double entry 5

we need to learn to consistently see ourselves as consumers of images we are exposed to via mass mediated channels. Mere exposure is enough in this regard. We don’t have to be specifically targeted by the image source. Anytime we feel ourselves being influenced we should instinctively query ourselves regarding what influence we are feeling, how that influence is occurring and ask if the claims we are digesting are rational.

I agree with this author that as technology changes and we are exposed to more visual images it also changes how we think and view the world.  I agree that as both consumers and members of a society it is our duty to use a critical eye when we are exposed to different visual messages produced in the form of mass media.  It that not what we as educators want for our students to use critical thinking skills rather than just accepting information and in this case from a visual message produced to lead the consumers’ thinking in a certain way.  We are in the final months of a presidential race and both parties want us to believe their candidate is the best choice for the job and much money is placed to run ads, commercials and news stories to try to persuade the voter to choose a particular candidate.  We know this to be true but when it is not so blatant do consumers really think about the true message of what they are seeing or viewing?  Do they question why the message may not be as it seems?  I don’t think the typical person uses a critical eye for all the visual messages they are exposed to in their daily lives and with the increased exposure it is a definite skill that is needed.


An Inquiry into the Nature of Uncle Joe’s Representation and Meaning by Robert Muffoletto

This is an essay that describes the meed for developing critical thinking skills to evaluate new multimedia presentations.  He contends that our evaluations of visual media are not only based on what the meaning may be but rather on our own self awareness and how we view ourself in our culture.  Muffoletto defines as visual literacy is a political process that provokes questions over answers. To be visually literate, then, is to be actively engaged in asking questions and seeking answers about the multiple meanings of a visual experience(Muffoletto, 2001).  There were many of the same messages in this essay as the reading by J. Schnell.

Schnell, J. (2008), Suggestions for Addressing the Increased Emphasis on Visual Imagery over Aural Messages. Media Psychology Review. Vol. 1(1), Retrieved from: http://mprcenter.org/mpr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36&Itemid=123

Muffoletto, R. (2001, March). An inquiry into the nature of Uncle Joe’s representation and meaning. Reading Online, 4(8). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=/newliteracies/muffoletto/index.html