Sunday, February 16, 2014

Rhetorical Analysis Paper


            I picked this picture for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I have been in the hospital a couple of times to have surgeries so I felt like I could really connect with this picture. The second reason is that I really like any kind of medical tv show. Some of them might not be the most accurate (Grey’s Anatomy), but some them are more closer to the real thing (Untold Stories of the ER). My third and final reason is that I actually was really interested in being a doctor for while. I kind of lost interest when I learned what classes they had to take and how hard it is to actually get into medical school. Still even if I might not want to be a doctor anymore, its cool to imagine what it would be like.

            When I started analyzing this pictured I decided to start first with the different colors. I looked at what the doctors were wearing and what colors were in the surrounding areas. After this I looked specifically at what was in the background. The biggest things I noticed was the light. Next I focused on the doctors themselves. I looked at how they were standing and how they were holding themselves. I also looked at specific things about each of the doctors such as skin tone, age, and gender.

            In this picture the doctors are in a position of power. The camera is facing them which means that they are higher than you are. This leads to a lesser feeling or like you have less power than they do. The doctors who are the focus of the picture are also older which helps support this. The doctors who are off to the side and a little farther back are both younger and possible more inexperienced.

I think this picture was taken a while ago due to the fact that there is only one woman in this picture. The other three doctors are all male which could be an attempt to lead people to think that men have power and women don’t. The woman could also be a nurse and not a doctor which would also lead the insinuation that women shouldn’t be doctors. Another supporting fact is that all of the doctors are white. This displays the inequality there used to be between white and black people. Not just education wise, but economically as well.

The picture also has a feeling of sterilness and harshness. There is nothing on the walls and only a few pipes on the ceiling. It combined with the harshly bright light that is almost like a spotlight assists in creating the grim atmosphere. This atmosphere gives you the feeling that whatever is going on inside the room is very serious. The doctors facial expressions help support this as well. They all are wearing expressions that are worried and focused. Clearly the situation is something to be worried about. Also adding to the feeling of sterilness are the clothes the doctors are wearing. The blue scrubs, face masks, and hair nets all make you feel like the room they are in is very clean. Their clothes also serve to depersonalize them. You are not able to see much other then there eyes.

I chose this picture because I felt like I could really connect to this picture. I also enjoyed analyzing this picture because even if I might not be able to be a doctor I still like imagine what it would be like and what kinds of problems they could run into. I really liked trying to imagine what they could be looking at and maybe I just watched to many episodes of Untold Stories of the ER while I was writing this, but I came up with some pretty interesting things.

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