Visual Rhetoric - The Last Supper

In the No Seconds and The Last Meal Project presentations, the depiction of a prisoner's last meal before execution is done using visual rhetoric. Henry Hargreaves in No Seconds, uses images of the actual meal, including the contents of the last meal, placed on a plate/tray. On the other hand, although The Last Meal Project uses pictures of the last meal (though not as detailed as the other presentation), it also includes the pictures of the prisoners executed, which appeals more to the audience. This is because it allows the audience to put a face to the story, which in some cases results to the picture of the prisoner being permanently embedded to your mind.

The authors of these two projects had to consider how to appeal to the audience with visual rhetoric. Hargreaves uses visual rhetoric by presenting the meals in different ways, for example, in the Ronnie Threadgill and Ted Bundy presentation, the meal was large compared to the others. Also, there were a variety of food and drinks, the table cloth and the trays were bright and colorful, the napkins were well folded, with silverware laid carefully on top, and on Ronnie Gardner, the last meal even included a movie. By depicting the last meal in such a manner, it leaves the impression that although it was their last meal, they enjoyed it to the fullest. However, it doesn't cause as much sympathy on the prisoners as the Angel Diaz, who was denied a meal, meaning the depiction contained of an empty plate. This kind of depiction draws the audience's attention to the fact that he was denied a desired meal on his last days, which leaves the audience in thought. This shows that the No Seconds presentation is more compelling than The Last Meal Project one.

Although The Last Meal Project is more compelling, the No Seconds evokes more compassion, in the sense that, when you look into the prisoners' eyes after hearing their stories, especially the ones about how some prisoners requested a last meal based on past memories, it makes the audience get the impression that he or she regrets his or her wrongdoing.

In these projects, the author's goal/aim affects how he or she presents his or her images in the sense that their images are centered around their main argument. He or she will focus on the pros and cons of the argument and depict it. For example, Henry Hargreaves depicts a situation where the prisoner gets everything they desire but on the other hand, he also touches on a situation where the prisoner is denied their desire.

Besides the No Seconds and The Last Meal Project, another representation of the last meal would be to do one on the aftermath of the last meal and the prisoners' reaction to it, so the audience can see if the last meal really does make things a little bit better or easier on the prisoners.