Honors College Art & Science of Emotions Fall 2017 (12:00 p.m.) The Burn Journal | Page 18

Anger as a Tool of Social Change
Author: RaeAnne Goodwin
At its very basic essence, anger can be described as “a strong feeling of displeasure and usually
of antagonism” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). It is an emotion that every person has no doubt felt in
some capacity and it is perhaps one of the most arresting emotions that one may experience. Anger
holds power over us in that it rarely fails to grab our attention and incite us to focus on the cause of it.
This ability can be seen as problematic in certain cases, however, there are also times when such a fixa-
tion is necessary.
In breaking down the above given definition of anger, one may contemplate the mentioning of
antagonism, defined for the purpose of this paper as “actively expressed opposition” (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary). The acknowledgment of an action of opposition infers that there exists both a cause of the
anger and a response to that cause. In “Considering Anger from a Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective”,
author Blair states that anger is commonly thought to be a reaction to a “perceived threat” or to frustra-
tion. A component of being a reaction to such things involves further response beyond simply feeling
anger. It calls for action to be taken in order to counteract the frustration or threat. In simple terms then,
anger is a response to frustration that evokes action.
Prime examples of occasions that utilize the attention afforded by anger are protests of discrimi-
nation and injustices such as that depicted in the image I have selected to represent anger. In it, advo-
cates of the Civil Rights movement stand united in their cause. The creator of this photo illustration used
a black and white photograph of Civil Rights advocates, of which includes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
and edited the image to make it appear as though the band of marchers are holding colorful signs that
were used in the protests that occurred much more recently after events of police brutality and discrimi-
nation that occurred in Ferguson, MO and Baltimore, MD. The way in which the protestors are captured
linking arms shows their desire to stand together for their cause, portraying them as organized, stable,
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