My eyes have been opened

     Before taking this class I didn't know anything about pathos and ethos, or visual rhetoric, well not by those names at least. Through this class I have realized that this stuff surrounds us in our everyday life, we just call it by a different name, or no name at all. In the Spanish class I'm currently in we don't only learn the language but also a bit about the culture. A huge cultural aspect of most, if not all Spanish speaking countries are los gestos. Gestures are a huge visual rhetoric that Spaniards, Latinos, and Mexicans alike use to compliment or even replace what they say verbally. Simply touching your elbow in Mexico signifies that you're cheap, or that the price is too high. A flipping of the wrist represents tortilla Espanola in Spain. In Argentina one points with their lips rather than the index finger, because that is considered to be rude. These gestures are of huge importance in other cultures in communicating alone.

     Another form of visual rhetoric that we use in our daily life is our overall appearance. One can’t change their facial structure...well without a surgery of some type, but the way we dress and present ourselves is visual rhetoric. When I attend church, or the temple, I dress in my “Sunday best.” I usually don’t just roll out of bed but rather put in a little effort to show my respect of the day, the sacrament, and the overall meetings. The way I dress on a daily basis expresses to others a bit about me, visually. When I wear sweats and a t-shirt people may infer that I’m lazy, like to be comfortable, am not feeling well, or simply like that more relaxed style. When I take time to get ready for the day by putting on less casual clothing and fixing my hair and make-up, people see a different side; one that cares and presents herself nicely. The style of clothes also says something about an individual, whether they wear short tight skirts, frilly pink dresses, baggy pants, cut-off circulation pants, or a nice polo, these are all visual rhetoric.

      Visual rhetoric is a useful thing to be aware of. We use it every day to express ourselves whether it be on our Facebook profile picture or with gestures. If we are more aware of visual rhetoric we can better understand our people, our culture, and others.