Visual+Literacy

In analyzing this visual for the Visual Literacy assignment, it becomes immediately apparent that the purpose is to inform Americans on the issue of over consumption, obesity, and not so much the health risks involved with a diet heavy in meats, but rather the ridiculous amount of meat that people eat in this country. Each picture establishes a sense of Perception, a method by which Gestalt is used to guide the viewer to a specific conclusion regarding the visual. Each picture is part of one whole message. The burger, hot dog, and bucket of KFC are there to associate the consumption of meat with the negative stereotype of unhealthiness connected to fast food. The Alignment of the visual is a bit off, though. The statistics listed are aligned to the right, while the word “Overprotiened,” is centered. It distracts the viewer, perhaps not even consciously, and makes the visual uncomfortable to look at. The shape and spacing of the visual is excellent, and the confined text serves to make the unfettered pictures of food stand out even more. The similarity of three of the items being present, each of which is an example of a fast food product, contrasts with the cute baby chicken at the bottom, making the chicken stand out over the other three images. All in all, the subliminal messages and ethical prodding ingrained in this piece of vegetarian propaganda serve to detract from the overall sense of ethos of the statistics. The visual strikes me as overly invasive, a guilt trip concocted by self important vegans that aren't content with their own life decisions, so they feel the need to justify them by converting as many omnivores as possible to another pietistic, jaded cause.

I plan on using visual literacy during creative assignments in the classroom, in powerpoint or SMARTNotebook presentations explaining cover art for different pieces of literature, analyzing what emotions they are supposed to evoke and what those emotions have to do with the storyline. Presently, I have several lesson plans specifically tailored to that dynamic of the classroom.