Killer Cars - an Assault on Reason Analysis

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Melanie Masters attacking opinion article “Killer Cars – An Assault on Reason” criticises owners of 4WDs for their irresponsibility and ignorance for other drivers but she also targets manufacturers, describing 4WDs as “death machines,” because they are responsible for many deaths. Moreover she attempts to induce a sense of anger within her primary audience of motorists but also a wider audience of safety officials that 4WD owners are arrogant and take no interest in the safety of others, only themselves. From the beginning, Masters attempts to position the audience to believe that 4WDs are a menace to society and those driving them are arrogant and “myopic”. The repetitive use of words to describe the danger that 4WDs present to society are quite clearly pejorative, attacking and highlights the stance of the writer. The language “Killer Cars” and “Death machines” suggests that the car itself is more responsible of death than the person driving it therefore positioning the readers to consider the safety of their own cars. The consistent use of generalisations; “4WD owners take more risk because they feel safer” and “...city owners of 4WD owners are less community minded and less charitable than other drivers” with the accompanying visual positions the readers to think of times when they have been disrespected by 4WD owners and as a result instils a sense of resentment as small car owners in juxtaposition with large car owners are interpreted to be powerless and thus are ignored. Not only does Masters blame 4WD owners of causing deaths but also attempts to evoke concern in the audience and raises issues in the misuse of 4WDs. The case study of a young girls death, clearly dismisses the issue of 4WDs being a hazard to society, rather than relying on statistics alone. The fact that the incident occurred at a school raises concern in the audience of motorists, in
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