Pathos of Black Hawk Down and Shoot Em' Up

The movies Black Hawk Down and Shoot Em’ Up both fall under the action movie genre, however, they are very different in the feelings they provoke in an audience. From the previews, it appears the movie Black Hawk Down is serious and realistic, while Shoot Em’ Up is more comical and unrealistic.
The movie preview for Black Hawk Down begins with the words “BASED ON AN ACTUAL EVENT” in all capital letters. This argument conveys to viewers that Black Hawk Down is a more serious movie, meant to portray realistic people in historically accurate situations. The audience is made aware that the movie is set in Somalia, Africa. The preview paints a picture of Somalia with images of an impoverished war torn country accompanied by mournful sounding African music in the background. Suddenly the preview changes pace, quickly showing fast action explosion filled segments of the movie. The soldiers are depicted as being young and gung-ho, which appeals to the movie’s target audience of young to middle aged males. The movie appeals to the audience’s pathos because it contains many emotion invoking scenes that remind us of love, patriotism, and camaraderie.
The preview for Shoot Em’ Up is filled with special effects, and unrealistic, exaggerated action. The preview generates excitement with its loud rock music in the background and its sound of a gun shot at every picture transition. Throughout the preview the characters say many witty and humorous statements that portray Shoot Em’ Up as being a comical movie. Shoot Em’ Up, like Black Hawk Down, also appeals to the audience’s pathos only in a different manner. The movie plays on many archetypes such as the hero, the villain, and the woman in need of help. The preview shows an attractive woman with large breasts and that is wearing revealing clothing. This woman has a sex appeal that would be a major hit with an audience containing mostly males in their late teens to early twenties. The audience may also relate to the hero’s need to protect the woman and her baby from harm. The characters’ in the preview are wearing mostly dark clothing, which gives them a cool rebellious appearance.
The movie preview for Shoot Em’ Up sharply contrasts Black Hawk Down. Although both appear to be fast paced action thrillers, Shoot Em’ Up is not based on an actual event. The preview for Black Hawk Down will attract audiences looking excitement though a realistic and sobering depiction of war. Shoot Em’ Up’s preview will attract audiences looking for entertainment and an escape from reality. Both of the pictures’ previews entice people to come see the movie with an implicit promise of heart pounding action and emotional appeals.