Visual Language and Culture Paper

Please choose one image. You are required to incorporate the following 4 elements submitting a written two pages.

1) Describe your image. What do you see?

2)Analyze the image. What is the context for reading of the image?

3)Interpret the image. Choose one of Stuart Hall's positions to interpret the image.

4)Evaluation/Judgement. Why-in what way is the image meaningful to you? Does the image succesfully or not function to communicate effectively?

For step 3:

Stuart Hall has 3 positions that viewers can take as decoders of cultural images and artifacts. These are:

1)Dominant-Hegemonic reading : They can identify with the hegemonic position and receive the dominant message of an image or text(such as tv show) in an unquestioning manner.

2)Negotiated reading: They can negotiate an interpretation from the image and its dominant meanings.

3)Oppositional reading: Finally, they can take an oppositional position, either by completely disagreeing with the ideological position embodied in an image or rejecting it altogether(for example by ignoring it)