developing media literacy

It’s likely that you’ve experienced a scenario similar to the following: you’re scrolling on your social media and you come across an article that sounds unbelievable.  Maybe it’s been shared by a family member or close friend.  Maybe it’s from a news source online.  You quickly read the title and subtitle, then press ‘share’.  Soon enough, comments are being made on your post about the inaccuracy of the content, or it’s being flagged as “misinformation”.

And that’s why it’s time for some media literacy!

“The medium is the message” ~ Marshall mcluhan

In today’s online world, information can easily trick even the most experienced of us.  With “alternative facts,” “fake news,” “native advertising,” “social engineering,” and “deepfakes,” it can be difficult to be sure that what we are seeing and reading is actually real.  This is why media literacy is a critical skill set to develop.

Video source: https://youtu.be/nkAUqQZCyrM

We must become responsible for educating ourselves and thinking critically before we disseminate misinformation and contribute to the problems caused by media.  Watch the video below that discusses how we can sort fake news from true news and why that’s important:

Video source: https://youtu.be/y9u9kLgkC1I

Analyzing Visual Media & Visual Rhetoric

Don’t have an art background? Don’t worry. Your English professor likely doesn’t either, and you probably know a lot more than you realize. Modern people are surrounded by images every day. Even if you don’t know the terms of how people analyze art, you will be familiar with many of the tricks that artists use to create a reaction in the reader, such as making the most important images larger and light, and the less important ones in the background or fading darker. You can also easily recognize symbolic colors, such as: red means emergency or blood or danger; green means safe and close to nature; and blue means cool and relaxed.

Analyzing visual rhetoric

Most visual analysis papers will require a clear and vivid description of the image along with an analysis of the visual composition of the picture in order to explain how the artist put the image together to create meaning. Although visual analysis essays often focus a lot on the details of describing the image, you will also need a thesis which tells what the images mean. There are several ways to do this and your assignment may tell you in which direction to go. Here are some typical ways to analyze images for meaning:

• Analyze the meaning of the image for the artist and his or her time
• Analyze the meaning of the image for you and your time
• Analyze the changes in meaning of an image over the course of time
• Analyze the audience’s reaction to the image
• Analyze your own reaction and evaluate the effectiveness of the image

This list will help you to describe the visual elements of the picture and analyze how each element helps to create meaning.  To analyze for meaning, we also ask ourselves how certain composition techniques (layout and content choices) are being used to evoke specific thoughts, feelings, or opinions in the viewer.

When you are deconstructing the composition of an image, consider how the following compositional elements are being used:

• Audience:  for whom is the image being designed?  Where might the audience encounter it?
• Purpose: what is the point or goal of this image?
• Bias: what biases or clear points of view are being represented in the image?  Which are not?
• Tone: what is the tone of the image?  Is it meant to be funny? serious? satirical?
• Text:  if there is text in the image, what does it say literally?  What does it imply?
• Colour: is the image in black and white? greyscale? full colour? How does this change our perception or understanding?
• Message: what comment or point is the illustrator trying to make?  Does it come across (is it conveyed) effectively? Why or why not?
• Symbolism: symbolism is an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind.  The meaning of a symbol is constructed socially.  For example, in Buddhism, the swastika is a symbol of good fortune, prosperity, abundance and eternity; then, in World War 2, Hitler appropriated it as a symbol for the Third Reich, so it has come to be a negative symbol is Western cultures.
• Metaphor: a metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.  For example, if someone says “you’re a peach,” a comparison is being drawn between that person and a peach, but not literally.  It actually impled that the person is sweet or kind.  The meaning behind metaphors is a social construction, and therefore typically only understood, by a given community or culture.
• Negative space: negative space is the empty or blank space around and between objects that can call attention to certain elements of an image.  It can also be used to guide the eye of the viewer in a certain direction.
• Allusions: when an image uses knowledge that is presupposed on the part of the viewer; in other words, the illustrator assumes that the audience will have a basic understanding of the implied reference.

Video source: https://youtu.be/-vJvivIzkDg

Image source: https://socialistproject.ca/2018/08/fords-attack-on-toronto-end-of-local-democracy/