Blog 3

There are eight features of visual argument and all are arguably important in their own right, but it is the eighth feature, “visual argument invites unique interpretations from viewers,” that is most important. (Wood, 244) Individuals view images differently for the reason that just like snowflakes no two people are the same. This individuality allows a person to view an image and relate it to themselves, an experience they had, or even a story they may have read. The ability to perceive images differently is important because with that comes some of the other features of visual argument, such as “visual argument evokes an emotional response.” (Wood, 240) If there is a group of people viewing the same image of a war scene each of them will more than likely have varying emotions. Some of those people may be angry over the war scene, some sad, while others may just be indifferent to it all. The ability of the picture to evoke an emotional response all leads back to the importance of “unique interpretations” that Wood speaks about. It is easy to become involved with an image and the message the photographer, artist or whoever the “message sender” is, when images are up to the interpretation of the viewer and therefore the message of the image become a part of them. (Wood, 245)

Humans perceive images differently and interpret those images to mean different things. While looking at the picture of a lady outside a bathroom a person would associate it with being the woman’s bathroom. However this image of a woman is not in fact a woman but instead a representation of a woman, an icon. The icon is the most important feature of visual image; icon meaning “any image used to represent a person, place, thing or idea.” (McCloud, 4) According to McCloud non-pictorial icons have a fixed meaning while pictures, such as one of a face, can have various meanings. (4) Due to the fact that images, “icons”, can be interpreted differently, they become more relatable, such as cartoons. Cartoons are drawn so simplistically that it becomes easier for the viewer to place himself or herself into the image of said cartoon. As McCloud says cartoons are “…an empty shell that we inhabit which enables us to travel in another realm. We don’t just observe the cartoon we become it!” (8) The iconic images of cartoons don’t leave you wondering about their backgrounds or why their clothes may be strange, instead they let you fill in the gaps and personify the cartoon as what you want it to be.


Works Citied:
1. Wood, Nancy. Essentials of Argument. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009.
2. Handa, Carolyn. Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World. (Excerpt: McCloud, Scott. The Vocabulary of Comics.)