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.
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| Source: People Magazine, December 1, 2014 |
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| Source: People Magazine, December 1, 2014 |
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| Source: People Magazine, December 1, 2014 |
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| Source: People Magazine, December 1, 2014 |
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| 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.
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| Source: People Magazine, December 1, 2014 |
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| Source: People Magazine, December 1, 2014 |
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| Source: People Magazine, December 1, 2014 |
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| 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!
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