Rhetorical Images Critical Thinking

In the world of journalism, one may think that words are all that matter. However, images are just as or even more important, as demonstrated by the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words.” This saying remains a cliché because images can convey a sentiment that all people can understand regardless of translation or intellect. Particularly powerful are images of people such as the one photographed by Iranian Newsha Tavakolian. The image depicts the subject’s desire for female equality and liberation in the Muslim world through a tense body language, worried expression, and overall bleakness, including the writing.
Upon first glance, the darkness of the photo and the writing across the body immediately jump out at the audience. The composition of the photo itself is in grayscale. While this makes a profound impact on a range of colors, it does not matter as much as the clothing, hair, and background in the picture are all black. Unfortunately, the only thing of color is the woman’s skin and eyes, which become less poignant when reduced to grey scale, as if the woman did not matter. Her skin is even further defaced by the Arabic script located only on her skin. Through this placement, Islamic law is literally impacting her body. By making this choice, the artist states that the law plays out on the woman’s body with little input on her part.
The response to this situation lies in the second most obvious element of the picture, the women’s body language. While her body is upright and facing straight at the camera, her hand is placed over her heart, disrupting the straight line. Symbolically, this choice allows the woman to guard the most vulnerable part of herself. When combined with the text, it means that the law has had a huge emotional impact on her life. The impact extends further on the subject’s body when one sees the amount of tension in the muscles in her neck. This tension indicates a large amount of stress and restraint. Ultimately, the decision to control women’s actions through legislation has not only an emotional component but also a physical one.
Finally, the full impact and message about the woman’s situation lies in her facial expression. First, the eyes appear bleak, lacking spirit and hope. Such a look serves as the most direct indicator of her feelings about her situation. However, the bleak look also serves as challenge to do something about the situation. This challenge extends down to her slightly open lips. These lips indicate the attempts to speak out against her situation but the attempts have not come to fruition. Instead, they serve to beg for support from the viewer, who has a greater possibility of speaking out against the injustice.
When composing the grey scale picture of the oppressed woman, photographer Tavakolian intentionally creates a plea for intervention. Using the superimposed Arabic text and the dark composition, she portrays the bleakness of the situation. Through the hopeless facial expression and tense and guarded posture, she shows the human impact of the conditions. However, by creating a direct connection through the eyes, Tavakolian creates a direct appeal for help through guilt and connection to the reader. By doing so, hopefully the viewer will doing something to end the legal persecution on women’s bodies in Iran, her native country.