AP Language & Composition Visual

Analysis IntroductionSource:

http://www.apstrategies.org/Portals/0/docs/Leads_PS/E_La_Visual%20Rhetoric%2009_T_Rh.pdf

Visual Rhetoric

•A form of persuasion that uses images to create meaning or prepare an argument•Attempts to persuade audience to reach a desired conclusion•Relies on language and graphic imagery to convey meaning

DAY 1

Analyze This

This is a picture of a second century BCE, Roman, bronze statue of the Etruscan statesman, Aule Metele. “The Orator” became the archetype of the noble rhetor, or public speaker, in Classical Roman times. Augustus Caesar, around 20 BCE, imitated the pose in his own official portrait, Augustus of Primaporta, and subsequent Roman statesmen and Caesars followed suit. Examine the picture closely, and note the physical features of the statue that suggest “trustworthiness.”

DAY 1

• Head: clean cut; mature; concerned expression; gaze looking up to audience, not down upon them; attentive; solicitous • Toga: formal dress for the time; suggests

wealth, importance, maturity, success • Torso: athletic; not fat, which would

suggest waste or excess; not skinny, which would suggest sickliness, miserliness • Feet: evenly placed; sure-footed; stable • Stance: open; natural; nonaggressive;

non-threatening • Arm: palm open suggesting a

calming/pacifying gesture; not hiding anything; arm is sweeping, inclusive

DAY 1

Ethos

•Trustworthiness, credibility, legitimacy•Print is limited to word choices, sentence structure, examples, and anecdotes • Images can also rely on visual representation

DAY 1

Logos

•Appeal to sense of logic•Arrangement, logical proofs, deductive and inductive reasoning, citation of recognized sources, recitation of facts •Power of visual rhetoric = combination of printed text and visual image “I cannot

identify that object.”

DAY 1

PathosStirring audience’s passions and emotions

Knows audience and recognizes what trumps logic

Uses sympathy or empathy tomove a neutral audience to dothings they should do

DAY 1

Archetype vs. Stereotype

• Images are immediate and to the point•Rely on certain conventional images that the majority will instantly recognize•Archetypes: original type or model copied by others; recognized by everyone, regardless of culture or teaching; not automatically “good”•Stereotypes: standardized, oversimplified, prejudiced, negatively biased mental image; openly skewed opinions held by a particular set of people; not automatically “bad”

DAY 2

Police Officer Evil Scientist

ARCHETYPAL STEREOTYPICAL ARCHETYPAL STEREOTYPICAL

Blue Uniform Doughnut “Mwuh-ha-ha!” Thick Glasses

Badge Gun White lab coat Old

To Protect and Serve Overweight Exploring Unknown Playing God

Maintains peace Irish Evil Laboratory Dungeon Lab

Courageous Mustache Genius Wild Hair/ Balding

DAY 2

Review: Shaping Commentary

• Functions of Analysis•Name – easy; “finger pointing” • Explain – draw conclusions based on text

•Simplistic commentary only proves you can define and identify: “The author uses a simile to get his point across.”•Complex commentary is more specific and answers important questions:•Which simile is used? •What is the author’s purpose? •How does the simile sustain the author’s purpose?

DAY 2

Review: Complex Example

“The author compares the young man’s utter lack of reaction to stone when he says, ‘he stood there like a statue.’ The expectation is that an ordinary person would react emotionally to death of a parent, but the young man hides his reaction; the author later refers to his face as “enigmatic,” “wooden,” and “chiseled,” further sustaining the idea that the young man’s emotions were as unreadable as carved stone.”

DAY 2

Practice: Analyze “The Orator”

•Choose trustworthiness feature from your “Orator” notes • Identify feature in a complete sentence •Suggest how feature accomplishes its purpose. •Be as exact as possible in describing the detail. •Rule of thumb: When you feel like you have said too much, you will have finally fully explained your point. “The Orator” wears a toga, a formal robe worn by

important civil authorities, to suggest that the man is trustworthy. Because the toga is a badge of

authority, and because those in authority are charged with taking care of their people, the toga therefore symbolizes the relationship between the

caretaker and his charge. Simply put, he wears the physical emblem of trust, so we must trust

him.

DAY 2

Visual Analysis Activity: View & Annotate•View LBJ campaign ad https

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDTBnsqxZ3k

•Annotate stills and text for ethos, logos, and pathos:•Underline rhetorical devices.•Circle objects or draw arrows to point out important elements in stills.•In margins, write down specific effects on audience.

DAY 3

Visual Analysis Activity: Respond

1. Why is the girl counting as she is picking petals? What does this game potentially symbolize? Possible Answer: It’s a child’s game. It suggests the child is innocent, possibly even oblivious to what is going on around her. Her miscount further intensifies the idea that she is very young. The child may be a metaphor for the United States. (Figurative Language)

DAY 3

Visual Analysis Activity: Respond

•Answer Questions 2-9 alone or with a partner or small group – everyone write own copy of answers.•TWO parts: identify and explain•Refer specifically to the image.•Address how and why strategies are used (effects on audience).

DAY 3

Visual Analysis Activity: Respond

•View the Willy Horton ad http://

www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1988/filter/ind

•Annotate stills and text for ethos, logos, and pathos.•Answer Questions 1-9 alone or with a partner or small group – everyone write own copy of answers.

DAY 4

Write Essay

Carefully read and review the “Peace, Little Girl” and “Weekend Passes” advertisements. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the distinctive images of each advertisement reveal the purpose of its sponsor. You have 40 minutes to complete your essay.

DAY 5