Images and Texts: “We Are Each
Other’s Helper”
Pictures
are commonly includes in news reports, stories, novels and research papers. Speaking
from personal experience, I have to admit that pictures attract me to a text
because they provide the visual representations. If the news does not include
pictures, I will feel bored. In the article of “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire”, Errol
Morris mentions pictures are dependent on captions and texts; they cannot
represent the true or false for the whole stories. I agree with Morris’s ideas
and I also think images and texts help each other to make the perfect stories.
In my opinion, I think the relationship between pictures and texts are great
match because pictures can establish visual situations for readers and texts can
explain the exact stories for the pictures.
The
first thing I want to point out is images can help texts become alive, and it is a useful tool to catch reader’s
attentions. When we read the news or other texts, the words and information are
too objective so that a lot of times, it will not give readers a direct feeling
of the stories. However, if there are some pictures showing in the stories to
represent the current situations, the whole things will become alive. For
example, the news from BBC news websites talks about illegal immigration in the
U.S., and a picture is shown above the whole news. There are two separate parts
in the pictures: 4 people stand in the one side of double steel fence and wave
their hand to the others, and others are stand inside of double steel fence. It
shows that they are saying good-bye to each other. Below the picture, the
caption writes: A
group of recently deported immigrants stand near the double steel fence that
separates San Diego and Tijuana. After see the picture, I just got a feeling of
the leaving and separation; after reading the caption, I know there are illegal
immigrants who have to face leaving; and after I read the whole article, I know
that the difficult situation those illegal immigrations have and I think the
pictures make me feel their pain.
A group of recently deported immigrants stand near the double steel fence that separates San Diego and Tijuana at the border in Tijuana.
(The original link:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/21/us-usa-immigration-idUSBRE91K01A20130221)
The pictures cannot provide strong evidence for stories or
news, but it will made a strong influence to your mind about thinking those
situations. Pictures are not the centric part of news or stories, but it can
improve or forward them.
The
second thing is texts or captions can explain the real situations for pictures
and make the whole things alive. Pictures includes a lot of information, but if
there are just pictures without any words, readers will feel confused or
mislead by the meaning of pictures. The first picture below is a great example
of this statement. The cartoon shows one worker is pushed down by someone use a
manhole cover, and the cover is the shape of US area.
However, when we look at the original source, the whole
article talks about illegal immigrations will not hurt US economy; increase the
rate of unemployment and how illegal immigrants help Americans. The picture
shows that a illegal immigrations is trying to come out from the manhole and it
represents a lot of illegal immigrants do the low-ends jobs; Someone does not
want him to come out and the cover represents the some American do not welcome
those illegal immigrants to come to US. This picture can let readers make
questions when they see it, and after reading the whole things, readers may
change their mind about those immigrations, and this is the magic of this
picture.
In
conclusion, I think pictures can give the visual situations and represent the
short summary of news. Also, texts can explain the details for pictures to make
it has more values so that pictures and texts are dependent on each other to
make the good articles.
The cartoon is really interesting, and it has inner implication. Without reading the story, people cannot figure out its real meaning. It attracts people’s attention to read the whole story. The picture here do catch readers’ attention and explain the real situation and make the all thing alive.
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