Discuss how visual language techniques was used to convey an idea in Text 1.

The film poster for Blackkklansman has utilised props and body language to
convey the idea that racism was still apparent during the 1970s.

The use of props in the poster has conveyed the idea. The text is set in the USA
in the 1970s, post-civil rights movement, where African-Americans fought for
equal rights. In text 1, the character is holding a hair comb, which is typically
associated with African-Americans. The author has constructed the poster this
way to produce a symbol of African-American culture. It is a symbol of pride
and rebellion, which positions the viewer to accept the character as a strong
figure with deep connections to his culture. At a time post-Civil rights
movement, while the laws had changed to protect African-Americans, racism
was still prevalent, particularly from the Klu Klux Klan, and this character’s
comb presents opposition to this. The author has also used the prop of a police
badge on the character’s neck. The audience is positioned to view the
character as law-abiding and correct. This construction has been done to
convey the man as opposed to racism, but not aggressive. At this time, many
African-Americans were stereotyped as hoodlums and aggressive. Therefore,
the author is challenging this stereotype and conveying the idea that racism
was still prevalent in the 1970s.