If you were to take note of how many people you saw texting and driving while on a road trip, after about an hour, that number would easily be in the double digits. With the rise of technology, the number of distracted drivers has skyrocketed. In the documentary “From One Second to the Next” directed by Werner Herzog, it tells four different stories of texting-related accidents by the victims, their families, and the drivers who caused the car collisions. Through juxtaposition, visual metaphors, and a somber yet urgent tone, Herzog conveys the dangers and risks associated with the selfish decision of texting while driving, urging the audience not to make the same mistakes as these drivers. Throughout the documentary, Herzog juxtaposes the moments …show more content…
All of this changed in a matter of seconds for her when she went to bring her mail in from outside and her whole life was flipped upside down by a teenager texting and driving. A text so important they said they could not even remember who they were texting. Now she is dependent upon everyone and can not even go into the front of the yard by herself, let alone all the other things she loves to do. Her vision is nearly gone and she has no memory of the accident. When the scene switched to the tragic aftermath, Herzog used vivid images of the wrecked vehicle, crash site, and injured individuals to help enhance the juxtaposition and make the dangers and real-life consequences more tangible for the viewers. This stark contrast between normalcy and tragedy helps drive home the message about the unpredictability and dangers of distracted driving. While many may feel they are expert multitaskers, Herzog uses visual metaphors to show the audience just how diverted your attention gets when trying to text and drive. In minute 29 during a reenactment of one of the crashes, the person driving has their phone in one of the handsfree holders that attaches to the vent. He is actively reading and sending …show more content…
The director also superimposes messages across the screen to simulate texting while driving and presents statistics such as “over 100,00 accidents a year involve drivers who are texting” to further support his claim. These strategies are most effective because they simulate for the viewer what it is like when your whole attention becomes diverted without even trying to. When he places the statistics and messages superimposed on the screen, even though a story is still happening behind them, the viewers' attention is shifted to focusing on the text, similar to what happens when you are texting and driving. Both of these metaphors serve to emphasize the cognitive distraction and divided attention that occurs when people engage with their phones behind the wheel, further emphasizing his standpoint on how no one should text while driving. The documentary begins with slow, melancholic instrumental music. This music continues for the remainder of the documentary, fading out as people are talking and including ambient sounds when recreating the accidents. It sets a somber tone from the