Kosfeld 1 Mallory Kosfeld Dr.

Erin Dietel-McLaughlin Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric, Section 09 3 October 2013 Rhetorical Analysis Essay: The Snite Museum Inside the Snite Museum, we viewed a set of photos taken by Charles Moore back in 1963. These black and white photos were shot in Birmingham, Alabama, during a climactic point of the Civil Rights movement. The Civil Rights movement was an event in time where African Americans fought against oppression from whites, and rallied for equal privileges and opportunities among all races. The content of the photos consists of African American people being attacked by police dogs, fire hoses, and the like. These photos were shot in an artistic and rhetorical way, and published to help advance the cause for equality between all races. A viewer of these Civil Rights photos in the Snite Museum will be emotionally drawn to the photos due to the photographers use of rhetorical techniques to capture proximity between the viewer and the people within the image, portray corruption in what was seen as an ideal country, and provoke emotions of anger or frustration toward the situation presented. The closeness of the photographer to the action that was taking place helps include the viewer into the scene, making them feel as if they are actually there in person. This rhetorical strategy is called immediacy, which is where the medium of the rhetorical piece attempts to conceal itself to allow the viewer to immerse themselves into the artwork. Photography is seen as an ideal medium to present immediacy, because it is transparent and follows the rules of linear perspective and removes the artist as an agent who stands between the viewer and the reality of the image, (Bolter and Grusin 26). The police dog in the lower right corner of the piece, with

Kosfeld 2 ears back and staring menacingly at the photographer, is so close to the camera that it seems like it could leap out of the frame and attack the viewer. The photographer captures the lone womans dark frame in the foreground, enveloped by a powerful white spray of water. Sharpness of the contrast between the woman and the water exaggerates the sense of isolation and futility she experiences. Meanwhile, far away along the background of the image, other people are helplessly watching or trying to run over to help. The proximity of the shot gives off the perception that the viewer is the only one close enough to the woman to help her. The viewers realization that they cant help the woman brings attention to the imperfections of immediacy. In the third picture of the trio, the three African Americans cower against a building while a sharp beam of water shoots at the one on the right side of the image. The proximity of the people huddled together gives the viewer a sense of community during struggling times, exhibiting the true strength African Americans had while overcoming this adversary. Their juxtaposition is contrasted by the blast of the water, and the mystery person who is standing behind it. Moore switches from immediacy to hypermediacy here, by leaving the antagonist of the piece hiding outside of the frame. Some would say that photography like this is only (and dominantly) seen as immediate, because the accuracy of their representation of the world is near perfect. However, this is disproven by the idea that the logic of hypermediacy [within photos] could express itself both as a fracturing of the space of the picture and as a hyperconscious recognition or acknowledgment of the medium, (Bolter and Grusin 38). What this means for our image is that Moore fractures the space with the elimination of the person with the hose to encourage the viewer to interact with the photo. They are spurred to wonder who is on the other side of the hose, and why do they feel they have the right to abuse other people?

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The answer to this question is simple. Who else owns a fire hose and knows how to use it, other than firemen? Viewers discover that the heroes we have been raised to trust are the ones who have turned around and wrongfully attacked these African Americans. While the photo with the dogs showed the police blatantly, the other two pictures dont directly show the firemen standing behind their hoses. Moore doesnt need to show them, though, because the viewers emotions are stirred more when forced to analyze the scene. The rhetoric used here can easily be considered a source of political power. A political power refers to how influence gets distributed in a culture, which is dependent upon who speaks, where they speak, and on what subjects, (Herrick 19). Moore was not a man of high status, giving him very little say on Civil Rights issues. However, once he got a hold of his camera during a rally break up, his photos were published and distributed across the land. Moore hoped the viewer of the pictures would be sparked into action, taking sides with the blacks. The motif of authoritative figures/ideas in all three of the pictures gives a sense of corruption within the system that we have learned to have faith in. If there is no faith, then what replaces the void left where faith should be? Emotions of anger? Helplessness? The fear and isolation the African Americans show in the pictures strikes the hearts of the viewers, provoking all sorts of negative emotions. The majority of human beings will side toward the idea of equality, versus the idea of abuse of people. Moores photos are rhetorical works, because they are a response to a situation of a certain kind. (Bitzer 3). The situation referred to is the Civil Rights Movement, which dominated the politics of the day. Moore decided to create these rhetorical images to shift the peoples opinions on racial equality toward his own opinion. From the images, and the depiction of the people within them, you can

Kosfeld 4 assume Moore despises the way blacks are treated. His successful portrayal of his depiction within the frame results in a successful audience reaction, helping advance his cause. According to Herrick, rhetoric plays a big social role in helping people decide what is true, right, or probable, (21). The raw, rhetorical imagery of the pictures helps the viewer shape their knowledge of how African Americans were truly treated at the time. Solid proof of abuse toward the African American population wasnt easy to find back then, which made these images of the blacks strike the viewer especially hard, causing uproar over the unfairness of treatment. The forceful rhetorical strategies Moore used resulted in a strong advancement of the Civil Rights movement, which helped America come closer to imminent elimination of the horrid situations within these frames.

Kosfeld 5 Works Cited Bitzer, Lloyd F. The Rhteorical Situation. Philedelphia: Penn State University Press, 1968. Print. Bolter, Jay David, and Richard Grusin. Immediacy, Hypermediacy, and Remediation. New York: MIT, 2000. Print. Herrick, James A. The History and Theory of Rhetoric.2nd Ed. Allyn + Bacon, 2001. Print.