Blog #3

Blog #3

1. What is the most important feature of visual argument you learned from EOA? Why?

- According to Essentials of Argument there are eight special features that explain why visual argument is convincing. These features include evoking an emotional response, establishing common ground, employing symbols, and allowing the viewer to interpret the argument in their own way (239-244). I believe that the most important feature of visual argument deals with producing emotions from those who the argument is directed towards. For example, a written article about the events that occurred on September 11, 2001 would lead to a different emotional response than a picture of the crumbling towers would. Because of the visual aid, the viewer could actually see what happened and be drawn into the disastrous environment. Photos also portray emotions that are sometimes hard to put into words. I was watching TV and a commercial for starving children in Africa was shown and I couldn’t help but be saddened for all of those small children without food. Augmenters choose to show these images because the eyes have a way of expressing emotions that no form of writing could possess.

2. What is the most important feature of visual image you learned from McCloud? Why?

- When I first looked at the “narrator” of McCloud’s comic, my mind automatically associated the figure with Harry Potter. The boy has messy black hair, glasses, and a lightning bolt on his shirt, which are all attributes of the famous wizard. Ironically, this was one of the arguments that were mentioned in the comic. The comic discussed recognizing vivid details of a person’s face after interacting with them and creating an image of them in your mind. My complex brain allowed me to associate the two figures with one another, even though they don’t have any relation at all. This idea also deals with the simple figure of a face. Without excess traits, every person has the same face – two eyes, a nose and a mouth. It was interesting to see how people find a face in objects, such as outlets and cars, that don’t have anything remotely close to the image at all.

Works Cited:

Handa, Carolyn. Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World. (Excerpt: McCloud, Scott. The Vocabulary of Comics.)

Wood, Nancy V. Essentials of Argument, 2nd Ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. 2009.