3-D Reflection Paper

Forrest Arle

English 1A

March 21, 2014

Visual Rhetoric Reflection Paper

My topic was the affects of violent videogames, and the neurological and social affects on our brain as a result. It took me a while to figure out an object that would incorporate violence and videogames, but I finally decided that a videogame controller covered in blood would represent this perfectly.

            I realize this is going to be a challenging feat but I am up for the challenge. For the body of the controller I will use whatever cardboard I can shape into the right shape. The buttons will be comprised of small recyclable pieces of plastic that are colorful and add a little visual excitement to my project.  At first I didn’t know how I would incorporate the violent aspect into the controller but finally I thought that I could splash some red die or ketchup to make it seem like there is blood on it. This will blend the thoughts of playing videogames with acts of violence, a perfect mix. The tone of my 3-D object is undeniably ironic because videogames are supposed to be an item that represents excitement and fun times with friends. However With the blood splashed on the controller it adds fear and a completely opposite emotion to the whole scenario.  I feel like my object will surprise a lot of people because most people don’t put violence in the same category as a harmless entertaining videogame. My object will definitely have an emotional appeal to the audience because people can relate to playing videogames but the blood will make people question if videogames are really as harmless as it first appears. For the size of my object I think it should be bigger than a regular controller, so everyone in the classroom can see it and also it would be very impractical fit all the elements I wish to include onto my object if I keep it actual size. I’m not sure where my object would be displayed… maybe an arts and crafts fair or something along that line where people could appreciate my work.       

            Just from looking at my object I think the viewer could get a pretty good idea of what my message is. The controller is a pretty universal symbol so everyone should be able to recognize it will minimal thought involved. I feel like most people would be able to make the connection that videogames can cause acts of violence, but maybe a little bit of explanation would be needed for those who cant make the connections on their own.

            Finally compared to other genera’s, my 3-D image puts across the massage that videogames can be harmful in a very   simple way. My 3-D image is most similar to my visual source I used because the 3-D object is to something you can learn a lot about by looking. Over all I feel like this object will relate to a whole different audience that none of my other genres did as effectively. And at least for me I find visual symbolism to be among the most powerful of ways to convey a message.