight a war in Vietnam because we were involved in other conflicts in the previous decades with other nations. This is not to say that there are no valid reasons to fight in Vietnam, but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor certainly isn't a logical justification. Dudley's thought process here "does not follow," but it definitely appeals to the patriotic sentiment that the majority of the country was feeling at the time.

Later in the song, Dudley stresses the importance of having the world know that Americans "will protect [their] shore." This quite literally is an irrational claim; fighting a proxy war on the other side of the planet is entirely different from protecting your land. This war was not a war of self-defense, but rather a move to contain the spread of Communism in other areas of the world. This is another blatant example of a non sequitur within the song. When looked at objectively, even though it inspired and appealed to a majority of the American people, the song's main argument is fallacious.

Agustin Aguerre

Ethos of the Anti-War Child Picture

Marc Riboud has done a terrific job establishing his ethos. Before this photograph was taken, he was given assignments in war zones, protests, various movements in Asia, Africa, France and the United States. Having these experiences helped him establish extrinsic ethos, for he knew how to capture moments in these settings, and knew when to take advantage of opportunities. He originally became a famous photographer from his Painter of the Eiffel Tower which was featured in Life Magazine in 1953. Currently his work is displayed in various museums throughout Europe, the United States, China and Japan. Riboud has also received many awards after this photograph, including an Overseas Press Club Award, the Time-Life Achievement, the Lucie Award and the ICP Infinity Award. The photograph on the Flower Child became one of Riboud's most famous photographs, and was plastered on almost every newspaper after the protest. Within the photograph, he established intrinsic ethos by making the photograph personal. Every man and women can think about their daughter, or niece, as the girl standing in front of the soldiers with weapons pointed at her. Every girl can imagine herself standing up to the soldiers with a flower in her hand. Every boy could envision their friend or sister being photographed. Riboud, in this way, conveyed a message everyone could understand, no matter what language you speak or what country you live in. The photograph became something people could picture themselves in, understand the juxtaposition between the innocent teenage girl and the soldiers, and actually see the harmful effects of the Vietnam War. All this being said, Riboud has thoroughly established both his intrinsic and extrinsic ethos.

- Emily Kader

Additional Text "War" By Edwin Starr

           "War" - Edwin Starr      

           If you just got down to the funky fresh rhythms of Edwin Starr’s “War,” you must have noticed the predominant anti-war message it sends. Similarly, David Dudley uses the magical powers of song to get the attention of his audience. While their messages differ entirely, Starr and Dudley’s approaches combine the growing music industry of the 1960’s, with the emerging civil rights movement, in order for them each to become major influences at the time. The tempo of Starr’s song however, is very up beat and catchy, while Dudley’s has a much slower tempo and a more serious tone. These varying tones and tempos mimic the attitudes of the hippy, pot smoking, and (most importantly) young anti-war movement, with the up tight, conservative, and older pro-war movement. The way each of these songs is performed reveals the two very distinct cultures that emerged in the 1960’s and the reasons for such aggressive protests.

            Also if you haven’t seen the 1 minute and 30 second clip of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker singing "War" that the directors of Rush Hour threw into the movie to make the audience forget just how bad of an actor Jackie Chan is, here is the scene. 

           -Sam Jacobson

Visual Elements: Anti-War Photo

In this iconic anti-war photo there are a multitude of visual elements that are present in order to further the author's overall message to the audience. The first component of the image that is evident is the facial expressions of each person in the photo. For instance, the protester has a facial expression that makes her seem at peace, which is the overall message of the protest. In contrast, the facial expression of the soldiers give off the impression the just as the war is in Vietnam the situation occurring in the picture is tense and serious. In addition, the minor visual elements of the scene make just as much of a significant effect as the major elements. For example, the clothing of the protester depicts the type of person she is and the very evident hippie movement she is involved in. In addition, the visual element of the protester's emphasis on the flower and the almost robot-like stance of the soldiers makes it seem almost as if the soldiers with the guns were more scared of the protester than the protester was of them. All of these visual elements acts as a strong advocate for the anti-war movement and basically becomes the cover picture for the movement.

-Jason Recht

Audience of Dave Dudley's "What We're Fighting For"

Dave Dudley's song "What We're Fighting For" was released in America in October of 1965. In this month, there were over forty Anti-War protests occurring throughout the United States, including a protest of twenty-five thousand in Washington. The main audience for this song was the Anti-War Americans, especially those who were vocalized their opinions in protests. This song gave a viewpoint of a solider in battle, explaining his confusion over why people were protesting the war efforts. This solider wanted American citizens to remember the various reasons all the soldiers were fighting. Overall, the message Dudley was trying to send to all Anti-War Americans was that the soldiers had a purpose to be fighting. Also, he wanted them to focus on the fact that none of the soldiers wanted to be at war, but they knew they had to defend our country to keep it powerful and safe. While this song is in the genre of country, it is meant to be heard by every United States citizen. The country aspect helps tell the story of this soldier, and makes it simplistic so it is easy for the audience to focus on the lyrics. The tempo keeps the mood light, so the audience can hear that this soldier is not sad about being at word, but proud to be serving his country. Having the tempo be the ways provides a different perspective to the audience and brings some positivity to the war efforts. Dudley's song aimed to calm down the Anti-War protestors and tried to remind the citizens involved of reasons behind the war.

Emily Kader

Ethos of Dave Dudley's "What We're Fighting For"

Dave Dudley established his extrinsic ethos in various ways. For one, he had produced a series of Top Fifteen hits in the 1960s. He was also in his forties, so he had seen all parts of the Vietnam War at this point, as well as the end of World War II. Dudley saw stages of a different war, a time of peace, and the Vietnam War. Seeing all of these different time periods helped establish his extrinsic ethos, because he had seen America at its best and worst. While he has a lot of positive extrinsic ethos, he losses some of it because he wrote the song from the perspective of a soldier fighting in the war, but he was never personally in the war. He established intrinsic ethos by relating to his audience, and making the pro-war song from a perspective many could relate to. Overall, his ethos is better established from the extrinsic perspective then his intrinsic.

- Emily Kader

Logos: Anti-War picture

In the creation of this picture, the photographer uses different elements to further depict his viewpoint and goal of the overall protest. The photographer uses an appeal to the logic of the audience by capturing the placement of the protester at just the right time. Due to the photographer's capturing of the scene, the viewer is able to capture the protester's appeal to the soldier's logic. This clear message is that you cannot fight fire with fire, you may only end this war with peace. The message of logic pertaining towards peace is juxtaposed with the placement of the soldiers while they refuse to accept the logic presented by the protester. The scene is perfectly captured with the protester in an excellent position staring at the flower so intently it seems he will not take no for an answer when it comes to her logic. The image of the flower protester acts as a perfect representation of the anti-war movement's goal because it provides a proper depiction of making peace and love rather than war. Thus, proving that this picture was of vital importance towards the movement to end the Vietnam war.

-Jason Recht

Logos of Dave Dudleys, "What We're Fighting For"

In order to effectively analyze this song's appeal to logos, I believe it is vital to focus only on the lyrical content, and to not take into consideration Dudley's tone and emotion. In the first lines of the song, Dudley addresses his mother, explaining to her that he "received [her] letter," and that he was just allowed "time to write." As evident from these lines, Dudley is a soldier in a "foreign land" (Vietnam) responding to his mother's concerns regarding the purpose of the war. His mother points out that there are "people marching in [the] streets" who are protesting for peace and claiming that the war must be ended. Dudley dismisses these claims, though, making the argument that the United States must always fight to defend "[their] shores." He states that there is not a single soldier in Vietnam "who likes [the] war," but that Americans have a duty to fight for their country and protect its integrity. Furthermore, Dudley asks his mother if the protesters at home had "[forgotten] Pearl Harbor and Korea," suggesting that they have an obligation to fight back after all the conflict of the past years. In sum, fighting the Vietnam War is about making a statement. Dudley strongly believes that the "world must learn" that the United States will not hold back in the face of aggression; they must set a precedent, regardless of the peace protests back at home.

Agustin Aguerre

Pathos: Anti-War Photograph

The photograph, taken at the 1967 march on the Pentagon, appeals to the pathos of the audience.  The image of a young girl putting a flower in the gun of a soldier is a moving scene.  The image makes a powerful statement against war.  The scene makes the audience want to rally for the cause of peace, because who would hate the courage of the girl putting the flower in the loaded gun.  The obvious divide between the soldiers and the protesters also appeals to the audience’s emotions.  It exaggerates the issue making it seem like one viewpoint versus the other with no middle ground.  The divide forces the audience to realize which side they support.  Will you support the soldiers pointing their guns at civilians, or the peaceful protestors with flowers?

Kyle Strouth

Stasis Theory - "What Were Fighting For"

Dave Dudley’s song “What Were Fighting For” was written in response to the anti-Vietnam war protests in order to remind the people why we are in this war. Dudley understands how the war seems on United States soil, “that we don’t fight for peace,” however Dudley tries to remind the American public that we are fighting to protect the very peace that so many Americans hold dear. The song reached #4 on billboardmagazines country standings at the time, however failed to gain much influence among the most popular songs in the country, and thus failed to influence many protesters.  The songs message was just but seemingly lacked the ability, when sung in this genre, to get the foothold it needed to be heard across the country. Songs in general have succeeded throughout history in being efficient ways of influencing American society, such as “A Change is Gonna Come” by SamCooke or “Imagine” by John Lennon. Both of these songs aided in starting major civil right movements. The public and their response to what is being said determine the impact of song as a means of rhetoric and how effective it can be in the future as a means of persuasion.

 

Sam Jacobson

Pathos of Dave Dudley's "What We're Fighting For"

Dave Dudley appeals to the emotions of his audience through the optimistic tone and lyrics of the song.  Dudley’s song is representative of a letter that he is writing to his mother from Vietnam.  He appeals to pathos as he requests that the people support the war so that we “protect our shores”.  “Protect our shores” is playing on the audience’s desire to defend their nation from attack.  “Tell them that we're fighting for the old red, white and blue.  Did they forget Pearl Harbor and Korea too” furthers his appeal to pathos as it invokes patriotism and retaliation for past attacks.  The tempo of this song is slow, which helps portray an image of gradually carrying on through tough times.  The reference to “Mama” is also an appeal to pathos.  “Mama” is a symbol of the love, strength, and support needed to soldier through the tough times.  Dudley’s appeal to the audience’s emotion helps rally support for the troops fighting in Vietnam. 

Kyle Strouth