terministic screens and the united way

I cannot help but continuing to think about Burke’s Terministic Screens and one of the essays that were read in the first section by Barton entitled Textual Practices of Erasure. The first essay that was read was all about the United Way posters and campaign. Here it depends on which terminsitic screen the viewer has been primed to use that determines how the campaign and advertisements are received.

The language that is used throughout the advertisements helps set up the screens that each picture will be viewed by. For example, when one of the ads says that “the handicapped are hired because you helped.” This screen allows the viewer a sense of accomplishment because it allows them to believe that they did something. While a page before this the viewer is told “Don’t wait to be asked!” The screens change how each thing is perceived. The fact that terministic screens direct our attention to what a viewer takes in; can change how the same ads are perceived between different views.