Visual Symbols

I am yet again reexamining visual symbols in my life.

Since my last post about visual symbols, I believe that my understanding and awareness of the visual symbols in my life have increased. These visual symbols communicate with me and produce an emotional response that is automatic. Here are just a few ironic symbols that I’ve noticed or thought of recently.

Heart: symbol of love and emotion, although it looks nothing like the heart in our bodies...

Envelope: picture representing that I have email (or a voicemail on my phone), although they don’t actually travel in an envelope...

Dollar sign: represents the idea of money, although it seems to be used less and less today...

Just a few visuals symbols that I’ve noticed in my life lately. This class has definitely changed how I look at the world around me.

Images from: http://www.openclipart.org/detail/119017, http://www.openclipart.org/detail/12471, and http://www.openclipart.org/detail/75181

Stealing Lightning

I recently watched Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.



Having read the book in the past few months, I was excited to see how it compared and followed the plot. While the movie was fantastic (and incredibly visually pleasing), I was disappointed by the lack of similar events between the book and the movie. Despite this fact, I really enjoyed the movie itself. Looking more into deleted scenes from the movie, I found a lot of the book plot (and what I thought were important events) had been filmed, but taken out.

I especially enjoyed what the creators did with the use of water and movement of it in the film. The special effects looked realistic and fantastic.

As a library person, I’m incredibly excited about this series and how it will introduce some kids to Greek Mythology past what they get in the classroom.

Videos from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xko1Mx5w4tg&playnext=1&list=PLEA171DD3C6065FA9 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-7jqIwHDlw

Barbie in Real Life

I ran across the following article the other day: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42595605/ns/today-today_people/

In this article, a girl who has battled with an eating disorder describes how she took a Barbie doll and “built what she believed to be a life-size version of the doll she played with as a child.” I was baffled by the picture in this article. While the proportions of the “life-size” version of Barbie aren’t quite accurate, it still gets a lot of conversation started about how girls are portrayed not only in the media, but in the toys that many kids play with.

A Mattel spokesperson is quoted in the article as saying, “Girls see female body images everywhere today and it’s critical that parents and caregivers provide prospective on what they are seeing.” While I agree that girls need parents and guardians to help them realize that all of the images of females that they see are disproportionate, I can’t help but image having this type of conversation with a three year old who just loves her Barbie. At that age, the Barbie doll herself is real, so trying to explain that not only is the Barbie not real, but it doesn’t look like a real girl, doesn’t seem like something that’s going to fly!

Spurred by curiosity, I did a Google search for real life dimensions of Barbie. BBC news graced me with an article addressing this very thing, including a very powerful image to accompany the statistics.

It all depends on how tall you make the life-size Barbie, but according to the BBC, a 5 foot 6 inch tall Barbie would have a 20-inch waist and 29-inch hips. While there are a few ladies that have these dimensions, this is an unrealistic and appalling image for little girls to think they need to look like! The idea that we aren’t ever perfect the way we are starts at a very young age!

Images from: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42595605/ns/today-today_people/ and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7920962.stm

Visual Aesthetics

I was watching Alice in Wonderland (2010) last night for my Young Adult Literature class. I hadn’t seen it before, and yet I was really impressed with the animation presented in the film. However, there was a specific scene that as I watch, I thought, “Wait... What?” There was one part that didn’t seem to look right. I couldn’t quite pick out what was wrong, but I knew that it wasn’t the way it should look.

This made me think of all of the visuals that we see every day that make us stop and take a second look, maybe even making us go “Oooh, ew!” We notice things that don’t look quite right, but I definitely don’t know how to fix whatever it is, let alone specifically tell you what the problem is! It amazes me how our minds work with visual aesthetics. It impresses me that there are people that are able to do so. It makes viewing visuals that much better for the rest of us, since those issues are targeted and fixed.

And even more amazing is how far we've come in movies in the past 100 years! Watch the video below to compare!

Videos from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9POCgSRVvf0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeIXfdogJbA

Gaming in the Classroom

Tuesday in class, we saw a wonderful presentation over games and gaming. I learned so much from this presentation, including my own ignorance of the topic. This presentation and discussion, coupled with the topic of using simulations and games with gifted students in another class of mine, brought this whole idea into new light for me.

Especially influential in the presentation was an activity that we did: We were given a game and asked to connect it with the Iowa Core Curriculum. I initially thought this was going to be hard, perhaps a stretch to make it “fit.” I was so incredibly wrong! Once I examined the parts of the game and what the players were asked to do, “academic connections” starting jumping out at me! My group was looking at Rollercoaster Tycoon, a game in which you build roller coasters and manage the amusement park in a number of ways. In an elementary science class last year, we built “roller coasters” with foam tubes and tape using little toy cars to test our construction skills. Rollercoaster Tycoon would do a similar thing without wasting tape and even providing students with a more realistic reaction of each piece of the puzzle!

How important gaming has become in our world today! Why not use these helpful tools in the classroom with students?

Images from: http://www.openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/generic-game-desktop.png and http://www.openclipart.org/image/800px/svg_to_png/brunurb_Retro_Joystick_002.png

Ignorance is NOT Bliss

The other day in class, we watched Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk over the danger of a single story. In this video, Adichie gives her personal stories on the “single stories” that she heard and read growing up. This resulted in her having a generalized skewed view of children’s books based on her experiences. This made me think a lot about how much I didn’t know growing up and still don’t know about other people and other cultures.

The town I grew up in was not completely without diversity, but the cultural and racial diversities were lacking. This skewed my view of other cultures and other people in general. My experiences with other countries, big cities in the United States, and different cultures around the world were limited to the few places I had visited as a child, the books I read, and the movies and TV I watched growing up. Coming to college was a fantastic part of my education of the world, as it allowed me to venture from my limited, ignorant views of people. I have been able to meet all different people with all different backgrounds. My college experiences have allowed me to go beyond my “single story” about many different cultures and come to a better understanding about life.

Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg

Books into Movies

I have been reading a great deal of Young Adult books for a class I am taking this semester. The other day, our class was discussing what it was about books like Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and other such books that are so interesting. The emotional connection with the characters was mentioned as a possible reason for this attachment over the movie versions of these books. I completely agree with this assessment. I really enjoyed reading the Twilight series, but found the second book my absolute least favorite (Bella’s whining about missing Edward made me so angry!).

However, I did not find the second movie my least favorite thus far. I liked the movie much more than the book! I think this had to do with the level of emotion that can be packed into a 2-hour movie versus a lengthy, descriptive book. This may be the first time that I have had the preference for the movie over the book version!

This discussion of books also reminded me of The Hunger Games trilogy that I have read the first two of (and can’t wait to read the third).

As a reader, I became emotionally connected with the characters, incredibly invested in relationships among the characters, and the action packed scenes (which they all seem to be) keep me on the edge of my seat, absolutely devouring the books! I am a little nervous about these books coming out as movies, however. My mental visuals based on my readings might come out perfectly on the screen... or it might ruin the whole experience for me! How much risk producers and authors take on when they’re trying to put such an influential book into film!

Videos from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TnxXoMpF3c&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q58iQSHhZGg&feature=related

Phantom of the Opera

A while back, we were asked during class to think about our favorite movies and what made them our favorite. One of my favorites is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera (2004).

While I’m a big fan of musicals in general, this one seems to stick out to me more than the others. I believe part of the reason for this is the great visuals that accompany the wonderful music.

In The Phantom of the Opera, one of my favorite visual scenes (although not my favorite song) is coupled with the song “Masquerade.” The transition from the black-and-white picture of the jewelry shop window to the color picture of fireworks going off before the song performance is fantastic. I am also amazed at the exquisite detail in this particular scene.

The number of people, the detail of each and every costume, and the precision of the dancers and each action are other elements of this scene that I find amazing. The music and visuals are coupled perfectly. I especially enjoy the point of this song that the masquerade guests are all going down the main staircase, absolutely in sync with everyone else.

My appreciation of this musical for it’s visual aspects makes me look at other works that I view in a different light.

Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxKjDUrmecA

Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign

Writing my midterm for Visual Literacy class this past week got me thinking about signs that we see all the time. Stop signs, bathroom signs, warning signs ~ all posted to let us know what we need to or should do.

This idea made me think back to a sign I saw while traveling with my family to Niagara Falls. We had made the hike across a bridge over to Canada to see the falls better. Suddenly we were in a completely different country, although it didn’t feel like it given that the area was filled with tourists.

While strolling down the sidewalk with clear view of both the United States and Canadian sides of the falls, there was a sign posted every so often on the rail that kept us all from falling off the cliff. All that was written on the sign was “danger,” and yet the message was so much stronger than that. It screamed “Don’t climb on the rail!” to me – a very important message at that point. It was the sign that prompted me to look down... and then back away from the cliff’s straight shot down to the water below despite the fact that there was no danger to me because the rail was very sturdy.

Important signs that would mean nothing without our visual literacy skills surround us constantly. When we pay attention, we can learn a lot.

Photos from my private collection.

The Message We're Sending Our Youth

I was out bowling with some of my friends the other night and happened to be at a bowling alley that had a screen to display music videos for the music playing. Pop music was playing, and many of songs I knew the majority of the words to (and was singing along with). Not being one to watch music videos, I had not viewed a single one of them before. All was okay, until Maroon 5’s song “Misery” came on. I know the majority of the words to that song too, but was appalled by the music video! Sexual references and images everywhere, coupled with violence. The girl in the video is going between kissing the singer to throwing him off a building!

This made me wonder about how many of our youth are watching these kinds of videos and what messages are they sending? This particular video is not promoting men to be violent to women, but it seems to say, “If your girlfriend/wife beats you up, that’s okay!” It is still promoting violence! While there are a number of tastefully done music videos, there are so many that can be categorized with the ads that we have been discussing in class, like this one! Ugh – frustrates me beyond belief!

Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g6g2mvItp4

Reexamining Visual Symbols in My Life

In reexamining the visual symbols in my life after seeing a presentation in class over the subject, my awareness of the extensive amount of visual symbols that I experience on a daily basis has been heightened. A more specific attempt at a list of visual symbols that I see every day can now be constructed, although it will never seem finished, since I’m exposed to so many visual symbols constantly that it would be impossible to try to write them all down!

Many of the symbols I see are trying to communicate a message, from the road signs that I see while driving to the McDonalds arches, symbolizing that I can go there for the amazing French fries they have without even needing to see their entire name posted anywhere. The American flag flying outside so many buildings I see every day shows patriotism, without a big “I’m a patriot! I love the United States!” banner waving in the background.

Bathroom signs, Facebook’s logo, music notes on a page, the “Apple” logo on my computer. These all tell me what products I use, what I enjoy, what I understand. And these are only the things that immediately come to mind when I stop and think about the visual symbols that I see. They are how I learn, communicate, and express myself. Without visual symbols, my life would be very different.

Picture from: http://cha.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=331&Itemid=368

Violence in Advertising

After watching the video on advertisements last week, I have noticed the advertisements and their messages so much more! It appalls me what is acceptable today. In a world where movie ratings decide whether young children can view a movie, these types of images are splashed in their faces! It seems that there is always an underlying message to so many ads I am bombarded with on a daily basis.

Even watching the Super Bowl, the advertisements seemed centered around someone getting hurt or made fun of. This isn’t the message our youth, who is already surrounded by images of violence, needs to be exposed to. People getting hit in the face with cans of pop or a cane isn’t something anyone wants happening to them, but I just know there is some kid out there that is going to try it. What example are we setting for today’s youth?

Videos from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCB4YWPhNeI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX7oYAygWOQ

Killing Us Softly

I watched Jean Kilbourne’s “Killing Us Softly 3 – Advertising’s Image of Women” in class the other day for the first time. While issues like this are frequently apparent to me, watching this was very eye opening for me. It amazes me what advertisers will use to sell their product, stooping so low as to include photos that would normally be considered “inappropriate” for youth’s eyes. And yet, these photos are up everywhere, exposing young girls of today to the idea that they need to be more this or that. They are never perfect and will never be considered perfect no matter what they do. The affect on adolescent girls is appalling to me. While these images seem to have gotten a little better in the past few years, there is still an awful amount of stereotyping in advertisements that is happening, which the youth of the United States is bombarded with all of the time.

Video from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTlmho_RovY

Representation of Life

The other day, I was flipping through some of my pictures that I have on my computer and facebook and I thought about how much pictures are visual symbols of my life. I think the most meaningful for me might be pictures of my family and friends, or really any picture that helps to represent where I come from and what I am. I am no photographer, and often find taking pictures from interesting or creative angles difficult (even after some instruction in photo design, I’m still struggling with this), but the content is what means the most to me.

It seems strange to say, but I think looking at my life through all of my pictures would be very interesting. And yet, only looking at pictures would give a skewed view of myself and my life. If I’m in the photo, I’m often smiling, as are most of my other photograph-victims... Taking pictures on the farm of the animals often allows me to have less self-conscious subjects, and yet even their actions are often influenced by my presence. Even when I'm taking pictures of our pet llamas, they are in my face wanting to know what that "cool new thing" in my hand is (and no - that's not using zoom... and I have pictures of just parts of noses from them. They are VERY curious creatures!). Even they put on a different face for the camera! Pictures that I take don’t usually show everyday life.

I find it funny how we, myself included, cling so tightly to things like photographs when they can never show the “whole story.” Something to think about.

Photographs are from my private collection.

Visual Symbols in My Life

Week 1, January 23, 2011

Visual symbols affect my life greatly on a daily basis. I wake up and

go to check my email, and there is some forward from my sister with hilarious pictures to accompany a funny, yet fictitious, story. I go to check my Facebook, and one of my friends has posted recent pictures of her trip over seas. I go to watch some news and I’m bombarded not only with what I intentionally tuned in to, but commercial after commercial trying to sell me anything from lotion to a brand new iPhone. Visuals that are out there solely to catch my attention and make me think, “Yeah! I want that!” Next, I pick up a book for class or for enjoyment, and the visual symbols that are the English language jump out at me, as do any illustrations or diagrams that assist in

my understanding of what I'm reading.

Then I go to class, and I’m faced with what I would consider another genre of visuals, ones that enhance my education. While I learn from what I have already witnessed before this point in the day, somehow it’s very different. I’m not trying to ignore the commercial with the stunning visuals and catch song, but am tuned in to what the teacher and other students have to say, what is in my book that can reinforce each idea, and what is on display during class. I have had very few classes in my college career that didn’t include a Powerpoint or video almost every time we would meet. And I have to admit – classes without some sort of visual symbols to assist in my learning were classes that I left feeling like I didn’t learn anything and just wasted an hour of my life.

Visual symbols help me work my way through life and clarify my understanding of the world.

Photographs from my personal collection.