Visual Rhetoric - Surfin' Kitty

The image:

This image uses humor to make its point. My subject matter and message in this blog are both pretty heavy, this was a more lighthearted way communicate the accessibility of electronic media. Technology is so pervasive in our world that in fact even a cat (a coffee drinking cat at that) can use it, leave aside all of the mouse jokes =) 

Humor is a good tool, we laugh our minds open and we are receptive to a message.

Logos, Pathos, Ethos, Mythos defined:

Pathos is most certainly a strategy used in this image, we laugh, joyful feelings are invoked. The silliness of a cat at a computer makes us laugh while it also challenges our logic or Logos to recognize that computers are everywhere. I see the two strategies as sort of a double whammy. Invoke a feeling and engage the mind, it’s pretty effective and certainly makes the message more memorable. Mythos is also a player in this image, we are members of a wired society… look around, the only place you don’t have to listen to somebody else’s conversation is on a plane and it looks like that won’t be quiet much longer. I swear I have even heard women on the phone while sitting on a toilet in a public restroom. It’s almost as if we’ve experienced a hostile takeover of our auditory world! I do not see much of a role for Ethos in this image. Our sense of belief, value and trust are not particularly tweaked by the web surfing kitty shown above. 

Conclusion:

There are still people intimidated by the gadgetry we are surrounded by, I know several. When I was training business people to convert to an automated process in their work place I had an elderly gentleman in my classes. I would get calls from him routinely with problems. Imagine my surprise when I went to his office and discovered that his keyboard was sitting on top of his monitor, he’d stand up to type hit enter and have no idea why this wasn’t working for him. I still chuckle at the image. But more importantly I realize that his frustration was very real.

The reality is that everyone is using technology. The point that I was attempting to convey in my blog post is that while people are being enabled in their efforts to rise up and seek freedom using tools to communicate, the same tools are being used by those who would do harm as well. The image is lighthearted but the message is anything but.