Thursday, October 3, 2013
"The Burning of the Brassieres"
Riddled within the 1960's photograph representing a popular mode of women's protest against sexism are several areas of rhetorical interest. However, a few things may need to be addressed to fully analyze the photographer's primary use of rhetoric; for starters, who is he or she actually trying to convey this image to? His intended audience is definitely an arguable topic. It is possible that he (or she), perhaps, is capturing this image to show other groups of females how well the feminists seems to be doing, as a sort of call to action to support the feminist movement. On the other hand, the photographer could also be intending to show other anti-feminists an example of a possible "rowdy" demonstration of feminism in an effort to portray a negative image of typical feminists. One thing is definitely for certain, regardless of who may be targeted; the audience will have a general understanding of what feminists stood for at the time and will be generally aware of the tactics used by most female protesters. This audience will be able to see the photographer's purpose for taking this particular picture, whether or not the image-based rhetoric is specifically recognized by the viewer. The image will then be able to instill some sort of emotion or change of thought (i.e. view on feminism, etc.) based upon the style of rhetoric that the photographer uses. Evidently, the photograph could be used for a multitude of purposes, but it most certainly has an audience and therefore has some form of rhetoric.
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It seems to me that the photographer of this picture clearly sought to garner support for the feminist movement as indicated by the happy smiles of the female protesters. Had he intended to criticize the movement, he would have probably waited to take his picture when the women appeared more like an angry riot than at a joyous bonfire.
ReplyDelete-Shawn Rosofsky
I think the photographer could have used the picture to criticize the feminist movement. In my opinion, a conservative of the 60s looking at this picture would be shocked to see those "shameless" women out in the streets burning their bra. The conservative can very easily interpret the happy smiles as their flaw in conscience who have audacity enough to smile while doing such a terrible thing. Since the photo could be used either in criticism or in support of the movement, you should do some research to figure out in what way it was actually used!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the picture could be used for and against the feminist movement. I also agree with Shawn that this photograph would be mostly likely used in support since the women are so happy. The mood of the photograph is definitely positive. If it was a photograph used against the feminist movement I feel like a negative photo would have a better affect.
ReplyDelete-Emily Camardo
Interesting post! I concur that this picture could be used either for or against the feminist movement; however, I feel that the picture leans towards the positive side, not only because the women are smiling, but also because of the angle the picture was taken from.
ReplyDelete-Jeannette
Hey! I found this little gem, in case it helps you: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/missamerica/peopleevents/e_feminists.html
ReplyDeleteAlso, I looked up photos similar to this one, and the Duke University archives hold a similar one from the same day. While I didn't see a photographer's name, Duke's site claims the photographer was female. I'm not sure that helps us determine her (presumably?) motivations, but it's one step toward figuring it out!