Scholarly Article #3

When I read the section about word order on page 291, in the article by Gunther Kress, I thought of the image to the left. This is a picture of a coffee vending machine, from my university's cafeteria, in Spain. The person that created this sign meant to say, "You choose how your day is going." Instead, the Spanish translator lost the meaning by saying, "you choose how is going your day." My classmate and I laughed, when we found this sentence. I have empathy because I am sure I make similar mistakes with Spanish grammar.

Although the author argues that images are less likely to have as much ambiguity as words do, images can have open-ended interpretation as well. I mean, look at the pistachios in this picture. Oh, wait, the pistachios are probably coffee beans. Without "coffee" underneath the image, I would probably guess wrong about the theme of this beverage dispenser. Notice the green around the words. Does that not seem pistachio or related?

People process images and words similarly. A document designer has just as much influence as a writer who intentionally uses word order to influence the readers' response. Gunter Kress demonstrates this idea in figure 13-3, with an example of proximity, Even though Kress shows readers can interpret images similar to interpreting words, he discredits document designers' work by not suggesting that images have signifiers too (287). For example, taken out of context, the picture on the coffee machine does not seem coffee related. Based on my experience with cookies and pistachios, I have a different perspective than a coffee-addict would have.

Gunter Kress, and the author of the first scholarly article, agree with Derrida's theory of words as signifiers (287). However, Gunter Kress presents a muddled argument by indirectly referencing ideas related to Derrida's deconstruction and later introducing the idea that authors of novels have more influence on meaning than the reader does (296). The readers have the most influence, from a Derrida perspective because meaning of the text depends on readers' word association. Kress also claims that new media has created a shift from the author having meaning to the reader controlling meaning. Instead, the reader has always had control of meaning. Saying otherwise discredits the ability of people to process information before new media.

New media requires both text and image. However, the author says,"The decline of the book has been seen as the decline of writing" (284).  I do not agree with that idea because there are a lot of writing outlets online. The fact that I am writing this blog post would suggest that the new technology has not killed writing. If anything, people write more because of new media.

Scholarly Article #2

Over the summer, my classmate, Chloe, and I missed our flight from Madrid to Atlanta; so, we booked a hotel. While we stayed in Madrid, she said she wanted to see the Museo del Prado. We searched the museum website and read that the museum offered free entry from 6:00-8:00. We walked through the museum together, but I wanted to see different paintings than she did.

In The Museum of Me, Ellen Ullman says that the internet has replaced the desire for people to go to art museums because people can search paintings online (645). However, my classmate and I used the internet as a supplement for visiting an art museum because we wanted to see original paintings. Ullman also explains that people individualize information through internet searches (641). I agree that the internet allows people to surround themselves with personalized information. However, even without internet, people would find a way to filter information. For instance, people can purposely read different books or choose not to fixate on the same paintings that someone else might.

This summer, I also visited the Art Institute of Chicago. I purposely went alone because I had specific paintings in mind to see. I picked up a map of the museum, and went straight to the painting based on The Picture of Dorian Gray film. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray because it is one of my closest friend’s favorite books. Now, it is one of my favorites too. I searched for information about the painting, after I visited the museum, and I emailed my friend that likes the book.

 I think human interaction is important. I agree with Ullman that the internet can enable people to hermit or be antisocial (640). However, the internet allows people to talk, instantaneously, to each other from long distances. There is also a lot of content online to explore, and I read Ellen Ullman’s article because I used the internet.