Terrell WhitehurstAshley HumphriesENC 1101

Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is the sixth installment in the Call of Duty series. Call of Duty usually known as CoD, is the most popular first-person shooter video game of its generation. Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, and Call of Duty 4 are all games that were developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision.

In Modern Warfare Two the year is 2016, and despite theeffortsof theUnited States Marine Corpsand theSpecial Air Service, the Ultranationalistsseize control of Russia and declareImran Zakhaev an Russian arms dealer,a hero and martyr, erecting a statue of him in the heart of the Red Square. Meanwhile,Vladimir Makarov, one of Zakhaev's former lieutenants, begins a campaign against Europe by committing brutal acts of terrorism over the course of five years. In Afghanistan,U.S. Army RangerPFC Joseph Allenassists in the taking of a city from alocal militia. Impressed by Allen's abilities, LieutenantGeneral Shepherdrecruits him into "Task Force 141", an elite, multi-national counter-terrorist unit under Shepherd's command. Meanwhile, two other members of141,Cpt. 'Soap' MacTavishandSgt. Gary 'Roach' Sandersoninfiltrate a Russian airbase in the Tian Shan Mountains to retrieve an Attack Characterization System module from a downed satellite. Allen is later sent on an undercover mission in Russia for theCIA, joining Makarov in a massacre of civilians at the Zakhaev International Airport inMoscow. Makarov has been aware of Allen's identity and kills him during extraction, leaving his body to spark awar betweenRussia and the United States of America. Angered by what was believed to be an American-supported terrorist attack, Russia retaliates with a massive surpriseinvasionon the United Statesafter bypassing its early warning system, revealing that the ACS module MacTavish and Sanderson recovered had already been compromised before its retrieval. Sergeant Foley leads his squad of Army Rangers, including Pvt. James Ramirez, in defense of a suburb in north-easternVirginiaagainst the Russian invasion. They then proceed towards a war-torn Washington, D.C., where U.S. forces are fighting the Russians for control of the capital city.

For most of the Call of Duty series and most war-based games, it always seems to end up being the Russians who are the bad guys, and the Americans who the good guys, are. This theme of Russians versus the United States derives from the Cold War. The Cold War was a time when there was great military and political tension between the Western Bloc, and the Eastern Bloc. The Western Bloc consisted of the United States and the North Atlantic Alliance whose founders were: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Eastern Bloc housed the Warsaw Pact which consisted of: the Soviet Union which is now Russia, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. After, World War Two the United States and the Soviet Union divvied up Europe in the aftermath of the war, and then continued to fight against one another over the rest of the world for Forty-Five years. It was a battle of Ideologies. The United States pushing capitalism and profit, and the Soviet Union pushing for Communism. Each side tried to present themselves as the nice guys, but in reality there were no nice guys. Each side had its share of dirty tricks and even threatened nuclear warfare.

The image above is a screenshot from a mission in the Modern Warfare 2 Campaign called, No Russian. No Russian has the player take control over a deep-cover CIA agent and former Army Ranger named Joesph Allen, joining a group of Russian ultranationalist terroists who go on a massacre at a Russian Airport. The name comes from a briefing from the terrorist leader, Vladimir Makarov, who tells the player's character and the other gunmen not to speak any Russian throughout the scene by simply uttering the words "Remember no Russian".Civiliansscream and run in terror, the injured crawl away leaving a trail ofblood, and some try to drag others to safety, only to be shot with bloody results. Although the player is technically allied with the terrorists, they are not forced to kill any of the civilians themselves to fulfill the mission's objectives. The player also cannot kill the terrorists themselves, as it would result in failure of the mission.

The visuals in this mission are geared towards selling to the player why the Russians would attack the United States. The terrorists massacre the entire Russian airport because their leader Makarov ordered them to do it. This proves that the terrorists will even kill their own to achieve their goals. You see first-hand how the terrorists slaughter men, women, and little children like it was nothing. They had grins on their faces while they walked through the airport showing no remorse and no mercy as they gunned the innocent civilians down. Even though it is a video game, the player could see someone who resembled their parents, or their brothers and sisters, and even their grandparents who are being slayed throughout the entire airport. Those visuals can really hit home for the player and cause an attachment to the United States who is fighting the Russians.

The entire massacre is being view through the players eyes, which is making more reason why he would be against the Russians. The mission is also so the player has an emotional connection to their leader Makarov. You see first-hand how the terrorists slaughter men, women, and little children like it was nothing. They had grins on their faces while they walked through the airport showing no remorse and no mercy as they gunned the innocent civilians down. The player who is viewing the whole massacre will form an emotional connection to Makarov in a memorable and engaging way. Makarov is the man who ordered his men to do such horrible things to the innocent civilians of that airport, and the player will despise him for that. Even though it is a video game, the player could see someone who resembled their parents, or their brothers and sisters, and even their grandparents who are being slayed throughout the entire airport. You see blood splatters and bullets flying everywhere as everyone screams and runs for their lives. It shows how cruel Makarov can be, and will build even more reason for the player to side with the United States. In the campaign you never leave the eyes of the hero, so there is a need for missions like this to build up the villain and get the player invested in why he is bad.

The image above is a screenshot from a mission called Exodus in Modern Warfare 2. The player controls Private James Ramirez, starting off on foot. The first objective is to destroy enemy anti-aircraft batteries so the US can evacuate civilians. The player encounters Russians troops through a suburb with the help of a Stryker IFV also known as, Honey badger. The player is to make sure he lasers the targets for the Stryker.

The visuals in this mission are another example of trying to hit home for the player, and building an emotional connection with the US. The battle that is happening in this mission is in what looks like an American suburb. For any player from the US it might look like their neighborhood where they live. Because it is a first person shooter everything is seen through the players eyes. He sees the raging battle between the US who are trying to run the Russians out of that town. Cars and houses have been blown up, and some civilians have been killed with stray gun fire. The player is basically viewing what the United States fears the most which is a home invasion. So naturally the player would want to protect his home and fight with the US to drive out the Russians who are trying to take over that town. As the mission progresses you cycle through many other neighborhoods and alleyways where you get in shoot outs with the Russians to drive them out of houses and even restaurants.

Visual rhetoric is important to deciphering what images really mean. The thinking process behind it allows for deeper thinking and analysis. In this day and age we live in a visually dominate world. So we must be able to read, decipher, and produce effective visuals. There are many different factors that go into visual rhetoric like text, color, and overall design.