This month I have chosen to take a closer look at the Instagram of Bollywood Tacos and analyze the way they present themselves online as well as consider the visual narrative that they are telling. To make it further March-y, I specifically chose images and captions posted on the Bollywood account this March as examples, as seen above.
It is clear that Bollywood Tacos (BT) is trying to create an online persona to motivate viewers to come eat or drink their products. The feed of @bollywoodtacos consists of vibrant and highly saturated close-up photographs of diverse, seemingly satisfied people, drinks, and food. Looking at the feed from the account profile view, where each image is fit in to a small square, the colors play off of each other due to the abundance of complementary color schemes present. Each photo seems to include a combination of violet and yellow, blue and orange, or red and green, which all viewed together help emphasize and lead the viewers eye to bounce around easily between photos. The images are each accompanied by individual captions that further suggest a playfulness about the experience of eating or drinking at BT. The words anchored (captions) to the already visually interesting images are goofy and relatable. By combining images with words in such a way that is attractive to viewers, the perception is that the Narrator (Bollywood Tacos) is this funny, goofy, almost careless, but likeable persona. This strategic effort by the creative director(s) of BT ultimately develops the narrative that it is an enjoyable and fun place to go to where young people like to eat, drink, and go out.
The narrative of this body of images works because it seems both probable internally and truthful externally, which relates to Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm Probability and Fidelity. Internally the images depict people interacting with the food or drink products of Bollywood Tacos, inside the restaurant Bollywood Tacos. All of the interactions seem probable, though it is clear that some images are more spontaneous while others are definitely posed. The food appears to match the description of the restaurant and the people in the images seem to match the assumptions made by the accompanying words, making the viewer believe that the imagery and perceived persona is logical. Second, externally we know that BT is located in downtown Milledgeville which is right next to multiple college’s, which lends to the external fidelity in the sense that the content BT’s Instagram is proposing does seem consistent with the expectations of the community in which it exists. What we know outside of the narrative that BT has created adds up, therefore making it seem reasonable as well.
Bollywood Tacos Instagram has connected images with words in such a way that tells a persuasive story to online viewers and perspective customers.
Thinking Rhetorically at GCSU 