Final Visual Rhetoric

Ryan Swenson

“Visual Rhetoric”

            I know what you’re thinking when you see my image. You’re thinking how marijuana has anything to do with my field of choice. I am a biochemistry major and we look up the chemistry of life. Marijuana contains many chemicals that have been scientifically tested to treat numerous types of problems such as treating glaucoma patients, reducing effects of Tourette’s Syndrome, and is now being linked to the stop of cancerous tumors growing, specifically lung cancer. Also, being from Minnesota, the legalization of marijuana for medical use is a pressing topic that’s going on right now. This picture’s message is pro-legalization and how the legal substances in America may be more dangerous.

            The creator of this artwork has a clear message in this visual. He is comparing marijuana to tobacco and alcohol. As you may know, marijuana is an illegal drug (for the most part), and alcohol and tobacco are legal. He starts the image by splitting the legal and illegal substances onto two halves of the image. This is to create separation between the legal and illegal drugs which helps strengthen the message by making the visual easier to understand. Then he uses headings that get the audience thinking about the image more. He puts “Legal?” on the legal substances side and “Illegal?” on the illegal substances side. Of course, the obvious answer to the questions is yes for both (Again speaking generally for marijuana). But that’s not all the poster has as far as words go. The choice he made after that was to put the number of deaths related to each substance below this and couples them with pictures of the drug that relates. By including the pictures it adds clarity and also really helps you keep in mind what substances you think should be legal and illegal. Also, this added clarity is a huge element to a visual aid in this argument because when the visual is clearer than the audience can further understand the message that the author is trying to convey. The number of deaths with the picture also does an important thing here to help convey his message. It shows you how many deaths are associated with the substance. Marijuana to this day has had no confirmed deaths from use/overuse. Alcohol and tobacco have accounted for millions of deaths not only in America, but in the rest of the world. So again, you’re going back to the headings and thinking, which substances should be under which heading? The last visual in this picture that really helps convey his message is that he uses certain colors for certain purposes. The “Legal?” heading is black and the “Illegal?” heading is white. Furthermore, the color background under the “Legal?” heading is white and the “Illegal?” heading has a background that is black on its half. This creates contrast in the picture which is a trick of the creator of this visual. The trick is that the “Illegal?” heading is white which happens to be the background color of the “Legal?” heading. And vice versa for the “Legal?” heading and “Illegal?” background. He uses this to indirectly pair what he thinks should be the illegal and legal substances on the poster. Having “Known Medicinal Qualities” under the no deaths recorded part of the visual is a way that the he gets the viewer involved with the image. If the viewer doesn’t know the known medicinal qualities, then there is a decent chance the viewer may be more apt to go on their own and look up the medical benefits marijuana has to offer. Also, if they know some of the benefits, it can really connect some dots in their brain that marijuana has caused no recorded deaths and has medical qualities which could persuade them to change or strengthen their opinion. The creator of the image is pressing his opinion here that the legal drugs should be illegal and the illegal drugs should be legal. The use of all of these techniques is specifically chosen for the type of audience that he is targeting.

            The author’s message is channeled to a broad range of audiences. The audience could be as simple as an everyday person, to as specific to government officials. With the US under a lot of change state to state on legalizing marijuana for medical use, it could be used as an effective visual for government officials trying to get some more information on the danger of the substance, and also trying to persuade voters to see the potential danger of the illegal substance. Due to the simplicity of the image however, you can assume that this is more of an informational visual, which is more for educating others on how marijuana doesn’t kill anyone and how many deaths and how lethal the legal substances the US has to offer to the adult American.

            The visual overall is quite effective in portraying its message. The creator of the image does so using many techniques to convey to the expected audience what the main point that he made it for. It uses factual information as one way of effective portrayal of the message. When making a visual that is persuasive it always can be further communicated by having a shocking fact that can really wow or grasp the viewer’s attention. The use of number of deaths associated with each is a very powerful fact that can be a real eye-opener to those who are unaware of it. Also most Americans will weigh their opinion on certain aspects of their beliefs such as if it will bring harm to others amongst other facts, like if it helps others. Another way that the maker of the visual effectively conveys his message is by asking the simple question in the heading of the visual on each half. It questions the audience and makes them think about what they believe should be legal or not. The way that the question is short and to the point is also a good attention grabber that can help gain focus the message that he is trying to convey. And building on the heading, the colors associated with each heading (as detailed before) sort of plays a mind game on the viewer and could potentially persuade the viewer of a more positive outlook on the illegal substance. This is also an effective way to convey the overall message. Lastly, he includes how there are known medical uses to the marijuana side of the poster. This again is another effective way to communicate his message to his audience by getting them involved with the viewer, which is a really important trait when making a visual. The more you get the audience thinking about your subject, the better you’ve done at creating an effective image.

            Through the use of multiple techniques such as getting the viewer involved through facts and the use of qustions, as well as choice colors and pictures is why this visual is an effective piece at conveying the message that marijuana should be at least just as legal as other substances Americans deem legal.

Source: "Tobacco and Alcohol Cause Over 7.5 Million Deaths Per Year |Natural Cures Not Medicine." Natural Cures Not Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.