Respond week 3.

QUESTION: where do you think the effectivity of an image or a message exists?-- On the way we perceive a message (whether it pertains to us as an individual) or solely the way the message is constructed regardless of whether it affects us or not?

I think the way an image or a message exists is depend on two points Venus talked about. The way the message or image is constructed play a role on how we see the meaning of the whole article. Based on Burke, symbols is a select, reflect, and deflect. In what I understand is that the image or a message that we select can construct the whole meaning of itself, which known as synechdoche. It can attract people’s attention with their persona; for example, today in class we saw a really powerful picture of Napalm’s accident. The selection of images was really great and powerful. Without any text or message, we can see the meaning and guess what happened in the situation. If the author used another image, maybe we will not get the same meaning or feeling from the picture. In that only picture, we can see fear, tears, loss, sad, torn, and many other sad feelings. The placing and the size of the image are really strategic. The author locate the image at the very up of the website; therefore, when we open the website, we can directly see the image before read the article. The size of the image is also quite big; therefore, it really catches audience’s attention. So, how the image constructed effect on how the audience perceive their own meaning.
Moreover, other than how the image is constructed, the relationship between the audience and the image also take part on how we perceive the meaning. Based on our rhetorical characteristics that “Social knowledge in relation to visual imagery is “activated by/related to the present.”’ We cannot drag people to understand or believe the same meaning as we want. I believe, when we saw the Napalm’s accident, everyone had their own interpretation on how they see the situation. It is because we directly relate ourselves with the situation we had in the past. For example, I came from Jakarta, Indonesia, where all the demonstration, terrorism, and natural disaster often happened. When I saw the picture, I immediately remember of my home country and the people. I remember how my country felt a really great impact from the tsunami in 2004. So many people cry for their family deaths. I believe no one in the class saw the picture like I saw it.
Overall, I do believe that the way the image or message is constructed play major role in how we perceive the meaning. However, most of the time, we have different meanings based on our experiences.