Curation
- Hui Er
I selected this picture mainly because of memory, in the sense of cognitive theory. This resonated with me as it seemed like an exaggerated scene of what I had witnessed myself — of my baby cousin completely ignoring a puppy because she was too engrossed in playing pet society (which became the inspiration of the project’s theme). The visual cue of color here plays a significant role in drawing attention to the crux of the picture’s message, the girl’s headphones. Her bright pink headphones starkly contrast the brown-green hues of the rest of the picture. Applying the rule of thirds, it is also notable how the focuses of the picture (the girl, her headphones and the lion) are all in the center grid. The visual cue of depth with the girl interpositioned in front of the lion works together with the eye line of the lion to evoke pathos — depending on cognitive theory again and the viewer’s syntagmatic view, the lion could be preying on the girl or a sad moment of the girl not realising the majestic nature around her. This entire picture plays on metonymic codes to signify the ignorance of children when addicted to technology.
This picture caught my attention as it was successful in relying on memory and culture of cognitive theory — with one look, I am aware that the man’s facial expression is an emoticon. The man’s facial expression is both a paradigmatic and indexical sign of the emoticon. What is interesting is that these signs of the facial expression work together with the stereotype of an old (creepy) man to develop condensed codes to deliver the message. Separate the emoticon facial expression and the entire stereotype of an old man, and the picture would be very much less effective. This advertisement mainly plays on two persuasive appeals. Ethos — the logo ensures that this is credible source with the intention of warning, in line with the organization’s mission. Pathos — the text summarizes the entire point of the ad into a single question that haunts that the viewer, and the entirety of the ad has a shock-factor that provokes fear in viewers for their children’s online activities.
2. Laura
Our chosen social issue explores the topic of overreliance on technology in today’s children. The new term ‘I-pad Nannies’ has been going around, as these gadgets seem to be the most effective way to placate children and have become an integral part of parenting. However, excessive use has harmful effects such as becoming more impatient, impulsive, forgetful and even more narcissistic[1]. According to Nicholas Carr, author of ‘The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains,’ “The deeper a technology is woven into the patterns of everyday life, the less choice we have about whether and how we use that technology,” This is scarily applicable to children who have little ability to decide for themselves what is harmful and what is beneficial. In the photo above, the child chooses the I-pad over storybooks. This picture employs the visual cue of shapes with the straight lines directing the viewers’ eyes towards the child with the I-pad. In addition, gestalt theory of visual perception can also be observed here. Similarity groups the storybooks together and separates the I-pad from the rest of the group as it is the only different item.
[1] (Parker-Pope, 2010)
The visual persuasion technique used here is a combination of pathos and shock advertising. Technological overreliance is taken to an extreme with the baby sucking on a mobile phone and equipped with a Bluetooth earpiece. The metonymy of the mobile phone as a milk bottle is representative of technology being the life source of the baby, just as milk is sustenance for life. Applying the Rule Of Thirds, the phone is in the top right hand corner intersection of the picture. There are also visual cues observed in the photo such as lines leading to the phone and colour. The bright yellow circle behind the mobile phone casts an ethereal glow around the phone which directs attention to it. The picture hints of a frightening future in which technology permeates into every aspect of a child’s life. However as this picture is a graphical representation and not an actual photo, it might be difficult for people to identify themselves with it. Thus our group decided on using real children in our pictures, and for the setting to be that of a regular household so as to make the pictures more relatable, giving a more impactful and lasting message.
3. Lisbeth
(watch 01:35)
The video had a small test to see if toddlers would choose the iPad or their mother and for some toddlers, the iPad or their toys. I think it is very sad that the toddlers instinctively chose the iPad despite their mothers’ affection and reaching out to them, and the simple vibrancy of colours from the toys. This highlights the issue of how toddlers are becoming more and more dependent on technology which may ultimately turn into addiction.
From a historical perspective, the video was taken recently in 21st century, highlighting the advancement of technology and how many people can easily have access to it. Hence, the test seems to also reflect that the invention of the iPad and other technologies have made toddlers mindless.
The video is also very culturally specific as toys and mothers as a common symbol in every child’s life. The fact that the toddlers choose the iPad over them shows the severity of the problem.
In application to our work, this video is an inspiration as we could illustrate comparisons of toddlers choosing technology over other things like books or toys or even their parents, using visual elements and details of the stark difference of choices.
The visual cues exemplified in this picture were small and simple, but the details taken to dehumanises the people captured my attention.
For instance, the contrast of a big hand and two small hands hints viewers of power control: the adult has main control of using the phone, but with the implied movement of small hands pulling the iPhone towards her, the viewer can comprehend the toddler’s huge desire to take, or even snatch the iPhone from the adult using two small but tightly clutched hands.
The black colour clothing on the adult’s hands seem to indicate the adult’s maturity and power, as if the adult is using some strength to pull the iPhone back. Yet pastel colours (the pink toy, the clothes) of the toddler hints the photographer’s viewpoint that the handphone is like a “medicine too strong for children”, and will destroy the child’s meekness and purity of the toddler, just like how the adults are now.
The toddler’s hands considerably off center along the points of intersections of the rule of thirds grid also creates a point of interest for viewers — — Who has control of technology? Are children able to control technology, or is technology controlling children? What makes this rectangle device so captivating for children, and is it luring children into a dangerous path? This photography method of dehumanisation of humans, especially children in the photo, is definitely one option of interest to explore as we execute our final project.
4. Si Ying
1.
The film follows a day in the life of a young teenage boy. As he goes about his schoolday without his iPhone, he realises how the young people around him are addicted to their technological devices, which is the topic my group is exploring. I will be analysing the mise-en-scene of two particular scenes.
This is a humorous shot. The gestalt law of similarity is at work, where the viewer groups the teenagers, who are all using their phones, together. This creates visual interest around the main actor, who is the only one not using his phone. His expressions and fidgeting are relatable and hence, comical.
This montage has effective visual continuity. Viewers understand this shot is from the actor’s point-of-view, the sight he sees as he steps into the corridor.
I like the usage of screen space in this shot, creating space in the middle of the corridor, pre-empting the viewer for the actor to walk through. The movement created by the girl in white when she opens the door draws the viewer’s attention to her, and the first thing we watch out for (and notice) is that she is, like the others, looking down at her phone.
2. Young Girl Stands on Books to Reach for iPad
In this picture, the body of the girl and her extended left arm creates a line, drawing the attention of the viewer to the iPad she is single-mindedly reaching for. The implied movement also helps the viewer understand the girl is exerting effort to get the iPad. I like the fact that the books are used merely as steps for the girl and nothing else, bringing across the idea that children of this generation are choosing their technological devices over all other forms of entertainment. The shot is visually pleasing due to the harmonious use of colours, and perhaps also due to my comparative method of describing colours — I associate the colour white with the innocence of the child. There is also a sense that despite the girl’s best efforts, the iPad remains out of reach unless an adult comes along and takes it for her. This then highlights the idea that parents very much play an active role in their children’s obsession, in giving them access to these devices. From a cultural perspective, the viewer can relate to how an iPad is the most desirable object in this technologically-advanced era.
