We discussed visual rhetoric in class today, and my partner and I looked at this image as an example of this concept.
This was obviously a quick snapshot, given the chaotic conditions in lower Manhattan the day this picture was taken. However, the fact that it was taken by a professional photojournalist means that we can assume that most of the elements that make this picture so striking were purposeful.
One element that doesn’t need much explanation is the setting. Anyone who was of age in 2001 recognizes it. 9/11/2001. The day the towers fell.
This speaks to the power of images and visual rhetoric. All of us who share the American cultural background instantly recognize the situation.
The photographer captured that chaos; the faces of the people in front in focus, fear and confusion painted on their faces, while a dust cloud malevolently blossoms behind them, emblematic of the destruction that reigns outside the frame of the picture.
Little Brother
Like the picture we chose for our image analysis, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow deals with terrorism and its aftermath. Little Brother, however, is a work of fiction, and a platform to discuss freedom, civil liberties in the internet age, and the abuse of power in a young adult-friendly setting. I thought it was a great novel for teenagers; not only does it address very real concerns, it does so in a modern fashion that will grab the attention of current-era readers. The average 14-year-old has a hard time connecting with Johnny Tremain. They won’t have a hard time connecting with Marcus, the protagonist of Little Brother.
This is a visual response to Little Brother, meant to convey the combination of freedom and imprisonment that the internet offers in the near future world represented in the Hunger Games. The fuzz surrounding the central focus area is meant to represent the uncertainty of the digital world. The handcuffs on the keyboard represent the opportunities that there are to use the internet against private citizens, as does the desktop background, but the fuzz also represents the wide world of the internet that a private citizen can disappear into.
