"The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures"

 Postman and Powers wrote that there are different levels of language.  In the article, they described the purpose of three levels of language-one to describe an event, two to evaluate an event and three to infer.  When one describes, he or she states facts mostly based on what he or she sees without judging.  To evaluate, one may describe but often times with judgments.  Inference is based on the observation of the speaker; it is a statement about something unknown.  Words should be used with caution has they may be interpreted in many different ways.  It depends on the tone and the event at hand.

It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but what’s a picture without a meaning?  It would be an empty object that tells nothing.  Two types of pictures are moving pictures and stationary pictures.  Moving pictures are a kind of language, one that is different from oral or written language.  Postman and Powers said that this difference is crucial for understanding the news on television and that their vocabulary is limited to concrete representation.  Moving pictures can be found on television.  They are used in movies, commercials, the news and so much more.  Moving pictures favor images that change.  One can understand these pictures because of the words and sounds that follow them.  Think of a moving picture as a series of events that sticks in one’s mind.

Stationary pictures are another form of language.  Just like moving pictures they, differ from oral or written language.  Stationary pictures can be found printed on magazines, books, and newspapers.  They are used to enhance the written language.  Take the newspaper; they use small clips of stationary pictures to show an event.  The newspaper will provide details has to what happened during and after the flooding, but adding a clip of the flooding makes the news more effective.  Stationary pictures are not as effective as moving pictures because a moving picture reveals a lot more detail and has a lot more components.

Viewers rely on the news to inform them of what’s happening around the world.  How this news is presented to the viewers may be misleading.  It may not be untrue, but the news reporter or journalist may describe it in a way that the viewers may misunderstand.  “Almost all words have connotative meanings.”  Postman and Powers believe that this statement suggests that even when attempting to use purely descriptive language, a journalist cannot avoid expressing an attitude about what he or she is saying.  Here is the opening sentence of an anchor’s report about national examinations: “For the first time in the nation’s history, high-level education policymakers have designed the elements for a national examination system similar to the one advocated by President Bush.”  Now this statement is very descriptive but it is filled with pure ambiguities.  The news may exaggerate on a topic to make it seems more than what it is or the news may not place enough emphasis on the topic.  The reporter may give a detailed report on an event that occurred, but a fraction of the report may be fictional.  The viewer will not know which part of the report is fictional.  An option for the viewer would be to know that while there is some truth in the report, they shouldn’t believe it in its entirety. 



Postman.N & Powers. S
Pop perspective ch 8; pg481-489

 

W/C 560