Blog Week 7A

Whenever people want to get their point across, they use many subject specific rhetorical terms to do so. These tools can be effective on their own, or can be combined in order to make people react in the sought after way. If these things are used correctly, they can help portray one way in a better light than the other, making it the more desirable choice. They can call people to action, or simply inform them on what the author wants to discuss. A few of the terms that are used to describe their technique are as follows:
persuasive themes
Persuasive themes are used all the time within both text and visual media. It's an important tool used to persuade a large amount of people into thinking or acting a certain way. In order to reach the largest amount of people possible, these themes are generally shared across the globe. This can be anything as subtle as a child holding a puppy in an add, or as dramatic as a starving African child being shown while someone is asking for donations. These images give everyone a similar feeling of either happiness, or a feeling that they are responsible to help the starving children.
Master narratives
A master narrative is a story shared across a specific culture or tradition. They are usually used to promote that cultures way of life, giving the people in it a sense of pride. One example of this is the American dream. The thought that with some hard work, you can rise above poverty, is a rather uplifting thought that gives off a positive message of America. They can have an adverse effect however, such as the view of middle eastern nations within the general population of America.
National gaze
These are very similar to master narratives, but rather than a whole story it is generally one picture, word, smell, or any of the other senses that set off the reflection. Much like the master narratives, they are usually things shared across one culture rather than globally. One example of a national gaze is 9/11. The US certainly views this on a completely different level as any other nation, and therefore it provokes that specific feeling only within our nation. 
Content & Technical signatures
The contents of a piece of visual media determine how the audience views and feels towards that picture. Different colors, for example, evoke different emotions. Bright florescent colors can evoke happiness, excitement, or anger. While dark colors and shading tend to evoke feelings of depression, fear, or anxiety. If someone were to view a picture of a beach with a sunset in the background, then one of the same beach being tormented by a hurricane, the few content changes give the viewer a whole new reaction. 
audience resonance & effects
That reaction can then be observed, and even measured through audience resonance & effects. By judging how people react to a certain image, people can start to develop a method to which kind of images they will use. People shopping for dog food will tend to go for the brand that has the healthiest and happiest looking dog on it. We know this, because time and time again it has been proven true through people consistently making that choice.