Emm's Digital Library

The moodboard I created is advocating against the rampant tourism seen in the Hawaiian Islands, emphasizing the harmful impact it has on native sea-life, specifically the green sea turtle or honu, a sacred species.

I tried my best to use several elements mentioned in Birdsell and Groarke’s reading; these being visual flag, visual demonstration, ethos, and pathos. The visual flag that I wanted to grab the attention of the audience is the bright text at the top left and bottom right. Along with the very saturated images of the turtles swimming in clean, blue water on the left (which is the side people read from so I thought it made sense). The visual demonstrations would be the images that are better off explained through the actual image than description. This would be the images of the deceased turtle with the cracked shell from a boat strike, the turtle caught in a fishing line, as well as the tourist crowd blocking the beach and disregarding the warning sign. My goal was to have these images act as evidence of my argument, ‘showing’ how tourism negatively impacts wildlife in Hawaii rather than simply saying it does. I wanted to focus on the green sea turtle because they symbolize protection, wisdom, and longevity in Hawaiian cultures and by showing them as injured or harmed, it represents the destruction of Hawaiian life and the spiritual balance along with it. When it comes to pathos and ethos, the images of the suffering turtles is more inclined to invoke outrage and compassion within the audience emotionally, along with using real photo evidence garnering more authenticity and credibility. My ultimate goal was to show people the harm that comes from tourism in Hawaii on the life that resides there.