Aha! Visual Literacy-Visual Symbols Update

After completing the visual literacy course this semester I have realized how important visuals are in every aspect of my life. Through the presentations I have done, especially on Gamification and Symbols around the world, I was able to understand how important visuals are. For example, when I travel to a new location I rely heavily on the symbols and signs in the area because I do not know the language. In my first post I wrote how everywhere we look there are symbols, pictures and ads affecting our everyday life and now I know how much they are affecting me. By understanding different visuals I can understand a distinct set of rules and communication through images. 

I also mentioned how excited I was to learn about the different parts of visual literacy so I can know more about how things are affecting me as well become more educated and aware of them. After this course I know it is not just ads that are affecting me but much more. The movies I watch, the magazines I read, the symbols I pay attention to, the websites I visit, the application of gamification in the classroom and much more all have a direct impact on my life.  

One thing that has stuck with me throughout this class is the first video we watched, Killing us Softly. This was a movie that showed the negative and sexist connotation that our ads portray. The ads are constantly turning women into sex symbols, and I have see the ads be used to sell magazines, products and ideas. I never realized how much of an effect this could have on an individual until I really started paying attention and being aware of the message being sent with certain images. One of the messages heavily portrayed is the "perfect woman."  One of the things talked about in the video is how men are not subjected to the same type of sexual scrutiny as women are. For this reason, when I saw the People magazine with the theme of the sexiest men, I instantly snatched it up because I wanted to look at the way the men were going to portrayed throughout the articles.  It was a common theme to see men being objectified throughout this magazine with their shirts off, being rated only for how they look.

 

Source: People Magazine,  December 1, 2014

 

Source: People Magazine,  December 1, 2014

 

Source: People Magazine,  December 1, 2014

 

Source: People Magazine,  December 1, 2014

Source: People Magazine,  December 1, 2014

Below were the ads I found used the men's sexuality is used to help sell the product, even if it was Mr. Clean.

Source: People Magazine,  December 1, 2014

Source: People Magazine,  December 1, 2014

Source: People Magazine,  December 1, 2014

Source: People Magazine,  December 1, 2014

I felt as though these photos really stood out to me so I wanted to use them for my last post of the semester. Throughout this semester I have learned to view visuals differently and I have Visual Literacy to thank for it!

Aha! Visual Literacy-Value Billboards

In class one week we discussed the different ways visuals affect our lives, and we pulled in how billboards have definitely impacted us. We then went to a website where we could create our own Value Billboard. It was a really cool experience to see the different visuals people choose and the words they paired it up with. 

Traveling, exploring and adventure are all very important to me. I wanted to create a billboard that encouraged others to get there out and exploring! I then had a picture of myself scuba diving, so I decided to make it about the ocean. 

If you would like to give it a try go here!

I would love to see what you create. If you create a billboard, please post a link in the comments below!

Visual Literacy-Wag the Dog Movie Reflection

For my Visual Literacy class we were to watch the movie, Wag the Dog. This was going to be the last movie of the semester, and after reading the summary for the movie, I was really excited to watch it. One of my favorite TV shows right now is Scandal and I felt this movie was going to be a similar story line, and I was eager to watch it. I was very impressed with the story, and it might have been my favorite this semester.

Watch the trailer below to see if you would be interested in watching this movie:

If the video does not play: Wag the Dog

I think the director is trying to show how much the media can affect the perception of the American people, just by what the media decides to cover. We were also able to see how twisted the world we live in can be, where it is acceptable in our presidents mind, to cover up his scandal with the idea of a fake war.

Throughout this movie I continually thought how today this movie is even more true, and it was created in 1997. I would say we are now even more affected because of the amount of media coverage and social media available.

Barry Levinson was the director of the movie Wag the Dog. He lived in Washington DC when we was younger, which could have influenced the film and the story he wanted to create about the politics and people he met during this time. 

I believe the people that may be offended by this movie because of the dark humor that runs throughout the movie. Also the people within the government may be offended by the representation that is portrayed throughout the movie.

This movie has added a lot to my visual literacy. I was able to see how a visual, that was not even authentic, could convince people there was a war going on in a different area. I was also able to see how the commercial was put together. It was interesting how they were able to manipulate the video through the different screens and the tools that they used, and I think it would be an interesting job. I also believe the advancements we have made with technology would make it hard to produce a video where people do not hear about it from another source and do not test the authenticity of the video. 

Overall this was a great movie and I encourage you to check it out!

Also, here is a clip of the show Scandal I talked about earlier. If you enjoy Wag the Dog I would encourage you to check this out next. 

If the video does not play: Scandal

Aha! Visual Literacy-Emoticon Reflection

Ever since talking about emoticons in class I have noticed how much I use emoticon to help support the meaning I want to come across, especially when texting people.

Source: Screen shot taken from iPhone.

My friends and I have developed a special language with the emoticons and an outsider would not understand the exact meaning we wanted portray with the emoji. I like to think of emojis not as a substitute for words, but more as a substitute for people to convey their feelings and emotions. Below is an example of an emoticon that has special meaning for my friends and I. If you were to say something, such as who would like to go to Cherry Berry, more than likely one of us would respond with this emoji. To us it means, we are definitely down to go and get some Cherry Berry!

Source: Screen shot taken from my iPhone.

One place I do not use emoticons is in the workplace. I send a lot of emails, but within those emails I use only text, I do not support what I want to come across with emojis. I wanted to do a little research to see how emoticons were being used in the workplace. I found an article which was The communicative Functions of Emotions in the Workplace Emails, and it states emoticons serve three communicative functions when used in the workplace email. The first function is when they are used following signatures, they are a way to portray a positive attitude. The second function is when they are used to show the text is suppose to communicate as humorous. The third function is when they are used as hedges, when used with expressive speech they work as strengtheners and when following directions they are used as softeners (Skovholt et al., 2014).

Source: Screen shot of signature for email taken from computer.

My signature at the end of an email from my Camp Adventure work email. Creating a happy feeling with the text Catch the Magic! and the smiley face emoticon. This is an example of the second function of using emoticons to communicate.

I am interested to see how emoticons continue to integrate into our lives in the future! 

Works Cited

Skovholt, K., Grønning, A., & Kankaanranta, A. (2014). The Communicative Functions of
Emoticons in Workplace E-Mails: :-). Journal Of Computer-Mediate Communication, 19(4), 780-797. doi:10.1111/jcc4.12063

Visual Literacy- A Single Man Movie Reflection

The movie A Single Man was interesting, I was enticed the entire time I was watching it, and ended up really liking it although I do not know why. I believe the message throughout this movie is that although life is tough, there is more to push through for. George Falconer is the main character and is a professor. He recently lost his boyfriend of 16 years to a car crash, and does not want to continue going and is going to commit suicide. Throughout the course of the events of his life and the people he coincides with end up changing his mind, and he decided to burn the suicide notes and lock up the gun by the end of the movie. Unfortunately passing away at the end of the movie due to a heart attack.

The director for this movie was Tom ford, who is known for being an American fashion designer. I believe his life experiences molded this movie into what it because. I also think the characters were very well dressed because of his profession!

This movie really added to my visual literacy. I do not know if it is because I am getting good at picking out the significance of the visuals or if the visuals were very obvious throughout the film. There were many times, where it was with the next door family or his flashbacks where only visuals and music are present. During this time we are left wondering the significance of the moment and what exactly what is happening. We are able to use our knowledge of the film and our personal life experiences to help mold the story. There is also a point in the movie where you are staring at a mural with eyes staring right back at you. The visual of the watching eyes, when he pulls up to the liquor store is also very important and could be interpreted in many different ways. I like to think it means that people are there to look after him and that people care very much and he matters. One of the most powerful visuals I saw was when he first put the loaded gun into his mouth. I cannot begin to image what was going through his head, but it was very powerful. I imagine people going through a hard time can relate and make a connection with this visual, when thinking about the battle of giving up and pushing through. The visuals were definitely used to help support the story line and the message being portrayed.

 

This is a picture of the mural I was talking about in the above paragraph. I decided to take a screen capture because I wanted to show how powerful the image is.
Source: A Single Man 

Visual Literacy-Crash Movie Reflection

The movie Crash is an intense story told about the tense race relationships in the city of Los Angeles. The message being portrayed is that racism is still heavily out there, and we need to be educated and do something about it. Often times, just as in this movie, people feel their stereotypical beliefs of someone are justified and therefor they are not being racist. When people are in a place of power, such as the police officer in this movie, it does not mean they can treat people differently because of the color of their skin. In fact, I believe that should make it the exact opposite.

Throughout this movie there are plenty of stereotypes of different minorities. I do not think that it does an accurate job of representing the minorities. This movie does a good job at showing both “typical stereotypes” and examples of people that defy the normal stereotypes. I like how we can see the good and the bad parts of a person. This movie shows a very intense dramatic representation of what people may go through just because they are a certain race. Throughout the film you see Caucasians, African America, Asian Americans, Hispanics and Middle Eastern immigrants.

This film was directed by Paul Haggis, who is an award-winning filmmaker. I believe his life impacted the way he views the relationships that are created in our society. He really wanted to portray how prevalent racism and microaggressions are no matter where you look and no matter what the persons skin color is. I also think it was very important to notice that we have the power to change ourselves and help better the way people are treated.

I believe a lot of different people may be offended by this movie, but I also believe that is the point. Not only do we know not everyone fits these stereotypes, but it is almost embarrassing to see how people treat each other and abuse their power. Throughout this movie we see the way society feels about stereotypes, but we are also able to see the stereotypes people have about themselves and their culture.

 This movie added to by visual literacy by showing me how words do not have to be used to send a message. I liked how sometimes we just watched as the story developed. We were actually able to see the transformation of some characters. It was also startling to see how fast he shot the young man just by assuming he was going for a gun in his pocket.

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gagilas/10681597536/in/photolist-hgTYNL-MWGQ9-5QPSx-4BDEWk-4BHXvY-4BHXqy-4BHXxY-GpqgA-6bPdqF-5fGhUn-78eQog-n9pZ5-3X39bB-apFuHv-bAQy2x-cJPiS-51Ubf4-4BCNxv-nqHmEt-37ofKA-4BH72d-6GCHw3-4LKDtk-7RpNqd-7yoDnQ-9Sjf9N-dATqzX-8UH65e-8vZhGK-3ZW1Z1-3X39mv-c9rbJY-bsL36b-3X39gr-75PdC-iiidWy-3X7r8y-iiivNt-iiidUu-5eo2hq-a2kcob-6aVBVh-2f4tu6-6YNBPZ-5XY23x-i82p6z-3VrWU2-3ZW2vU-csg3DY-4y7xdg CC Public Domain

My hope is that we can ditch the stereotypes and start treating people as people, no matter their skin color!