- Jewitt writes, "When writing is separated out and foregrounded to dominate the screen, it can be seen as a kind of 'resistance' to the multimodal potential of new technologies and the screen" (p. 323). First, do you feel that this is true? In a multimodal project, does having too much text seem to signal convention, assessment or even "the educated elite" as she suggests? How can you combine your essay with the visual in a way that doesn't privilege one mode over the other?
I think that using all texts and no images may seem like you're resisting to the new ways of technology, or maybe you're uneducated on how to use these new technologies. Now, there are so many more ways to represent meanings and messages other than the traditional written text, so why not try to explore something in a different way?
Too much text signifies that people are still living in the past, that they're stuck in their traditional ways. I think new technologies call for people to step a little outside of their comfort zones, and there are some that are not so comfortable with that idea (therefor stick to using written text only).
I honestly think expressing yourself in ways other than written text signals "an educated elite" because it takes a lot of intelligence, creativity, and talent to be able to transform the written word into images.
I think there needs to be a good balance between using written texts and images, which is what I will try to do with my "I Believe" project. I think too many pictures/ images (or words) can be a downfall, and too little pictures/images (or words) can be a downfall.
5. Kress states, "Speech and writing tell the world; depiction shows the world. In the one, the order of the world is that given by the author; in the other, the order of the world is yet to be designed(fully and/or definitively) by the viewer" (p. 16). Are you comfortable relinquishing control to the viewer? How do you ensure your work is able to stand alone and be interpreted without direction?
I'm not totally comfortable relinquishing control to the viewer, only because people may totally misinterpret my message by making their own meaning of my piece (and that may totally spin the whole idea in the wrong direction). While I do appreciate new ways of looking at things, I do want them to kind of get the big picture of my overall message.
I think my work is usually able to stand alone, first off because I'm really big on organization. I want to make my piece or my writing understandable to the viewers. I try to mix a good portion of written text/ knowledgable facts with creativity/images, so viewers are able to gain meaning in more than one way. Also, I try to know my audience the best that I can; I use images that I know they'll understand, or I communicate in a way that I know they'll understand. I try to use their language.
6. How do you "read" a multimodal text differently than a print text? What are you expecting or wanting from a multimodal text?
I think I go into reading a multimodal text a little more open than I would a written text. An image can have so many different meanings, depending on the person viewing it, so sometimes it's hard to interpret the same meaning as the author's. I kind of go into like, "Hm...this could mean that....or it could mean this...." I try to see the message in multiple ways.
I think what I want most from a multimodal text is creativity and individuality. I want to see how other's view the world in their own individual and unique way.