Thursday, April 22, 2010

Visual Rhetoric



            This cartoon portrays how public smoking is becoming ‘extinct’. I believe that the targeted audience, in my opinion, is current smokers. I think that this cartoon could really show smokers how smoking in public is frowned upon almost everywhere you go now days.  A secondary audience would be people who don’t smoke, who are pushing for all of these anti-smoking bills/laws.  The person sending this message is the cartoonist, David Horsey. 
            I believe that this image uses logos, or an appeal based on logic or reason, to connect to the audience. You can tell that the public smoker is following closely behind these animals that have factually gone extinct already. Based on logic and reason the reader can easily tell that the public smokers are going to become extinct very soon. I believe that this cartoon is credible, because of all the anti-smoking legislation coming into affect, especially in Virginia.
            Another appeal used by this cartoon is pathos, or appeal based on emotion. I believe that the text at the top that says, ‘The March to Extinction…’ definitely hits the audience emotionally when they read that. This rhetorical strategy communicates a powerful message to smokers and non-smokers. I believe that the artist isn’t trying to portray his own beliefs onto people, but simply just share with people that public smoking isn’t going to be around forever. People are not tolerating it anymore and it is becoming anti-social. Viewing this from an ex-smoker’s perspective, I can tell you for a fact that current smokers don’t find this cartoon amusing.  


           This cartoon above shows two people who seem to be smoking and drinking inside of a building. Ironically, right next to this couple is a sign that says, “THANK YOU FOR NOT SUCCUMBING”. I believe that the target audience for this message is mainly smokers.  The purpose of the message, in my opinion, is to show smokers that their actions do affect them (via second-hand smoke). The person sending the message is the cartoonist, whom I can’t make out from their small signature. 
            I believe that this cartoon uses logos, or logical appeal to connect to the audience. The reader can logically see the smoke travelling from the inconsiderate couple is hitting this poor, non-smoker right in the face. One can also logically tell that there are cigarettes still burning in the ashtrays next to each of them (producing more, unnecessary, second-hand smoke), and that the couple is drinking alcohol. Now my blog isn’t about alcohol, but we all know that it’s not good for you.
            The cartoon also uses the pathos, or the emotional appeal. For me, the sign that says, “THANK YOU FOR NOT SUCCUMBING”, was the first thing that I noticed in the image. I thought I knew the definition of succumbing, but to make sure I looked it up myself. The definition is to submit to an overpowering force or yield to an overwhelming desire; to give up or give in. I think that this image is credible. There is nothing suspect about it besides the fact that it portrays smokers in a bad manner. It seems as if the person who drew this is a non-smoker who can’t stand people like the couple in the picture.
            To conclude, I wanted to share two other appeals that these cartoons didn’t use. Those are ethos, or the reputation of the speaker. And mythos, the sum total of stories, values, faith, feelings, and roles that make up the social character of a people.  I believe that even though the cartoons that I analyzed above have two different artists, I think that they share the same message that they want to send. The cartoonists use these rhetorical appeals to get their messages to the targeted audience. The message that they’re trying to send is that smoking in public places is a past time. There’s probably not going to be many places in the near future where you ARE allowed to smoke inside. I can definitely connect to these cartoons as an ex-smoker. When I did used to smoke, I was at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. I assumed that because I was outside, I was allowed to smoke… WRONG. Within seconds of me lighting up, a zoo employee came up to me and told me that I wasn’t allowed to smoke outside! This was definitely news to me, as I didn’t think people could be told not to smoke out in the open air. Well, it’s true people; we’re going smoke-free as a country. Even our president is trying to quit smoking.


Citation:

Editorial cartoon: Smoking bans: March to extinction (n.d.). Issues & Controversies.   Facts On File News Services. Retrieved April 9, 2010 from  http://www.2facts.com/article/ic000144.


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