Visual Rhetoric free essay sample

In this piece of visual rhetoric, there is a very strong message conveyed. Depicted in the medium are lips, very disturbing lips. The creator of this piece uses image to connect to the viewer visually, expressing a very serious tone. Image is a very powerful tool; it makes the author more credible and the audience more apt to agree and believe. The creator of this image intends to affect its viewers in a powerful way: through surprise and contrast, and it is well executed. The viewer of the image should look at it and ponder its meaning. No words accompany this picture, permitting the viewer to have free interpretation. However, the core message is clear. The core message is about smoking. The design of this anti-smoking advertisement is very intriguing, being a cropped picture of a woman’s bright red lips. They are not normal lips; they are lips with a black hole through them, as if burned by a cigarette. We will write a custom essay sample on Visual Rhetoric or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The image is composed so that the viewer’s eyes are drawn right to the hole, a stain in perfection. The bright, cherry lipstick contrasted with the revolting, charcoal hole—placed right where a cigarette would sit—appalls the viewer. This placement was very effective in conveying a message about smoking. In the background of the picture there is a pore less, porcelain-like skin surrounding the lips. This, coupled with the red lips, only makes the woman appear even more perfect, despite the gaping, metaphorical hole in her lips. Light is used to brighten the picture, contrasting with the hole as well. Light is often utilized to symbolize hope and knowledge, ideas that smoking is not associated with. There are subtle shadows sitting in the corners of the woman’s mouth and below her lower lip, making the picture even more realistic. The viewer’s eyes move from the focal point (the burn hole) to the red lips, and then to the perfect skin, finally ending on the shadows in the teeth. The creator of this image was well versed in making an affective, persuasive design. The visual text in this advertisement assumes that its viewers are smokers so that they can persuade the smoker to quit. Another viewer could be a non-smoker, allowing the anti-smoking message to act as a preventative. All of the viewers might not concur with the idea that smoking ruins what might be close to perfection. For smokers in denial, this might be a difficult concept to grasp. The author was simply trying to persuade them to make the best decision, even if it meant doing so with a contorted image. This instills a negative opinion about smoking in the viewer. This visual rhetoric makes a lasting impression that, through thought, can be interpreted in different ways. It will invoke ideas about life and happiness in its viewers. The purpose of this visual rhetoric piece is to persuade, inform, and almost warn its viewers. Through the shocking hole in the lips, there is a significant amount of persuasion, for it does not appeal to many people. They are warned that smoking will stain their lives permanently. The argument, simply stated, is that smoking is bad. The image will evoke the value of a good life that does not include the depicted vice of smoking. Women often have desires to be perfect, while men may desire to be with a perfect woman, and glistening red lips symbolize this. This appeal of perfection is interrupted by the cigarette hole, crushing the desires of the viewers, and creating an instinctive affliction towards smoking.