Language and Government

Welcome back

During my summer break, I encountered something that I had forgotten about, that being the advertisement of politicians for the role of the president within South Africa. I had immediately noticed all of the posters that had been place around the cities, townships and urban areas, with all of them promoting a specific party. I began to analyse them, sort of like we did in the beginning of the year with the advertisements in Language and Media, almost immediately recognising the similarities between the posters and advertisements. The use of bright colours to project the poster forward, use of language, both simple and different a lot of the time, due to the country having eleven official languages. After applying what I had learnt in the beginning of the year, to that current situation, I discovered how they used the bright colours that stood out to attract people, used very simple language so that those who had not gained  a full or no education could understand and feel as if they were being looked after by the politicians and the government. Through this I was able to grasp a firm understanding of how the parties worked, with most aiming at gather their votes from the uneducated masses of South Africa, however others either focusing on the middle class, or a mix of both.

Further Understanding of the media

Welcome back to my blog, so far its been a great summer and here is something new I have learnt.

Over this summer break, I had signed up for a photography course, the main reason being to gain new skills for my IB Art course. Through this experience I had learned quite a few things about photography and its huge connection to the media, which has a huge effect on society. In the beginning of the year, my class began our study on language and media, which had become the favoured topic within our Lang and Lit class, due to how relatable it was to the students, both male and female. Through media, social norms, stereotypes have been established, such as gender roles, or society’s visual expectations of the sexes. After my course I now understand that it has become so easy to edit the images, we as the public are presented each day through the media. I had gained the knowledge on how specific angles and stances changed the outcome of a photo. The use of programs such as Photoshop and lightroom, exploited for their accuracy and detail for editing the photos and images. With these false images created they are able to project the ideals form by society with ease, as there is now a visual stimulation in front of the reader’s eyes. However, a new respect was formed as well, the skill that is needed for this has to be admired, along with the dedication that these men and women have for their work. I have learnt how and why these people do this, and why a little edit can enhance an image, however the modern media may have taken it too far. 

Never fully trust the media, for there will always be lies, but I'm sure you already know that