Work from his oeuvre.
“In the field of social semiotic theory (amongst other fields) the term modality (originally used in linguistics) is often used when referring to the truth-value or credibility of statements about the world. In Reading Images – The Grammar of Visual Design, by Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen, the authors argues that modality should be conceived as interpersonal, meaning that information (of all sorts) doesn’t express absolute truths or falsehoods itself; it produces shared truths based on values and beliefs belonging to the specific social group that we live, work and/or interact within. Thus, by interpreting the modality markers (collectively developed out by each social group), we are able to decide whether the information is reliable and true or if it should be treated with circumspection.
As Holsanova and Nord suggests through the quotation on the previous page, the act of reading and interpreting information today is more characterized by multi-modality, rather than a singular modality. As the prefix implies, both information as such and the way we assimilates it has become more and more scattered and is highly dependent on recipients own models of reading and interpreting. The rapidly increased possibilities of access to information through the Internet via laptops, mobile phones and other media have dramatically changed the speed and the nature of how we consume information. Hence, the way in which we browse through different types of information has made the consumption of it a more individual activity, creating greater allowance and acceptance towards more subjective interpretations and opinions of it.” – Johan Eldrot
No comments:
Post a Comment