WP1: Rough Draft

Throughout history, the weapon of rape has played a role and often accompanied acts of war between different cultures and countries. With the goal being to humiliate and devastate the community, this weapon shows the supremacy and dominance of the conqueror via the sexual violation of women. Gruesome and inhumane, it is often extremely horrific, yet effective because of the silence that supplements this weapon. In addition to the negative physical effects, women typically feel weak, dejected, and unhopeful following acts of rape, which does nothing to hinder further acts of rape.

Although this weapon has existed since biblical times, there are a few major events in the modern era that have embodied the destruction of rape. Shown to the world via photographs, the infamous Rape of Nanking in 1937 was one incident that displayed the magnitude of destruction that rape can have on a culture. During this particular massacre, an estimated 20-80,000 Chinese women were raped by invading Japanese solders, many of whom were physically beaten, raped, and then slaughtered. (BBC News…The Rape of Nanking)

Perhaps the most recent and extensive use of rape as a weapon has been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, located in central Africa. Established in 1960 under the name Republic of Congo, the country’s history has been characterized by political and social instability. This internal strife has not been helped by external conflict with the bordering nations of Rwanda and Uganda. In 1997, the Mobutu regime, which was the empowered government in Congo, was overthrown with the support of Rwanda and Uganda. Following this, a man by the name of Laurent Kabila took over the country as a democratic leader, renaming the country under its current title. Nevertheless, Rwanda and Uganda intervened a second time in 1998 following the switch of government, which caused further fighting to break out (CIA World Factbook).

Finally, in 2003, a peace agreement was reached between the many conflicting parties, however terrible acts of violence continue to mar the lives of native people in the country. Among them has been the raping of thousands of native women and girls by the various military forces, including both foreign and national armies. According to the video Congo: Rape as a Tool of War by the Washington Times, “Tens of thousands of women have been raped in Congo in the last ten years of civil war, most of them gang raped. According to the United Nations Population Fund, an average of 1,100 rape cases are reported each month.” Many other stories and news reports have also revealed the severity of the situation in ways other than statistics. One photographer, Anna Kari, has taken photos in the Eastern provinces of the Congo, and Tales of Rape in the DR Congo is one such photo depicting this situation. This particular image illustrates the assistance and support needed by Congo as well as victims of rape in order to prevent further incidents from occurring. Specifically, technical elements including vectors of attention, framing, as well as coloration function to forward this argument via appeals to pathos and logos.

When one first looks at the photo, the girl immediately stands out, which plays an important role in the argument of the photo. Called a vector of attention, part of the reason that the girl is immediately noticeable is due to the alignment of the photo, as well as the way in which she is positioned. As a result of her face being covered by her left hand, the audience then logically looks to her body position and body language in order to decipher what she is thinking and doing.

Not only do vectors of attention pertain to the logos of a picture, however. As stated in Compose, Design, Advocate on page 352, “Vectors of attention are thus about…emotional connections within the photograph as well as between the photograph and the audience.” In this manner, the gestures that are portrayed by the girl’s body language contribute vastly to the pathos of this photo. With her left hand covering her face and right arm wrapping around her abdomen, an enormous amount of emotional information is established between the audience and the girl. As a result of the girl looking to the ground and hiding her eyes behind her hand, she does not make eye contact with the viewer, which distances the audience from her and positions them as observers. Although her facial expression cannot be seen, the act in and of itself produces a vastly important argument to the reader. In Compose, Design, Advocate, the author talks about obvious pathos. He says, “When we see people in a photograph, we might identify with them: we understand the situation they are in through our own experiences” (274). While the audience probably will not be able to directly relate through the experience of rape, they still have the ability to connect via feelings of humiliation, pain, etc. Thus, as onlookers, the pathos produced in the audience is one of sympathy: they feel as though something needs to be done to make this inhumane situation better.

Besides the vectors of attention within the photo, another element that contributes to the argument of the photo is the way in which the image is framed and cropped. By isolating the general subjects of the receding room, wall, and the girl, the photo limits the number of elements available to the viewer. Thus, via logos, the image is better able to “shap[e] someone else’s attention,” meaning the viewer’s (Compose, Design, Advocate, 285). In restricting the number of elements within the frame, the photo is able to direct the reader’s attention to specific aspects of the photo, upon which the visual hierarchy becomes important. Within this particular photo, the top of the hierarchy includes the girl, as she is the closest to the viewer, and sticks out the most. This, in turn, allows the reader to focus on her gestures, which relate to the pathos represented by this vector of attention.

The alignment of the photo, then, goes on to direct the eyes of the audience to the condition of the house, as well as the receding room: these are the other general subjects in the picture besides the girl. The clear division between the end of the wall, and the empty room perhaps portrays a logical narrative to the image: the girl has come from the secluded room to try and move on with her life, though she cannot forget it completely on her own power. This appeal to pathos through logos depicts the situation in a manner in which the situation is bad, as pertaining to the conditions of the house, as well as the emotional and psychological condition of the girl; reinforcing the notion that she needs help.

Lastly, the coloration of the photo is a key element that relates to the argument that the image makes. In looking at the photo, the receding room comprises more than one-third of the area on the left, and the wall that the girl is standing in front of is comprised of a brown hue as well. The girl, however, is wearing a white top and blue jeans, which are much brighter hues. This difference in hue creates high contrast between the girl and the background, thus making her stand out. This contrast is yet another reason why the girl is at the top of the hierarchy within the image. Furthermore, these dark hues from the shadows of the room logically illustrate or correspond with the negative experiences the girl has had in the past (rape). She has come out of that room, or her past, however, to stand against the wall, only to have some of the shadow still with her. This narrative, supported by the alignment and coloration, also maintains the notion of pathos that she is in pain, and needs assistance to feel safe and acquire some hope.

Through the gesture of the girl as a vector of attention, the isolation framing, as well as the contrast in coloration, the photo Tales of Rape in DR Congo presents the argument through pathos and logos that assistance and support is needed within the Congo. With the history of rape as seen through incidences such as the Rape of Nanking, as well as the current photos and articles published of the Congo, this image provokes a feeling of sympathy as pertaining to its audience. Looking at this situation from a Western perspective, this sympathy then leads to the desire to help change the situation, whether that be in-person or through a third party. Such mutiny of communities and villages is inhumane, and should not be tolerated.

Works Cited

"BBC News, World, Scarred by history: The Rape of Nanking." BBC NEWS News Front Page. 13 Dec. 1997. Web. 01 Mar. 2010. .

"BBC NEWS: Photo journal: Tales of rape in DR Congo." BBC NEWS, News Front Page. 2007. 17 Feb. 2010

"CIA - The World Factbook -- Congo, Democratic Republic of the." Welcome to the CIA Web Site Central Intelligence Agency. 15 Jan. 2010. 18 Feb. 2010

Congo's Greatest Shame: Rape as a Tool of War. Youtube. Washington Times, 8 Sept. 2009. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. .