Rhetoric of the Image

What makes an image? An image can be defined as an iconic mental representation, but the real question is, is any image a true representation of what it being pictured? Roland Barthes wrote an essay titled, “Rhetoric of the Image,” which challenges us to decide what imagism really is. Imagism has one primary goal of making the picture look real and show realism, but is the saying “what you see is what you get” always true? Barthes looks at what an image truly is, and whether or not text or images are more reliable to the audiences around the world.

Barthes discusses and shows how every image has three levels: the linguistic message, the coded iconic message, and the non-coded iconic message. All three of these levels combined will help the reader understand each image they view. The linguistic message of each image is basically what the audience sees. The colors, the items, the people; whatever is literally in the picture is the linguistic message. The coded and non-coded iconic messages are basically the opposite. The coded iconic is the connoted meaning, as well as the cultural associations that audiences may link to the image. All images are coded. The non-coded iconic is the denoted, literal, or dictionary meaning. Barthes wonders why even though images are supposed to be so good at giving reality, there is normally text captions or descriptions placed alongside an image. Whether it is coded or non-coded though, we all attach certain meanings to every image that we see. Images can be considered difficult because they have a lot of things going on. They are not always so easy to decode all the time and multiple meanings can be attached to any image. Text captions have developed so the audience doesn’t misjudge the image. The linguistic message also has more functions to an image than just the literal picture. The linguistic message acts as an anchor, by allowing the text to make sure the meaning is correct, and then the message is relayed to the audience in the appropriate way. Imagery is something that can be tricky because it is difficult to see whether an image is real or not.

This essay was really interesting to me. I often read magazines, and I saw how Barthes essay related. I looked at some magazines after reading this essay, and I applied the knowledge I learned and realized how true this information is. I thought the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” also can be related to his essay. I liked this essay a lot and realized how much images can be taken into the wrong context because every audience is different and thinks different. Roland Barthes provided me with new ideas and insights about what makes an image true.