Rhetorical Image Analysis Essay
Brianna Henderson
Professor Katherine Kincer
ENGL 1101
21 October 2014
She Couldn’t Say No
Entering college comes with a new sense of freedom to do whatever a person wants. Partying and drinking, be it legal or illegal, is one of these freedoms. Its common, even encouraged and pressured that while out we partake in drinking and getting “wasted”. This has become a common stigma about college, and binge drinking has become a serious problem on all U.S. college campus. In an attempt to bring awareness of consequences of binge drinking Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board released a series of Public Service Announcements and launched a website to educate its target young audience to be careful while drinking. The public service announcements use very specific image and text placement, typography, and color to make their message evident in the still PSAs. In general when a person looks at something they scan left to right, top to bottom, or at least primarily in English speaking areas, as that is how we read. With this being so, the first things our eyes sees is (what appears to be) a young woman’s bare legs, slightly separated from knee down, and her underwear around her ankles. She is placed in a vulnerable looking position on a bathroom floor to express the terrible act that just happen. This image is large and takes up most of the ad’s space. The designer of this clearly wants the image to be seen as important and a driving point in the PSA. However, what appears to be the most important are the words that are farther right on the ad, but cover part of the girl’s legs. The texts message about how the girl didn’t want this, but couldn’t say no is what appears to be the most important message of the entire ad. The block of text on the bottom is supporting text and considered less important on the ad so it therefore on the bottom. It seems chronologically correct to be in this format with the website on the bottom since we read top to bottom. This was effective in
Professor Katherine Kincer
ENGL 1101
21 October 2014
She Couldn’t Say No
Entering college comes with a new sense of freedom to do whatever a person wants. Partying and drinking, be it legal or illegal, is one of these freedoms. Its common, even encouraged and pressured that while out we partake in drinking and getting “wasted”. This has become a common stigma about college, and binge drinking has become a serious problem on all U.S. college campus. In an attempt to bring awareness of consequences of binge drinking Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board released a series of Public Service Announcements and launched a website to educate its target young audience to be careful while drinking. The public service announcements use very specific image and text placement, typography, and color to make their message evident in the still PSAs. In general when a person looks at something they scan left to right, top to bottom, or at least primarily in English speaking areas, as that is how we read. With this being so, the first things our eyes sees is (what appears to be) a young woman’s bare legs, slightly separated from knee down, and her underwear around her ankles. She is placed in a vulnerable looking position on a bathroom floor to express the terrible act that just happen. This image is large and takes up most of the ad’s space. The designer of this clearly wants the image to be seen as important and a driving point in the PSA. However, what appears to be the most important are the words that are farther right on the ad, but cover part of the girl’s legs. The texts message about how the girl didn’t want this, but couldn’t say no is what appears to be the most important message of the entire ad. The block of text on the bottom is supporting text and considered less important on the ad so it therefore on the bottom. It seems chronologically correct to be in this format with the website on the bottom since we read top to bottom. This was effective in
Cited: Empowered By Color, (2014). The Color Turquoise. [online] Available at: http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-turquoise.html [Accessed 22 Oct. 2014]. Stebner, B. (2011). 'She couldn 't say no ': The shocking state date-rape ad pulled amid anger over suggestions that drunken victims are to blame. [online] Mail Online. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2071890/She-say-Pennsylvania-Liquor-Control-Board-pulls-controversial-ad-blames-date-rape-victims-victims-friends-receiving-hundreds-complaints.html [Accessed 22 Oct. 2014].