Visual Literacy Slides
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Christa van StadenVisual Literacy Slides
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Christa van Staden- Introduction to Visual Literacy: Introduces the concept of visual literacy with examples including cartoons and images relevant to education.
- What is Visual Literacy?: Explains the definition and significance of visual literacy in understanding and interpreting visual information.
- Why is Visual Literacy Important?: Details the benefits and importance of visual literacy skills in enhancing understanding and interpretation of visual media.
- Analysis of Pictures: Describes how to analyze pictures through elements like composition, color, and perspective, emphasizing the identification of the main focal point.
- Understanding Cartoons: Explains the role of cartoons in society, how they convey messages and humor, and their use in highlighting social issues.
- Analyzing Cartoons: Guides on the steps to analyze cartoons by examining characters, setting, language, actions, and objectives to understand the cartoonist’s message.
English First Additional Language Grade 9
VISUAL LITERACY
What is visual literacy?
Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and understand information presented in the form of an image.
To understand the deeper meaning of visual materials like cartoons, advertisements, photographs, pictures, graphs, films etc.
We are going to look at cartoons and cartoonstrips today.
Why is visual literacy important?
It helps you interpret visual media that you are faced with everyday in school, in the newspapers, on television etc.
Allows deeper understanding of texts. Develops analytical thinking about the meaning of
texts. Improves the enjoyment of reading. Helps to be more informed viewers of visual texts, including cartoons and advertising.
Pictures:
Can be analysed in terms of the following:
Composition (centre, foreground, background) Line Colour
Texture
Light Shadow
Perspective (Where are you in relation to the picture?)
ALL PICTURES HAVE A MAIN OR FOCAL POINT.
Cartoons:
Cartoons are usually a humorous, drawn picture
of a situation. They are used to express ideas or to draw attention to a situation or a well-known personality. They often highlight a current social or political issue. Cartoons provide enjoyment but they often have a serious or even a sharp message.
Sharp message?
Cartoons must be seen in context against
particular backgrounds (especially political cartoons). Humour draws attention to a particular issue.
Now look at the following political cartoon and
explain the particular background and the issue the humour points out
Background? Issue?
Cartoons
Cartoons can be pictorial, use bubble speech,
or have a caption. Dialogue is used to reveal the authors thought and feelings.
Thought bubble Scream bubble
Speech bubble
Each drawing is placed in a frame and may be
presented as a single drawing or as a sequence of drawings. When it consists of a sequence of drawings, we call it a cartoon strip (or a comic strip).
How do we analyse cartoons:
When analysing cartoons we look at the following:
1. The characters
Do they represent stereotypes? Are they caricatures? (ridiculous exaggerations) Note their facial expressions and body language.
2. Background and setting
Where and when is the scene taking place? Is the cartoon based on facts or fiction?
3. Language and punctuation
Do they use slang in the cartoon? Does it use single words, phrases or sentences? Does the punctuation affect the mood and tone?
4. Actions
These are expressed pictorially by the clever use of lines, facial expressions and symbols.
5. Objectives
Is the intention of the cartoon to educate, inform, entertain etc? Has the cartoonist achieved his or her objective? How has he or she achieved this objective?
