4.06.2007

Visual Narratives

I need a break from the other homework, so here it is...
Looking around, I realized that visual narration is dependent on our interpretation of iconography. Looking at this Buddha teaching 5 disciples,only tells a story if you can recognize Buddha, and understand the disciples are happily in a subservient position to Buddha, they are not being forced to praise some man-g-d.

If you include language, it still has to be understood by the audience. The image below is only funny if you recognize the context, and what these abbreviations mean... I'm pretty sure you all know by now that BRB is "Be right back" and LOL is "Laugh out loud", but my mom wouldn't!
P.S. I am sorry if this offends anyone.


These single images tell a much bigger story than the moment they depict, but only if you're in on the context. I was telling Wes about the afikomen at seder the other night while watching The Daily Show, because Jon Stewart made a joke about it, and then said "I just made 15 Jews happy." Being out of the loop makes trying to understand the narrative like listening to Dennis Miller on speed.

Even a renowned icon, such as The Cat in the Hat can be lost when it's in a language that few people know:


As mentioned in class, children's stories are the hardest to write and illustrate. But since they rely on illustration for those not yet able to read, their visual narration has to be clear so the reader or viewer can figure out the story for themselves. Shel Silverstein's story, The Missing Piece, is an excellent example of this.

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