Friday, September 23, 2011

A Visual Rhetoric Cartoon Addressing Internet Identities

Sometimes the easiest way to convey a message is through a piece of art.  Many people will look at an image rather than read an entire essay regarding an argument or opinion on an issue.  The image below comes from the University of North Carolina's Journalism and Mass Communication website.






The first thing one notices isn't the caption, but rather the dogs in front of the computer.  The black and white palette keeps the cartoon simple.  In fact, the dark dog draws a looker's primary attention because of the extreme contrast between its shade and the lighter aspects the rest of the cartoon has.  The caption, because of its size, is the final piece one would observe, and it only solidifies the message conveyed to those looking at the cartoon.

The purpose of this piece is to illustrate to its audience, specifically internet users, that in using online communication tools you don't always know who exactly you're interacting with.  You may think that you know, but this is not always the case.  This also demonstrates then, the limits of the internet: while it allows for high speed, almost conversational messaging, it removes the face-to-face interaction.  This was once considered crucial in human relationships.  Face-to-face can of course be simulated via online video sources, but this does not pertain to the cartoon above.

Finally, it is important to note that the cartoon does not incorporate ethos or pathos, but rather pure logic, (logos).  The truth is, something that is completely obvious in real life (ie, the fact that the above characters are dogs), can be totally unknown in the digital world.

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