annotated bib, in progress

Heiligmann, Rodney, and Vickie Rutledge Shields. “Media Literacy, Visual Syntax, and Magazine Advertisements: Conceptualizing the Consumption of Reading by Media Literate Subjects.” Journal of Visual Literacy 25 (2005): 41-66.

This article analyzes visuals and media texts for underlying cultural and superlative beliefs. The advertisements are meant to create relationships with the reader and the initial relationship with the viewer is a power relationship, lending support to existing stereotypes and social/cultural hierarchies.

The authors reference different approaches to studying advertising, which gives me the overall picture without a biased view. The article is from Spring 2005, which I consider to be current and a significant contribution to media literacy.

The rhetoric “appeals” are rational, sensual, testimonial and worry. I can use the “appeals” in my analysis of a specific case, which will be the second half of my inquiry project. I think I will also be able to use the three meaning qualifications in advertising in my analysis: the meaning of a sign must be transferred to another (people to objects, object to object, social situation to object and feelings to objects), the connection by the viewer to product and the charged sign and the charged sign must have meaning to the viewer. These meanings got me thinking of potential cases to analyze that fit into these categories such as McDonald’s, “Think Pink” Campaign, and InspiRED. These three fall most into the social situation to object.

Morgan, Sara. “More than Pictures? An Exploration of Visualy Dominant Magazine Ads as Arguments.” Journal of Visual Literacy 25 (2005): 145-166.

Participants were asked to view eight visually dominant advertisements from magazines. There were to infer their thoughts on the product claim(s). The results found a small group of different claims about the actual product in the advertisement, but also the participants inferred multiple implications drawn from the advertisement.

This article is current, from Autumn 2005, and I believe it has authority and significant contributions to visually dominant advertisements. Sara Morgan addresses classical conditioning positives and negatives even though it is not her argument. I think this makes her credible and non-biased because it shows that she has done the research in her field to take note of a different approach than her own without taking a biased approach.

I will be able to use the advertising visual rhetoric techniques mentioned, such as rhyme and reversal, in the first half of my paper where I will analyze visual rhetoric. I also noticed Morgan and Rodney and Shields use some of the same sources, such as Mesaris.