Personal Reflection On Visual Rhetorics

The purpose of this memo is to reflect on and contemplate my learning experiences this semester. I am classified as a junior and am majoring in psychology and minoring in legal studies. Rhetorical Criticism was one of the elective options to fulfill the communication requirement for my legal studies program. I chose to enroll in this course, instead of the other elective choices, with the intention of improving my ability to analyze rhetorical strategies and develop persuasion techniques.

Participation
The two participation activities I found most useful were the reading analytically activity involving the evaluation of the Gettysburg excerpt and the VASES activity regarding City Council. I found the reading analytically activity to be valuable because the activity prepared me to properly separate elements of

rhetorical pieces into categories of descriptive analysis. The elements are broken up by purpose, audience, persona, tone, evidence, structure, and rhetorical strategies. By organizing rhetorical articles into categories, I was able to focus on each major aspect of the articles separately and analyze each category with more depth. Every element contributes to how a rhetorical article is intended by the rhetor and perceived by the audience. The evaluation of the Gettysburg excerpt influenced how I formed other analyses throughout the course of the semester. The VASES activity regarding City Council was advantageous, because the activity taught me how to interpret different forms of evidence. Through the use of visuals, analogies, statistics, expert opinions, and stories, rhetors seek to influence the perception of their audience. While visuals and stories usually have a psychological appeal, statistics and expert opinion have a rational appeal, and analogies may have both a psychological and rational appeal. Evaluating the various effects evidence can have on one's audience helps a rhetor use certain forms of evidence to advance their purpose and design strategies that combat problems that may be encountered with other forms of evidence. By preparing a proposal to City Council, this activity provided me with hands-on experience on how to alter my forms of evidence to be appealing and persuasive to various audiences. I believe that both, the reading analytically and VASES activities, contributed to the composition of my own rhetorical analyses.

Copia entry 14, TRA Chapter 12, "Help Delete Online Predators" was my favorite Copia assignment because the piece of visual rhetoric contained elements that depended on the context of the image.

Furthermore, the caption and background were intended to stimulate a deeper consideration of the subject matter. The caption in this visual rhetoric campaign was clever because it approached the subject of online predators by using references to computers in general and the keyboard in the background. This piece of visual rhetoric encountered challenges, such as lack of cultural history and inattention, that I believe were well combatted by the image. The campaign can be evaluated by an aesthetic, truth, and ethical standard, which develops the interpretation of the overall message. This Copia urged me to recognize how different rhetorical strategies were interacting or overlapping to form my perception of the ad. In addition, this Copia demonstrated the implications of captions on an image and the impact of visual rhetoric. From this Copia, I was able to apply concepts of visual rhetoric to improve my process of interpretation for advertisements or

campaigns.

Rhetorical Analysis 1
The topic I researched for my Rhetorical Analysis 1 was the dance performance "New Beginnings", by the New York City Ballet. The performance took place on the 57th floor of the Four World Trade Center, with the One World Trade Center and New York City skyline as the background. The purpose of the dance performance was to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The performance used a virtual experience to alter the audience's perspective regarding our nation's response to disaster. When analyzing the audience, I had to consider the location and time period that the performance took place. Although the performance was intended for the general US audience, dancers formed a targeted audience because of dancers’ ability to interpret dance techniques. I developed the context of my analysis by evaluating the performance by three elements: physical, visual, and auditory. By separating the dance into these parts, I could examine rhetorical strategies evident within each category and determine how those strategies altered the perception of the performance as a whole. This analysis taught me how to utilize my initial and critical reactions to a rhetorical piece to attain interpretations that may be derived by the audience. Since I conducted the analysis on a dance performance, I had the opportunity to discover rhetorical strategies apparent in movement. Essentially, I learned how to produce critical insights to a rhetorical artifact and identify specific factors that contribute to how an audience may receive different interpretations.

Rhetorical Analysis 2
My group and I researched Banksy's piece "CND Soldiers" for the Rhetorical Analysis 2. Banksy is a street-artist who also serves as a political advocate through his artwork. "CND Soldiers" stands for "The Cease and Desist Soldiers". Banksy's piece was originally created in 2005, at the Brian Haw Anti War protest, near the Houses of Parliament in London. The piece depicts two soldiers, one holding a gun and one holding a paintbrush, with a peace sign painted in red in the background. The environment and time period of "CND" is vital to adequately evaluate the art piece in its correct context. Banksy's audience is initially relevant to those that encounter the specific location in which the art piece was found. However, because of Banksy's popularity, the piece has been photographed and all general audiences can find the image if they wish. Our group decided to analyze the context of the piece by evaluating the different parts and perspectives the art represented. We critiqued the art piece by background knowledge of Banksy, background of the piece itself, and through an aesthetic and response standard. Dividing the analysis into these parts allowed us to compare different perspectives relevant to the fundamental meaning of the piece. The Rhetorical Analysis 2 project developed my communication skills within a group setting. Through this analysis, I gained insight on how to investigate alternative viewpoints and consider the influence of culture on perception. Overall, I learned the power of visual rhetoric and how to assess the effectiveness of rhetorical strategies.

Overall Reflection
Rhetoric has already changed my academics and I believe it will alter my professional pursuits as well. I cannot watch television, or see any type of ad, without automatically attempting to pick it apart and determine how I perceive the article and why I am perceiving the article in that way. In academics, I am more aware of persuasive messages that are surrounding me. Even the style in which some professors hold lecture have rhetorical elements that make them effective or ineffective. When making speeches, I know that rhetoric will have a major influence on how effective I am. By evaluating my audience more in depth and determining the conflicts I may encounter, I am able to prepare for these conflicts and construct ways to combat them. Now, I know different standards I can evaluate a topic by and how the standard may affect the perception of my audience. Professionally, I know that rhetoric will help me excel, especially in my desired field of work. I am pursuing a career in industrial and organizational psychology. My field of study requires me to hold insight into how others think, behave, and may respond to certain situations. In order to make a business or any system run more efficiently, communication is key. In communicating, rhetoric helps me further understand my audience and reach resolutions to dilemmas. Throughout my academic and professional career, I will be able to evaluate the rhetoric that I encounter and I will be able to adequately use rhetoric to empower my thinking, writing, designing, and speaking.