Analysis of Visual Rhetoric - Case Study Example

Visual Rhetoric Introduction: The two images that are examined in this essay are both messages on gun control. The first image is a cartoon in black and white, employing irony to ironically convey an underlying message that supports gun control. The second image is in color, with a bold, black border. The message in this image is against gun control because it carries an implicit threat in its text, which is visible in the character in the image pointing a gun directly at the viewer. Characters in both the images are carrying guns and the message that is being conveyed is on gun control, however the visual rhetoric of the images offers mental images and associations that convey meanings which are opposed to each other. Visual rhetoric is the use of images in order to further an argument, and encompasses the analysis of the visual images and text as well as their arrangement on a page. (www.owl.english.purdue.edu). Through the nature and form of the visual images as well as the corresponding text that is used, the two images which are the subject of this essay, both convey differing, contradictory messages on the same issue of gun control. Form /structure: The first image is a black and white cartoon image. Editorial cartoons are communicative tools because the cartoonist makes use of visual symbols for the purpose of communicating with his or her audience. In order to be classified as a visual rhetoric, an artifact must possess three elements (a) it must be symbolic (b) it must involve human interaction and (c) it must be presented to an audience for the purpose of communicating. (Foss, 2004: 304). Both the images qualify as visual rhetoric because they are utilized to symbolically convey a message on gun control and both images involve human characters. The first image is entirely in black and white and utilizes black text on a white background which shows high contrast levels. Since this image is purely in black and white, it utilizes shading in order to heighten contrasts. Lines are clean and simple and the drawing creates the effects of light and shadow through strategic shading. The image utilizes approximate symmetry, whereby the figures are organized around the central fulcrum point on the street, with the family arranged on one side and the odd looking man on the other. The element of stunned surprise and shock of the family of four at the sight of the man with the gun is conveyed through the backward slanting lines that are used. The larger size of the odd looking man is counterbalanced by the varying sizes of the family. The picture maintains an overall balance with the houses and playground in the background appearing smaller, thereby conveying the impression of distance. The use of dots and shading on the gun toting individual highlights the impression of general scruffiness, while the clean faces of the family suggest their contrasting nature. The text size is proportionate to the other figures in the image, and has been capitalized in order to make it more distinct and readable in black against a white background. The focal point of the image is the family of six and the odd looking man, however the greater amount of space devoted to the gun toting character suggests the relative importance of this character as the focal point to the whole image. In the second image however, it is color rather than shading that provides elements of contrast. The figure in the image stands out in stark contrast to the pitch black border, which also forms the backdrop for the text. The use of white text on a black background is however, not ideal. This image is focused almost exclusively around the gun, especially by pushing it directly into the foreground and lighting the area around it. The background is notably stripped of any distracting elements and is a plain gray background. The picture has been taken in such a manner that it is designed to draw attention to the gun, which is the subject of the message. The man's hand that is holding the gun is disproportionately large as compared to the rest of his body, which yet again, highlights this emphasis on the gun. The fulcrum around which the entire image revolves is the nozzle of the gun, pointed directly at the viewer. The single eye of the subject that is visible appears strategically close to the firing point of the gun and the hostile expression in those eyes is a direct counterpoint to the unspoken message that the gun point conveys. The entire image therefore demonstrates an asymmetrical or informal balance between the larger hand of the man and gun vis a vis the rest of the man's body against an uncluttered backdrop. The use of the color black for the subject's T-shirt again highlights the element of underlying threat which is also reiterated through the gun. The text is also a significant part of this image, since one third of the entire image has been devoted to the lettering This image demonstrates a high degree of unity between the subject and the text, with the text serving as the tool that clarifies the meaning of the image. Subject Matter: The two images that analyzed in this work are both on the subject of gun control. The first image is a black and white cartoon of what looks like an average middle class, suburban neighborhood. The main subjects of the cartoon are a family of six who are just outside the playground, encountering a character on the street that is carrying a gun. This character is dressed in army combat boots and appears rather unsavory. But a speech bubble above this character's head reads: "With all the odd types around, I feel safer with a gun". The cartoon is in black and white, with text being in black on a background of white, which allows for greater contrast. The second image is in color and the subject is a man holding a gun which is pointed straight at the viewer of the image, with the hand holding the gun in the foreground. The image is in color and is dramatically outlined all around with a black border. The man who is the subject of the image is shown posing against a light gray background, which dramatically outlines the jet black of his T-shirt as he looks into the camera with a distinctly hostile air. The subject matter of the image "Gun Control" appears in blue against the black border and the sub heading in white on a black background reads: "A political movement based on angering gun owners probably wasn't the best idea." Content of the images: The first image which is a cartoon draws the viewer's attention because it is a composite image in that it displaces a figure that is wearing combat boots and a combat shirt away from the traditional context into the middle of a suburban neighborhood. It functions on the basis of the rhetoric of irritation whereby there is an "inappropriate juxtaposition" that works to produce a dialog among unrelated aspects, producing an irritation that is expressed visually and creates a "social irritation in the audience who registers this friction as a kind of disruption of normal discourse." (Stroupe 245). Thus, by placing an irritant element in the midst of otherwise clean cut, suburban characters represented by the family, the image sets up a discordant image that draws a viewer's attention and draws attention to the underlying message that is being conveyed through metaphors. Moreover, the text of the message that is carried in the bubble also works through producing a similar kind of discordant element. The underlying irony in the character's statement is emphasized through his odd appearance, so that the message is conveyed in an indirect manner in this particular image. A metaphor is an outward symbol that helps in the process of attaining knowledge about the world. It is a group of things related in a particular manner in order to discover similar relations within another group, through the agents of language, categorization, comparison and contrast. It presents visually, the message that is being transmitted mentally, through the cognitive abilities of association. In applying metaphor criticism, two major aspects may be identified: (a) tenor and (b) vehicle (Foss, 1996, p. 360). The tenor of the metaphor is the actual subject or the principal focus of the metaphor, while the vehicle is the means that is employed in order to convey the tenor and is therefore the secondary frame or the visual representation of the metaphor in the film. The image of the gun in the first image is presented as a metaphor that is used to symbolize a message that is not traditionally associated with the vehicle of threat implicit in the image of a gun. The "tenor" or actual message that is being conveyed in this case is a message in support of gun control and the related mental association that guns are not appropriate in a suburban neighborhood. However the "vehicle" that is used to convey this message is the odd looking character who actually carries a gun himself. In this image, the focus is upon the appearance of the subjects of the image rather than the gun itself, which is not presented in dangerous or threatening close up format. The image shows a clean, suburban neighborhood which obviously fits into the pattern of what would be considered normal. The two parents and four children shown in the image are also clean cut characters, the father is clean shaven, the mother is also dressed conservatively and they appear to portray a typical suburban family. As opposed to this, the character holding the gun is hairy and sports a bushy moustache. He is also dressed rather oddly in a camouflage combat shirt and boots and has a belt strapped around his waist in which he carries bullets. He looks like the odd man out in the neighborhood. The gun is used as a metaphor to represent how this character is the "odd type" himself, and there is an ironic twist in such a character stating that he needs a gun to protect himself against other "odd" characters. The message that is being transmitted visually serves to emphasize the message that is being conveyed mentally, i.e, guns are incongruous in such a neighborhood and the only element remotely criminal is the odd character who is carrying the gun, purportedly for protection. In this image, the gun therefore becomes a metaphor that represents the futility and lack of need for such weapons of threat. The tone of the image is irony and it appears to suggest that the people carrying the guns are the ones who are odd. The underlying mental image that is linked to this image is therefore one that favors gun control and appears to convey the message that carrying of guns is ludicrous and unnecessary. In the second image, the text used in the image is significant and there is a more direct transmission of the desired message against gun control. The text speaks about the subject matter of the image. The character represented in the image is a gun owner and the text states that it may not be a good idea to antagonize the gun owner through political means. McClatchy applies ekphrasis, equivalent to visions in our heads which are themselves art in that they are created to represent our world view, to the issue of visual rhetoric in art. "By writing about a contemporary painting, a poet may cannily have found a useful way to let the poem talk about itself." (McClatchy, 1989:xiii). This may be extended and applied to the second image. The text that is visible below the image talks about the image itself and suggests that the subject of the image is displeased by the political move towards gun control. There is synchronization between the image of the man looking hostile and pointing the gun at the viewer and the text below which suggests that making gun control a political issue is the source of discontent. Therefore, the text serves to enhance and consolidate the implicit message that is conveyed through the visual image. The image is very clear on its subject - GUN CONTROL and the rest of the message is wrapped into and under this headline banner, thereby clarifying the content of the message. The visual element in images plays a significant role in influencing the emotions of a viewer and may in fact, have a great impact as opposed to the text, since a viewer views the image first before reading the text associated with the image (Kienzler, 1997). The second image therefore is likely to pack an emotional impact upon viewers, because the viewer is facing a dangerous looking gun which is also magnified because it is in the foreground, thereby heightening the element of threat. This image works largely by functioning as a shock inducer, thereby heightening the emotions of the viewer as it conveys its message. Both images convey a message about gun control. However while the cartoon image conveys its message in support of gun control indirectly through irony, the second image is able to achieve a dramatic impact that is likely to stir an emotional response in viewers. It is direct and reinforces the message of implicit threat in the image through the mechanism of the supporting text and the use of dramatic contrasting colors. References: * Foss, Sonja K, 1996. "Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice", (2nd Edition), Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. * Foss, Sonja K, 2004 "Framing the Study of Visual Rhetoric: Toward a Transformation of Rhetorical Theory." IN "Defining Visual Rhetorics" (Charles Hill edn), Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. * Kienzler, Donna, 1997. "Visual Ethics", Journal of Business Communication, 34: 171 * McClatchy, J.D., 1989. "Poets on Painters: Essays on the art of Painting by twentieth Century Poets." University of California Press * Stroupe, Craig, 2004. "The Rhetoric of Irritation: Inappropriateness as Visual/Literate Practice." IN "Defining Visual Rhetorics" (Charles Hill edn) Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. * "What is Visual Rhetoric'" Retrieved October 22, 2007 from: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/visualrhetoric.ppt#2 Read More