Visual Rhetoric

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“You Need to Calm Down” Video Analysis Visual rhetoric is one of the most impactful ways to tell an important story. Through images, colors, sounds, and people, this rhetorical strategy effectively orates the deeper meaning that exists without the use of words. Visual rhetoric can be used in all sorts of media, such as movies and shows, but in this particular case, the topic of study is music video. The music video up for analysis is Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down”. The overarching style of this video is colorful, bright, and imaginative. There are rainbow flags, trailers, clothing, and hair at every turn in this vintage trailer park-themed video. Some of the images that are created throughout the video are very childlike, fun, and uplifting …show more content…
While this could simply be time well spent with friends, in the context of the message this video is sending, it could be making a reference to protests throughout history, in this case the Boston Tea Party. To connect on a more emotional level to the audience, the video shows many scenes of picketers at the fences and yards of the trailer park residents with homophobic signs and statements. While this is a very negative aspect of the video, the struggles that queer people face in their everyday lives are being demonstrated in this imaginary world through this spread of hateful words. With the video panning directly in front of the signs, the viewers get a clear picture of the feelings that would arise if this situation was real, and are given the opportunity to empathize with the characters in the video, and the real people they represent. Coincidentally, the picketers themselves are also depicted in very bland colors and outfits in comparison to the bright and happy world depicted around them; creating a fundamental depiction of color theory. On a more positive note, the video presents cheery emotions as well in the many different friendships that are portrayed between the characters, and even a joyful …show more content…
“H.R.5 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Equality Act.” www.congress.gov, 25 Feb. 2021, www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024. The. Britannica, The Editors of the Encyclopaedia. The Stonewall Riots. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Mar. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Stonewall-riots. Accessed 3 March 2024. Nolfi, Joey. “Every Celebrity in Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” Music Video.” EW.com, Entertainment Weekly, 20 June 2022, ew.com/music/taylor-swift-you-need-to-calm-down-video-cameos/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024. The. Rothstein, A. “Color Theory in Film: A Video Producer’s Guide.” IPR College of Creative Arts, 20 Aug. 2020, www.ipr.edu/blogs/digital-video-and-media-production/color-theory-in-film-a-video-producers-guide/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024. The. Swift, Taylor. “You Need to Calm Down.” YouTube, 17 June 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkk9gvTmCXY. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024. The. “U. S. Share of Self-Identified Taylor Swift Fans by Age 2023.” Statista, Statista Research Department, 12 Dec. 2023, www.statista.com/statistics/1416130/share-of-us-respondents-who-consider-themselves-taylor-swift-fans-age/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024.
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