In the PSA image addressing diamond mines in Africa , there is a completely blank, white background
with the only thing in the picture being what looks to be a black man’s severed
hand with a diamond ring on the ring finger. Since the background is white, the
colors that stand out are the dark skin of the man’s hand and the red blood that’s
shown where it was cut off. The big,
expensive diamond ring on the ring finger seems completely out of place in the
image and is in stark contrast with the bloodied, cut off hand. The diamond ring looks out of place because
diamonds are usually associated with wealth or marriage, and makes the difference
between that and the violence and pain portrayed by the hand is very noticeable. Analyzing the colors found in the PSA image,
the red blood on the wrist represents murder and violence, the and the brown
color of the man’s skin, as opposed to being a white man’s hand, leads the
audience to interpret that the problem or that the race effected is either
directly concerning the black community or centered in Africa.
Looking further into the picture,
you notice that there is a fancy incursive text towards the top left, above the
detached hand that states, “For every hand taken in marriage, another hand is
taken away”. I feel the text was written
in italics for the purpose of imitating the fancy text one might see on a
wedding invitation, used to further stress the connection in the image between
diamond wedding rings and the dire consequences selling these diamonds have on
the ones who actually mine them. The use
of a fancy text to convey such a strong message as opposed to writing it in all
caps or in a stronger, more noticeable font also indicates that the issue
concerning the cut off hand falls to the way side when it comes to marriage and
the demand for beautiful diamonds, most commonly used for wedding rings.
Although the text is written in a breezy font, when one reads the statement, it
is at first shocking, capturing one’s attention and making the audience
question how such a strong statement could be true. The connotation of the words is not
particularly strong either negatively or positively, but when paired with the
gruesome and shocking picture of a black man’s severed hand it leads the reader
to question how the two are related. Then,
in the bottom right hand corner, there is a message in smaller text that is not
incursive but instead in a normal, bold font and therefore seems to be of more
significance and importance. The text
says, “To secure that their enslaved workers wouldn’t steal them, conflict
diamond Guerilla’s would often cut off one of their hands. Beauty isn’t worth
death”. The connotation of the words chosen in this statement is stronger than
the other text, especially in the words “Beauty isn’t worth death” because even
though the men have their hands cut off, it doesn’t indicate that they actually
die. Through this stylistic choice to use the word “death”, the PSA exaggerates
the fate of the workers to stress the amount of violence and loss suffered by
the workers. Next to this statement is a black silhouette of Africa with a red
diamond inside of it, indicating that this abuse towards the enslaved diamond
workers does in fact take place in Africa.
After reading this, the purpose and
true meaning of the PSA image becomes clearer to the audience. When combining
the connotation of the text with the shocking image of the dismembered hand
wearing the diamond, the purpose of this PSA is to raise awareness of the fact
that the diamond mining business in Africa is far from humane and that the
diamond you may be wearing might have cost someone their hand. Although this image does aim to raise
awareness of the situation occurring in Africa, I cannot say that the goal of
this ad is to raise money or support for the cause due to the fact that there
is no phone number, address, or even the name of whoever/whatever organization
published it anywhere on the PSA so that the audience could learn more or find
ways to stop the violence. The targeted
audience of the PSA seems to be aimed towards people who have perhaps purchased
diamonds or just towards the general public worldwide in order to raise
awareness of the problem.
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