Carleton's Reading the Image: As communications technologies continue to speed our way, it is becoming increasingly important for students to develop their “visual literacy” skills, particularly in a climate of hyper-advertising. Composition is a key part of any visual expression, whether in words or images, and compositional choices make for enlightening discussions with students. Print advertisements are abundant and interesting “texts” for decoding and analysis and recorded (or live on cable) TV advertising provides even more material for critical discussion. Students need to understand the concept of “connotation” and that this applies to images as well as words – advertising is packed with connotations to dig out and examine. Additionally, a few carefully selected film clips can be very effective for teaching how to “read” moving images and discuss the various directorial choices. For example, one of my favorite clips for this purpose is the first ten minutes of Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451. Beginning with the credits, which are featured in audio but not text, the clip provides many opportunities for engaging and useful critical discussion. Each “reading” can also be accompanied by a writing response to further explore the lessons learned. 103 home | course goals | faculty policies | sample assignments | texts & reviews | teacher's quick links