He argues that “simply adding methods and concepts designed specifically for verbal language to persuasive images is not the most productive or accurate way to develop a methodology for the study of visual rhetoric” (27). Yet, there are some beneficial concepts, like presence (which is what Hill uses throughout the chapter). He argues that presence is inherently visual because it is meant to form a clear mental picture in the audience’s mind (29). He references the idea that images tend to be evoke emotional responses while linguistic text tends to elicit more analytical responses; he says this is a rather simplistic and reductive understanding but acknowledges that there are physiological (and physiological) emotional response to images. There are two kinds of mental processing: systematic and heuristic. In systematic, the person contemplates and analyzes the argument. In heuristic, “an individual relies on some shortcut decision-making rule to construct an attitude toward persuasive advocacy” (32). Our bodies have evolved to have certain physiological responses to situations, which we then categorize as emotions; these are heuristic processing responses. When we see a representational image, our bodies react as if the representation is actually in front of us, thereby triggering the emotion in us. We can also be culturally (or personally – think, being scared of clowns) conditioned to have these kinds of reaction (34). The flag, for instance, evoke emotions of pride and patriotism, even though these are abstract concepts. This happens over long term affect transfer.
Key Terms:
- Representational image: “visuals that are clearly designed to represent a recognizable person, object, or situation” (25)
- Affect transfer: “an emotional response from an unrelated object or event is transferred ot the product being sold, simply by showing an image of the product, followed by an image of the emotional object or event, and repeating the procedure many times” (37)