Dropped.

I officially hated this class. It was awful. Actually, I can't say that, because it wasn't. I just wasn't into it. I want to take something different. Maybe a critical writing class? This class wanted me to be creative. I couldn't be creative because I just simply have no idea how to be creative.

So I guess this is a blog for my own personal use now. I don't want to get rid of it or anything! I like that you can post pictures on here, so I guess I will show a couple pictures of my dogs.

This one is of Precious and Josie. Precious is the bigger one. She is a Coydog. Josie is her pup.

Let's Just Do Both.

If I had to combine the two possible topics, into one extraordinary essay, I guess I would talk about comics or graphic novels.
I took a class, my Junior year of High School, called Visual Lit. and we had to read Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust. I really liked the way texts were combined with the pictures to create a story.
So for the essay, I believe I would write about Graphic Novels as a genre. I would talk about how the conventions would have to include an interesting topic that would allow readers to engage in the Comic or Graphic Novel. It would need pictures that would create a visual that allows readers to understand the small amount of text. Of course, it would need some text (although, there was that time when Marvel did the no text comic) that would allow the reader to understand the picture.
The text and pictures come together in a way that allows readers of all different ages (depending on the type of graphic novel. Some are for adults only, and some are for kids) to get into the story. With comics and Graphic Novels, there is usually a plot or a punch line that can be inferred when seeing the two combined together.

This image is from http://postsecret.blogspot.com/. As you can see there is a picture of a crib, and the secret next to it (in case it's too small) is "My baby is a product of a PARTY."


This doesn't surprise me. It happens all the time, and to so many people I know. When I first saw it, it was like I expected this to be someones secret. However, the woman who sent this in seems like she regrets her choice a little bit. However, I still like it a lot. It's a secret than many people can relate to and the choice of words are very nice. I like how the crib is shown and not the baby because then it would seem way more personal than it actually is. Also, the words do not describe the image. They do not say "this is a crib." The words that are used make you imagine more, which is interesting.

I'm not sure what genre this is. It's not a cartoon, but it's not only a photograph either. I'm not sure what I would consider it.

Balance

I believe this picture represents balance. When you look at it, you can see the trees and branches right away. The top branch seems to sweep over and form the top of the page. Then on both sides there are equal amount of branches and trees making this photograph very equal on both sides.

What's the harm?

What's the downside to our contemporary practices of communication using images?

There are so many obvious reasons to why humans use images to convey messages. We use them for advertisements, road signs, and many other reasons. Images are great for the illiterate, including children, and for people of other nations that may speak a different language.
While we like to think that all these signs are for the sole purpose of making life easier, they are not. Images are used to persuade. They are used to show people what is right, and what is wrong. They are used to convince humans what to wear, buy, use, drink, eat, etc.
What's the harm? Even though these seem like good things, a lot of individuality is taken away. Humans no longer get to decide on their own what looks good on a person and what doesn't. People don't get to decide if their clothes are from last year, or if their clothes are "what every one is wearing." Our decisions become based on the pictures we see from day to day. Although people definitely still have their own opinions, they still want what looks like what every one else wants.

Sidelong Glance ---Doisneau

As a Reader

Writer/ Designer:

• Who composed this text?

This picture was taken by a French photographer named Robert Doisneau.

• What else has this person composed?

Robert Doisneau is famous for taking photographs that are amusing, eccentric and very in-the-moment. Many are pictures of people in different social classes. One example of a photograph that he has taken would be Kiss by the Hotel de Ville. To see this picture, please go to http://www.robertdoisneau.com/robert_doisneau_hotelkiss.htm For other pictures, go to http://www.robertdoisneau.com/index.htm and click on one of the three links to the right of the page.

• What point of view does he/she adopt?

Doisneau always took his pictures in a third person perspective. He doesn't interact with the people in the picture while he's taking them, and I do not believe that he wants the subjects to know he's there. It's important for him to make sure that the people are very natural, because that is when people are most interesting and most humorous.


Audience:

• What is your initial reaction?

When I first saw the picture, I noticed the painting right away. It just sort of pops right out on the page. Then I noticed the couple, which seemed like nothing unusual. Then I noticed the man in the picture looking towards the picture on the wall, and I just laughed. Typical men.

• What is the audience assumed to know or believe?

I think the audience is supposed to know how real life people are. It's assumed that people know that men will look at pictures of naked women when the chance comes, even if their wife/girlfriend is there. I think that is why that picture was taken, because it was amusing.

• Who is the intended audience?

Anyone could be the audience, I believe. Except maybe children. Other than that, anyone who knows a man knows what this situation is like. It's funny and it's something we all have experienced.

Picturing Texts Footnote

"Brand images- the Nike swoosh, the McDonald's arches, the Energizer Bunny, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Michelin Man, Colonel Sanders, to name a few- remind us of their brand names even without accompanying words."
"For some of us, the 'Paris' carries an image of the Eiffel Tower, and the common nouns 'dog' or 'cat' might link to a mental image of your dog or cat."
"Advertisers are well aware that images can stand for words and words for images, as the ad for Pepsi shown here illustrates."

From the time humans are old enough to recognize images we start to associate them with material objects. Advertisers use this to their benefit and try to instill in children the images of their companies to somehow gain a certain kind of trust or bond with people. Eventually, these bonds lead children to believe in the company and become regular consumers of what the company wants to sell. These quotes express this, by mentioning recognizable images, such as the Nike symbol and the McDonalds golden arches. We see these images on commercials, or on signs and because we recognize them and because they are so familiar, it is easy for children to say that is what they want.
Another example that wasn't used in the text but is talked about a lot is the camel from the Camel cigarette brand. The camel is an image that immediately relates to kids, because most see animals as cute things that they can pet and be comfortable with. By making a camel the cigarette image, children begin to associate one with the other, and because they like the camel so much, they begin to think that cigarettes are also something that they would enjoy. Eventually, as children get older, and the camel image starts to be less appealing, just because they are now growing more mature, the image of the cigarette stays the same. The advertisers hope that this will make them more apt to smoking.