"Professors at Work" |
Web Writing: Theory and
Practice of Digital Rhetoric
Assignment #6
Digital Image Analysis
|
Examining Cultural
Images Images reveal much about our culture, more than we may normally be aware of. From advertising to TV to the internet, we are bombarded almost continuously with images which shape our consciousness. Images provide models for our bodies and minds, suggest social roles for us to play, project needs we come to adopt. One digital source which provides a window on our culture is "Google Images." "Google Images" works by providing images that have been linked with certain words or text on web pages that Google scans. The more an image is linked with a certain word, the more likely it will turn up in a Goggle image search. Also the more an image is linked with a certain text or word, the sooner it will be presented on the search page. Topic: Think of a term to search in Google Images. Among the first images that come up, select 9 from your search page and write a 750 word analysis of what the images reveal about American culture. Make sure your terms result in some images of people. Use a term that is important to you personally or seems characteristic of our current digital age, such as--
|
video gamer | podcaster | newspaper reader | videographer |
computer programmer | college student | magazine editor | Second Lifer |
shopper | entertainment/entertainer | filmmaker | |
bloggers | MP3 listener | dancers | |
political activist | soldier | business leader | |
sports spectator | car racing fan | music downloader | |
sportscaster | digital photographer | IMer | |
web designer | newspaper columnist | CEO | |
hypertext writer | reporter | journalist |
Process From your google search page, choose 9 images which seem typical of the term you use. Then ask yourself these questions:
(Comment on a total of six of these concepts.) Here are some suggestions for Introductions Format: Two web pages: 1. An Assignment homepage with a 9 cell table and assignment title--as above.
2. A 2nd web page, linked to the first, which presents your analysis of the photos.
|