.During arguments with a boyfriend, girlfriend, friend groups, and parents, it’s easy for emotions to escalate in the heat of the moment. We often use phrases like “We’re not arguing; we’re having a heated discussion!” or “I’m not mad, just disappointed,” or “I’m not being defensive; I’m upset!” to prove that the emotions we seem to be conveying in the way we talk or act are not the emotions we actually feel. More often than not, however, we are in fact arguing, mad, or being defensive. But other times, it could be the emotions that we do feel are simply extensions of rage, terror, amazement, ecstasy and other feelings. This is how prominent psychologist Robert Plutchik came to create a map of human emotions inspired by the color theory, according to Ellen Lupton, author of “Design is Storytelling.” Lupton writes: “He identified eight primary emotions, whose gradations and overlaps create dozens of variants....Each primary emotion varies in intensity, from ‘loathing’ or ‘ecstasy’ (extreme) to ‘boredom’ or ‘serenity’ (mild). Primary emotions mix to create secondary ones” (Ellen Lupton, 2017, p. 61). In other words, we might mistakenly assume that someone’s facial expression indicates loathing or disgust when in reality, he or she is just bored. Likewise, someone who appears unusually interested in something may be exercising healthy caution. Coming from a bit of a marketing background, I can confidently say that being able to create compelling imagery that makes audiences want to invest their time and money into products relies heavily on being able to make them feel a certain way. Perfume and cologne commercials are often seductive in nature in hopes of making viewers feel that with that particular brand of fragrance, they too can feel powerful; a force to be reckoned with. And many of the anti-smoking ads I see evoke feelings of sadness and sympathy when the subject of the ad has clearly suffered from the after-effects of smoking. Ekaterina Walter and Jessica Gioglio, co-authors of “The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand” accurately sum up the importance of empathizing with audiences in marketing: “Empathizing in the intended way to symbols and images is reliant on a shared cultural identity - that is, on an understanding of who your audience is...Whereas images such as star-spangled flags and eagles can appeal to an American sense of patriotism, the same effect may be achieved by a maple leaf, a lion, or a kangaroo in other countries. And what appears strong and decisive to one audience could seem aggressive to another” (Gioglio and Walter, 2014, p. 17). Another important design theory to consider when identifying the emotions conveyed in imagery is Gestalt’s 5 principles of visual perception - Proximity, Similarity, Common Fate, Figure/Ground Ambiguity, and Closure and Continuation. In short, Proximity has to do with figures positions closely together to form groups; Similarity exists, depending on whether or not certain elements share the same color and shape; Common Fate refers to elements within a group changing or evolving together, Figure/Ground Ambiguity refers to white space being used either has a foreground or background, and Closure/Continuation happens when we the viewers automatically and mentally close empty spaces and gaps between shapes (Lupton, 128). Carolann Bonner, author of Thoughtbot’s “Using Gestalt Principles for Natural Interactions,” muses that the Gestalt principles are relevant to our understanding of visual imagery because they cement the idea that the image as a whole is more critical for our understanding than the individual parts that make up the image (Bonner, 2019). Similarly, Laura Busche iterates this point on design app Canva’s blog, writing “...processes like perception, learning, and cognition weren’t that simple, and couldn’t be understood by splitting them in parts. Instead, Gestalt psychologists were interested in complex ideas like insight, holism, and problem-solving…” (Busche). In the spirit of striving to better understand the emotions behind visual stories, I’ve selected the following images that I feel best represent the 3 varying intensities of the same emotion; Contempt. Annoyance: The way Winona Ryder’s character Veronica’s face is positioned is almost her signature look throughout the movie “Heathers.” The downturned mouth, closed off body language, and the intense yet removed look in her eyes seem to point to annoyance. But her face alone isn’t the only visual representation of her annoyance. The three Heathers clearly think whatever they’re watching is an entertaining sight while Veronica visibly looks as though she’s had enough. Gestalt comes into play, as we can see that Veronica is not huddling close to the three other girls - there is a slight lack of proximity. In other words, she’s not part of the group (or doesn’t want to be), even though it looks like she is. And perhaps this is reading too much into it, but the dark, solemn colors Veronica wears in contrast with her friends’ outfits separates her from the pack, maybe a small indication that she’s starting to distance herself from the Heathers. Anger: I don’t like that this image is called “Triggered Feminist Meme,” but this photo does do an effective job of conveying the emotion of anger. Unlike the “Annoyance” image above, there is more facial expression in the woman’s face. She looks as though she has some strong words to say to the man in the photo, we can see the strained muscles in her neck, and her eyes are widened in intensity - we can even see most of the whites in her eyes. The people behind her look relatively calm in comparison. I wouldn’t necessarily say that the woman’s reddish shirt somehow adds to the overall feelings derived from the photo. I feel that it is more coincidental than anything that the woman is wearing a shade of red/orange typically associated with fiery emotions. It’s also clear that she’s participating in some sort of protest - typically, the mood of people who are protesting is one of anger, or desperation at the very least. Protests are usually fueled by the desire for change, and anger because that change hasn’t happened yet. The Gestalt principle of proximity is again applicable here. The women are all part of their own group, while the man in the photo is an outsider. Rage: “Rage” and “anger” are words that are often used synonymously, but the key difference between Gandalf’s rage and the anger conveyed in the picture above is that Gandalf’s body is in a ‘rage position;’ he is not just angry. His arms are lifted high, ready to attack if necessary, the lines in his forehead are furrowed deep, and the orange hues in the image all add to the visual of rage. Bibliography Bonner, C. (2019). Using Gestalt Principles for Natural Interactions. Retrieved September 7, 2019, from https://thoughtbot.com/blog/gestalt-principles Busche, L. Simplicity, symmetry and more: Gestalt theory and the design principles it gave birth to. Retrieved September 7, 2019, from https://thoughtbot.com/blog/gestalt-principles Gioglio, J., & Walter, E. (2014). The Power of Visual Storytelling: How to Use Visuals, Videos, and Social Media to Market Your Brand (1st ed., pp. 17). New York: McGraw Hill. Osborne, B., Jackson, P., Walsh, F., Shore, H., Wood, E., McKellen, I., Tyler, L., ... New Line Home Entertainment (Firm). (2002). The Lord of the Rings. United States: New Line Home Entertainment. Lupton, E. (2017). Design is Storytelling (p. 61-128).. New York, NY: Cooper Hewitt. Triggered Feminist [Digital image]. (2016). Retrieved September 4, 2019, from https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/triggered-feminist--2 Waters, D., Di, N. D., Lehmann, M., Ryder, W., Slater, C., Doherty, S., Falk, L., ... Anchor Bay Entertainment, Inc.,. (2008). Heathers. Burbank, Calif: Anchor Bay Entertainment.
1 Comment
Laura
9/11/2019 09:20:29 am
Caitlin, you had a nice introduction on explaining emotions and using references from the readings. I love the first picture that you chose to show annoyance. My only critique would be that I wish you delve a little more into your analysis of the photos.
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