Throughout the readings of Eyman, Brock, Applen, and others they have all dived into different forms of rhetoric. This can be digital rhetoric, forms of writing rhetoric, and so on. However, within a new section of Doug Eyman’s writing “Defining and Locating Digital Rhetoric,” he explores a new form of visual rhetoric.
Different Terms
What exactly is visual rhetoric? The writings of Eyman, state that nailing down a singular definition for visual rhetoric is quite difficult. Visual rhetoric splits off into three terms to possibly identify it. The first term would be that “visual” means only relying on images and analyzing the meaning behind them and what they represent. The second term of “visual” is under anything made by human hands like a building, a shirt, a fridge, etc. The last term is focused on the processing of “the gaze” psychological and cultural implications that influences it.
For instance. A billboard ad is supposed to be big to make you look, and pop so it grabs attention. The visuals on the ad then help send a message to the audience to convince them to buy the product. Overall, these two terms can be lumped together as part of visual rhetoric’s definition. A surprising fact I learned through reading this section was that visual rhetoric has a longer history than digital rhetoric. The reason I say this is because of my earlier posts about chapters discussing how digital rhetoric does not just apply to current-day electronics but also to earlier inventions made by hand. But this would make sense as visual drawings could have been used before the invention of tools to display an idea to an audience.
Image Visual importance
Images on their own can be confined to physical spaces. But their meaning behind it can be transcended into rhetorical analysis as Barthes asserts. This statement makes me think of traditional artworks within museums. Although the piece itself cannot move and is confined to whatever medium it’s on, the message behind it can be rhetorically moving to an audience. However, since artworks are mostly up to the audience’s interpretation it is not inherently anchored into definition. In visual rhetoric, Carolyn Handa discusses how many cultures work to make an image denoted with verbal or cultural context. This way there is less room for confusion of the audience and the intended purpose of the image. By understanding this, Eyman demonstrates to us that the audience and the image’s persuasive effect is one of the foundational elements of visual rhetoric.
Animated Example
Mizu is Alone
Within this scene alone, there is much rhetoric behind the imagery that connects to the overall story. For instance, the wide shot of this scene is intentional. The main character, Mizu, is the woman in a bloody white kimono walking alone. The wide open mountains graying with dark clouds will send a message to the audience that it is a sad scene. This is an ominous scene in which there is no victory for Mizu. Her bloody kimono and the dead bodies at the edge of the scene communicates to the audience they she was in or witnessed a battle taken place.
Considering she is the only one walking away, it shows that she is the lone survivor of this fight, but it was not an outcome she wanted. when diving into the context of the scene it makes the rhetoric of this shot more emotional. Mizu did not just went into battle, she realized she was betrayed by both her mother and husband. Wanting to save themselves from Mizu’s wrath, they started to blame each other. Only for them both to be killed.
Face in the sky
When looking into the sky, there is a clear demonic face that appears when lightening strikes. This face connects Mizu to the overall story of Blue Eyed Samurai as it cements the idea that she is a Oni. In Japanese folklore, Onis are demons capable of mass destruction. This was seen moments earlier as she killed multiple soldiers who was looking for her. This strength was strong as her anger, and her strength was seen as demonic especially as she was a woman. Thus, this face in the sky highlights her strength and how her people and the world viewed her. It reinforces the rhetoric of being dangerous, gloomy, ominous, and uncertain.
Additionally, that face was only able to appear in the wake of lighting, a powerful force. This tells the audience that Mizu’s “lighting” or strength is frightening. Her fighting abilities, her courage, her strength frightens people like lightening. It is especially highlighted when people can see her eyes.
The Colors
The colors itself also has important rhetoric behind it as they help emphasize the feeling of lose and sadness of this scene. Every color within this scene is greyed out with little life in it. Only Mizu’s bloodied kimono and the face in the sky have the most color. This tells the audience to remember what Mizu did in order to survive. Additionally, the color of lighting in the sky being blue is no coincidence. This ties to Mizu’s blue eyes and how her eyes made people fearful. Within the time of this show there were no multiracial people in Japan. Thus, people saw her as a monster, an Oni.
Conflicts of Rhetoric
Both visual and digital rhetoric are fields of study that have much to explore. Both of these fields of study can cross with each other. An example of this is visual rhetoric in the context of digital rhetoric. This can be the design of a website or the appeal of an image that can benefit the digital world. Symbols that have this rhetoric behind them like symbols for apps also connect. However, Eyman states that visual rhetoric cannot fully engage with new media. An example of this is video games where creating images is through code. I find this example insufficient as it then suggests that any form of visual rhetoric is just coding in new media, but if that’s the case, why is it called that and not digital rhetoric?
Conclusion
Overall, This new form of rhetoric is an interesting aspect of study. It is does have its importance in culture and in digital media. I would argue that it also has it’s importance in media despite its creation is out of code. This rhetoric is important in the realm of identifying digital rhetoric and it supports creativity, beauty, and is able to send a message in its own unique way.
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