If a picture's worth a thousand words, I still barely made the word count.

Note to reader: This didn't transfer very well from Word, so I apologize in advance is any of the pictures aren't exactly where noted in the text (ie, if the picture "at right" is on the left)

Rhetorical Analysis

            During the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC), many speakers stepped up in support of the Democratic Party and millions of Americans tuned in to watch the action.  One of the most interesting things regarding these speeches is that the majority of people who watched the speeches were not in the audience at the convention.  Instead, they watched the action through their television or computer.  These mediums open up many rhetorical possibilities.  Assuming that the Democrats are in control of what is broadcasted (which I believe is a fair assumption), it is important to look at some of the images that were displayed along with the speeches that give the audiences at home a different view of the convention than the people sitting in the audience, namely: members of the audiences themselves.  While one of the pictures I will discuss is of a speaker, I want to focus on the fact that these photographs can stand alone as rhetorical units, and how they can be displayed during any speech, even outside of the convention to convey an idea.  In an attempt to keep things interesting, I will not weigh down this paper with filler, but will instead make several concise remarks about each photograph, emphasizing how each can stand alone and still maintain its rhetorical nature.

            The first picture I would like to analyze is shown on the right.  These two gentlemen are sitting above the rest of the crowd, reading the convention pamphlet.  The first thing that this picture brings to mind is a comment on Ethos.  However, instead of adding to the character of an individual speaker, it is a comment about the Democratic platform.  These men, reading the pamphlet, which is obviously marked with the red, white, and blue symbol of the Obama administration, shows just how widely the Democratic party is supported.  I think that this would reach out to other minorities, not just the Muslim or Indian communities, but it would also speak to  other communities such as Asians and African-Americans.  I believe this will happen because this picture shows that they will not be alone if they support the Democratic Party.  Something else that this photo contains is an enthymeme that says: “Voting for/electing the Democratic candidates will help create/ maintain good foreign policies.”  These men may have been United States citizens for their entire lives, yet they seem so ‘exotic’ (I hesitated when writing that word), or so far from the norm of an American citizen that one cannot help but connect the Democratic party with foreign countries.

            The next picture, to the left, shows woman sporting a hat emblazoned with the American flag and democratic glasses.  Similar to the picture above, another minority is displayed.  Here we get into the discussion of Topics and the excessively patriotic nature of the woman’s hat falls into the category of a “necessary good” (Aristotle 62).  While Aristotle doesn’t list patriotism as a necessary good, it is not too much of a leap to think that is should be considered in our list today, especially considering that virtue, happiness, honor, capacity for action, and justice are on the list, and all of these things are components of American patriotism.  This hat, with the pairing of the glasses gives the effect of a visual asyndeton, though instead of pairing words closely without conjunctions, we are getting two images.  In the eyes of the viewer, this will link the Democratic Party and platform closely with patriotism and the values thereof.  This leads to a discussion on Ethos.  When it comes to patriotism, it is easy to stir up emotions.  “The land of the free and the home of the brave” is more than just a motto to some people; this images taps into all of the emotions associated with patriotism: the pride of nationalism and what it means to be American, the happiness that we are allowed personal freedoms that allow us to have happiness.  This list could continue ad infinitum but the point is clear: playing the patriotism card is a sure way to pull at the public’s heart-strings.    

            This next picture is slightly different from the other two because it is actually a picture of a speaker, but I thought this most interesting because this image was continually appearing during my search.  The most important thing here is body language, and not the language itself.  The picture below is another example of someone who is, arguably, one of the greatest speakers in the past couple hundred years.  Perhaps there is something in the universal subconscious which drives humans to relate, or be driven by this demonstration of power, I know not what exactly to call this display, only that is has been demonstrated to be effective and has obviously been repeated throughout history.  By having this picture be so prevalent among campaign images, I think it attempts to add a sense of Pathos to the Party’s stance by showing just how strong the Party really is by tapping into the part of the brain that recognizes this stance as dominant.

            Without any reference to what is going on at the convention, it is apparent that these images can stand alone to help the Democrats convey their message that Obama is the proper choice for the presidency this year.  However, it is important to note that these images were not shown by themselves.  They were accompanied by speeches and by speakers of incredible celebrity.  I think the point here that I find most important is that rhetoric is not simply contained to speech and words.  In the twenty-first century, we have moved beyond that (if that was ever solely the case).  With the advent of mediums such as television and the internet for viewing speeches, the ability to manipulate the images shown can have great rhetorical consequences.  The first two images could have been shown during any or all of the speeches to help persuade the public to vote for the Democrats this November.  Rhetoric is all around us; and it is more than just words.

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Aristotle. On Rhetoric. Trans. George A Kennedy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.