Texting and Driving
Hazards of Texting While Driving Texting while driving is a major problem in the modern world. It is distracting and hazardous, not only to the drivers, but the individuals around them as well. Because young people are obsessed with technology and social media however, they frequently engage in texting while driving far more than their adult counterparts. A Tred Films Production’s video “Cow” by Watkins-Hughes addresses the issue of young people, teenagers in particular, putting themselves and others in danger by texting while driving. The target audience in the video is high school students, whose obsession with phones, primarily texting while driving, leads to dangers on the road. The director’s overall goal in targeting high school students is to expose these dangers and make teens reconsider their careless actions. The way Watkins-Hughes exposes dangers throughout the video is through the exciting use of symbolism. This not only creates interest and deeper understanding, but also effectively explains the reasons behind the girls’ actions. The PSA “Cow” begins with a dream scene, where Cassie drowns in her car. The scene has several symbols and is foreshadowing the disaster that will happen later on during the accident. Before explaining how symbolism and foreshadowing are used by Watkins-Hughes, it is important to define the literary terms. Symbolism is an action or an object that has multiple layers of meaning, besides its literal one. Foreshadowing is a hint to the audience on something that will happen later on. In other words, it is a taste of things to come, which helps teens understand Cassies’ emotions of feeling neglect, insecure, and overall helplessness. Furthermore, symbolism and foreshadowing work together to prepare teens for the troubles that these emotions lead to. The dream scene begins with Cassie coming out of her house and greeting her parents and their friend, by waving her hand and walking towards her car. Cassie’s wave raises several