A Sneaky Influence

A Sneaky Influence

http://www.oregonlive.com/window-shop/index.ssf/2013/02/some_independent_retailers_fin.html#incart_m-rpt-2

         Stickers pile up, advertising a history of markdowns; the store is dark as night; and the figure’s sad eyes are veiled by a sheet of tin. Is this the work of marketing geniuses appealing to modern society’s love for the thrill ride? In fact, it is quite the contrary, sharing the dreary tale of many locally owned businesses today. This OregonLive article tells the story of a young boy hoping for a fun visit to the mall, who left without the personal satisfaction for which he was searching.

            The photo of the boy is placed in the top left corner of the article, so it is the very first spot readers’ eyes are drawn to. Looking at this image, even before any text, brings up subconscious ideas. The boy is wearing red and black, colors that signify riches and debt, and his display of both colors emphasizes his childish innocence.

The caption reads:

Riley Page, 5, visited Excalibur Cutlery & Gifts at Lloyd Center recently to see its reproduction of "The Hobbit" character Bilbo Baggins' Sting Sword. But the retailer was locked up after filing for bankruptcy. The Eugene-based retailer will liquidate all its goods at the Lloyd location starting March 1.

These couple sentences instill multiple emotions in the reader’s mind. He or she may wonder what is going on behind the fenced in area, feel bad for the kid for not being able to find what he was looking for, and at the same time wonder if maybe it would be best if he didn’t enter into the darkness. Then, the article begins by making malls seem like the “bad guys”, favoring corporations’ sales of the same items local businesses carry in their stores. It goes on about how being dropped from Washington Square Mall, its most profitable location, made Excalibur go out of business altogether. The article itself then tries to mimic Riley’s innocence by coming off generally neutral to the situation. The language shifts from pointing a finger at malls themselves to data supporting the opposing point of view. This is the most obvious benefit of the image at the top of the page, because it essentially, with the view of the concluding sentences, bookends the article so it slyly influences the way the reader thinks.

The image’s initial effect is to make the reader wonder about the downfall of local businesses, but subconsciously it is identifying local businesses as bad because of how dark and hellishly dismal the right half of the photograph is. The neutral, innocent boy separates the slouching figure on the right from the well-lit, well-stocked, pristine class case on the left. The article’s uses stronger language and rhetoric in its latter half, quoting the CEO of another successful Portland mall who says about malls’ store-selection process, “They face a lot of pressure to deliver more bottom-line profits, and it's just more efficient for them to deal with national tenants”. If, after reading the article, the reader takes another look at the image, he or she will likely relate more to the child, agreeing with his face peeking into the dark side but his feet firmly planted in front of the financially-sound, more visually-appealing, industrial side of things.