Liggans-Hubbard 1 Fauve Liggans-Hubbard Dr.

Erin Dietel-McLaughlin Multimedia Writing & Rhetoric, Section 13 11 October 2013 Violence versus Victory Two of the photographs that I viewed at the Snite Museum stood out to me because they were conveying such drastically different concepts. They were both from the civil rights movement but one depicted three teenagers up against a brick wall, one male being hosed and the other protecting a female from the blast. The second photograph was of a parade of people marching with an American flag and what looked like a purpose. The first photograph was captured by Charles Moore and the latter by James Karales. Moores photograph was first published in Life Magazine and made to appease the upper white social class of that time because that is who could afford to buy the magazine. The picture was used to display how fortunate the African Americans were for the policeman, dogs, and firefighters to attack them because they were inevitably giving publicity for their cause. Drastically different from the view someone would have of it today. The more positive scene depicted in Karales photograph is the Selmato-Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965 and could have been printed in order to inspire the people of the civil rights movement to stay with their cause. Though very different, both of these photographs have a rhetorical context. Charles Moores photograph draws on immediacy and pathos to capitalize on his photographs rhetorical contexts while James Karales photograph draws on hypermediacy and symbolic elements to capitalize on its rhetorical contexts. However, both photographers utilize framing techniques in their photographs to bring out their rhetorical contexts.

Liggans-Hubbard 2 Charles Moores photograph was taken as if the viewer is on the scene viewing what lies before them and therefore it is a medium whose purpose is to disappear, which is the definition of immediacy (Bolter and Grusin 21). This allows the viewer to connect more with the people in the photograph and to more fully understand what is being depicted. It also allows for the viewer to pick up on details that would otherwise be overlooked, like the fact that the people in the photograph are just teenagers or their genuine looks of pain. Immediacy makes the viewer feel as if they are a part of the picture and transparency is the ultimate goal. In contrast, James Karales employs hypermediacy to engage the viewer in his photograph. The rhetorical purpose of this photograph is not to feel like you are joining in the march or a bystander like in the previous photograph. The purpose is to feel inspired by it and to continue on for their cause, therefore, the awareness of the medium is present. Charles Moores photograph appeals to pathos while James Karales utilizes symbolic elements to bring about his rhetorical contexts. Pathos is defined as the values of the audience who is viewing the photograph. Moore decides to appeal to these values by capturing such a controversial scene. However, what values are brought about all depend on the context. When the photograph was first published the audience viewing it were probably indifferent or even felt the firefighters action was justified because they were white upper social class people during the civil rights era. However, the values the photograph brings out now are drastically different. The audience is conflicted about the lack of morality of what is being depicted in the photograph. The pressure from the hose is so high that the boys back that is being hit by it is forced to arch the opposite way. By appealing to pathos, Moore is able to pull out emotions from his viewers years after the photo was taken and in different contexts.

Liggans-Hubbard 3 James Karales, on the other hand, uses symbolic elements to draw out the rhetoric of his photograph. One symbol that is prominent in this photograph are the American Flags. Since the viewer knows the title of this photograph and that it is a march for voting rights they can then infer the meaning of the flags presence. The flags symbolize the freedoms and the constitutional rights that the African Americans marching in this photograph wish to have. Also, the fact that there are multiple flags symbolizes that there is more than enough freedom and rights to go around for all Americans no matter their race or ethnicity. Another symbol used in this photograph is the sky. It seems as though the sky behind the people is dark and cloudy, however, the sky in front of them seems to be brighter and clear. This symbolizes that the worst of times are behind the people and good things are to come. The Moore photo was taken in 1963 while this one was taken in 1965 so that supports the statement that things were getting better. The Moore photograph and the Karales photograph do have one thing in common though, they both utilize techniques of framing in order to portray rhetorical contexts. The framing highlights the rhetorical construction of the photographs by incorporating or not incorporating certain things and by capturing at certain angles (Lancioni 106). In Moores photograph he decide to leave the attacker out of the frame. This could be to keep the focus on the victims, some would say, keeping the focal point on where the hose is hitting the young boys back. However, some could argue that it is because more than likely it is a firefighter on the other side of that hose and firefighters are seen as heroes. So in the context that the photo was originally taken, even though the acts of brutality were portrayed as a gift to the African Americans, people might look at it differently if they see such a role model committing such violence. Moore also decides to include all three people against the brick wall. He could have just shown the boy getting hit by the hose but the inclusion of the other boy shielding the woman shows the courage

Liggans-Hubbard 4 amongst chaos that was present and them flushed against the brick wall shows the innocence and utter vulnerability that would be missing if it was not in the frame. James Karales uses several framing techniques in his photograph to ensure its rhetorical significance. First, he decided to take the photograph at an angle that was lower than the people. This angle makes the people seem larger and in turn gives them a sense of pride and courageousness. He also chooses to include the sky, a symbolic element that would have been lost if it was excluded from the frame. It is also significant that Karales chooses to take the photograph from in front of the people and not from behind them. By capturing the photograph in this frame Karales shows that the people are not afraid to face whatever is ahead of them. Charles Moores photograph depicting three teenagers being hosed down solidifies its rhetorical contexts by utilizing immediacy, appealing to pathos, and framework. The Selma-toMontgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965 captured by James Karales draws on its rhetorical elements by using hypermediacy, symbolism, and also framework. Though these photographs depict two completely different scenes and were captured by two different photographers the techniques of rhetoric do not change it is just what they decided to apply and in what way. Both photographs can be seen in a rhetorical context due to the techniques that the photographers applied.

Liggans-Hubbard 5 Works Cited Bolter, Jay D., and Richard Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge: MIT P, 1999. Print. Lancioni, Judith. The Rhetoric of the Frame. A Visual Rhetoric. N.p.: SAGE, 2008. Print.