Your homework assignment for Monday night is to do a mini-rhetorical analysis of one or a few of the images below from the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Particularly read the your visual text/s in terms of pathos, consulting the chapter "Arguments from the Heart" on pp. 45-58 of our rhetoric text if you need a jumping off place. Also, you will want to read over the section entitled "Reading an Image" on pp. 721-24 in our reader, Seeing and Writing 3, for some helpful tips on understanding visual arguments.
Remember, you want to make specific observations about the image you choose (what colors pop out? what is the central image? what is going on in the background? etc.), then make a few inferences: (because the author chose to center a Chinese military person in the center of the image, she is choosing to communicate what?).
After that, you'll want to discuss how well your image/s appeal to an audience emotionally. Do you feel inspired by the image/s? Do(es) your image/s make you feel as if you are witnessing something great? Is there anything that confuses you about the composition/costumes/performers' positioning/etc? Think about what feelings the designer of the closing ceremony wished to evoke from his audience. You need also remember that this event was televised globally, so the artist must have had in mind a much broader audience beyond those present at the event in Beijing.
You might want to brainstorm a list of observations, then make your inferences, before constructing a 5-7 sentence paragraph for this assignment. If you choose to brainstorm before your write, please post your list of observations on your blogs along with your paragraphs. We will discuss your analyses in class on Wednesday, and you will be evaluated based on your participation.
Comment on this post or email me if you have further questions.
See y'all soon,
Mr. Sisk
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