January 2009

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Multimodality & Lingerie

January 28, 2009 in Visual Literacy | No comments

I know, I know, you guys are going to think that I’m Dr. All-PETA-All-The-Time, but I’m not. Really. It’s just that this rejected superbowl ad from PETA is practically awesome.

In class we’re reading and talking about multimodality — using more than one way of communicating in a single message. This ad, obviously, combines images with sounds (I know I’m supposed to think “generic hard-core sexiness, but I keep hearing the air-guitar riffs from Wayne’s World) and text (in a shaky, all-caps format that really tries to be more sext than text), to promote the vegetarian lifestyle.

Obviously, lingerie-wearing she-vegetarians are far too sexy to be broadcast on America’s favorite spectacle of big, beefy men trying to get good, solid, hard contact with each other in an ecstatic frenzy to get control of each other’s balls.

But come on, PETA. This is really, really, ridiculous. Where are the sexy underwear-ing he-vegetarians? And while the “Sexy Sausage” ad isn’t bad, it’s not the same thing. Especially as the chosen veggie delivery guy is … less than attractive. Even by bad 1970s porn standards. (Wait, how many ways is that last sentence fragment redundant and/or oxymoronic? I lost count.)

And if you check out the PETA site, be warned: the “Milk Gone Wild” ad is… pretty disturbing.

(X-posted to Digital Digressions)

Exploration 2

January 28, 2009 in Assignments | No comments

The Lazarus Project pp. 97-200
Gunter Kress’ “Literacy and Multimodality”
Due: 10am January 28th

Roy Batty: Did you get your precious pictures?
Leon: [Shakes his head.] Someone was there.
Rob Batty: Men?
Leon: [Hesitates, then nods.]
Roy Batty: Police men?
- – Blade Runner

Kress’ chapter on multimodality will be very useful for us as we move into works with closely and intricately intertwined text and image, but at first glance, Hemon’s The Lazarus Project appears to be only barely multimodal. Looking deeper, however, we might come to other conclusions about the work.

In this exploration, analyze the book as a multimodal work. What is it doing multimodally? Why? From what you’ve read and seen so far, why, do you think, did Hemon choose to include photos in this book? Thinking through these questions may prompt you to contemplate (as you did in Exploration 1) the connections (some obvious, some subtle) among the text and images, but it may also prompt you to explore the disjunctions among the text and images.

As always, your Exploration should be 1 page long, single-spaced.

Exploration 1

January 17, 2009 in Assignments | No comments

The Lazarus Project
pp. 1-96

Due: 10am January 21st

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe…”
–Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), Blade Runner

For this Exploration you are to select one of the images in pages 1-96 then do the following:

1) Describe the image in as much detail as possible. This description should be at least two paragraphs long.

2) Briefly describe (in one paragraph or less) a connection you see between that image and the themes or mood or narrative structure of the novel so far. That is, ignore the book’s plot. What else is going on between the image and the text?

Your exploration should be around one page long, single-spaced. E-mail it to me or drop it off in my mailbox (in Old Mill 413) by 10am.

Disturbing… And Delicious… Visuals

January 14, 2009 in Visual Literacy | No comments

Behold Spike, the makeup-wearing punk sea kitten:

But what does this have to do with Illustrated Novels? And what’s a sea kitten, anyway? (Kinda looks like a bluefin tuna, to me.) Click the link below to read all about it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to The Illustrated Novel Course Blog

January 1, 2009 in Blog News | No comments

This is the course blog for ENGS 282: The Illustrated Novel, a senior seminar at the University of Vermont. On this blog I will post the course syllabus and schedule, assignments, and resources and links related to the course materials.

Throughout the semester, I’ll also be updating the blog with items about illustrated novels and multimodal literacy.

Welcome!