https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/725/02/
Complete a rhetorical analysis of one of these visual texts. Follow the format from the link.
Complete a rhetorical analysis of one of these visual texts. Follow the format from the link.
The third choice of visual rhetoric effectively depicts an observation of the relationships between athletes and academics. By implementing several forms of visual rhetoric, the artist convinces the audience of their argument. The audience in this piece could be a variety of people. It could be intended for coaches and participants in college sports, or it could be a warning for students thinking about participating in college sports. Also, parents and family members of college students could be an appropriate audience. I believe that, due to the harsh dialogue used in the piece, it is intended more for the people directly involved in college athletics. I believe the artist of the piece intended to grab that target audience's attention. To do this, the also drew the athlete in the picture larger and the academic far smaller. This method includes some pathos in the work because it conveys the vulnerability of academics, and comparably, the "strength" or overpowerment of athletics. The innocent portrayal of the academic portion of the piece versus the harsh image of the athletic portion leads me to believe that it demands the attention of people involved in college sports by stirring up emotion. I do not believe this particular image portrays anything that would require a background in the subject matter. It is fairly easy to understand the message behind it because it references a simple, familiar visual style. It does not depict a specific person or event, but rather a general overview of the subject. The image is quite obviously used to create an emotional response, but depending on the audience that is viewing it, the emotional response can change. If a person highly involved in athletics viewed the piece, they would most likely feel more emotions of defensiveness or anger. In some cases this can be a difficult strategy in argument because when the opposing side becomes defensive, they are less susceptible to changing their views, however, in this piece I would say it is effective in combination with the emotions created by the academic portion of the piece. An audience more involved in academics, or any general audience would typically feel sympathetic or empathetic emotions for the student depicted in that image. Due to the fact theta there is an overlap between the audience of people involved in athletics and those involved in academics, the argument is effective for all audiences. Also, the anger that can be drawn from an athletic audience can make them more susceptible to further emotions. In theory, anger can lower emotional barriers and increase the chances of them becoming sympathetic. It's almost like opening a dam. If there is even a small crack, eventually, the pressure will build and the dam will form more cracks. The artist also uses color to symbolic the good and bad. Red, often considered to be the color representing the bad or evil, is used as the color of the college athletes shirt. Green, often considered to be the color representing the good, is used as the color of the student's shirt. Lastly, the image gather's the audience's attention through the use of vivid colors in the dialogue to represent swearing.
ReplyDeleteJenna,
DeleteYou did a great job in this blog. You correctly followed the style and form that was required and analyzed the picture well. I like how you included the effect it could have on college athletes, and how the anger it could evoke from them could actually be a good thing. I didn't think of that, great job!
The third piece of visual rhetoric depicts the disruption of balance between sports and academics in college. The piece makes the argument that sports take precedence over academics in college, and acts as a warning to the audience. The picture could have targets, such as the actual schools, or the parents of the students attending. However, due to the details in the picture such as the allusion to a high school like status quo, I believe that the most likely audience is the students who are just leaving high school and will be soon attending colleges. The picture acts as a warning to them by accurately showing a temptation that is too real for many of today's students. The picture implies that there is graphic language in the situation, and the stance of the basketball player over the man portraying academics insinuates violence. Teenagers are commonly exposed to both of these things, while many adults are not or have not been for a long time. While the picture is straight forward, it does require one to have some background on the subject to gain the full effect of the piece. This is why a teenager is more likely to understand the entire concept, because they are constantly exposed to situations parallel to this one. The purpose of this document seems to be to trigger an emotional response from the receiver to make them more aware of the threats of sports in college. The basketball player is wearing red, a color commonly associated with anger. The scholar, on the other hand, is wearing clothes and glasses that depict his harmlessness. The fact that the sports player is bigger while the student is smaller also has an effect on the audience. Pathos is used in these ways, but also is conveyed through the context of the piece. A student who is just entering college would be more susceptible to the arguments of the picture because they are already nervous and anxious about going to college. A student who is a sophomore in high school, however, wouldn't be able to apply this to his or her life as well. Overall, the context, small details, and audience all portray the meaning and purpose of the picture. When analyzing these things, the intentions of the artist become clear and the picture is more likely to be understood.
ReplyDeleteSteve,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job of following the format from Purdue Owl, and you made some great connections. We made a lot of the same connections. I really liked your point about the allusion to the status quo. Also, I hadn't thought of the fact that the target audience could be high school students as well, so great catch!
The third cartoon depicts what colleges seem the most important aspect of the school. It shows a much bigger person who is shown with a sports uniform and he is throwing a basketball at a much smaller nerd. He is hitting the red in the head and knocking his books and other stuff out of his hand. The big jock says that the nerd needs to know his place. This cartoon shows that university care more about the college athletes, than the whole reason for having a school, to learn. The whole college athletic program is corrupt and wrongly created. The university favors college athletes, because they make thousands of money from these athletes who get much less in comparison. The piece highlights how corrupt the universities are towards the real purpose and what the main focus should be for the university.
ReplyDeleteMitchell,
DeleteYou didn't really follow the format from the Purdue Owl link, and it seemed like you did this in a bit of a hurry which is understandable since it's prom weekend. You made some good connections, but I think you could have found a lot more rather than simply summarizing your interpretation of the argument.