Inhaltszusammenfassung

This article analyzes "The Photographer" (2009) focusing on the way that its multimodal character helps to create and shape possible readings in decisive ways which would not have been possible had any of the involved modes been used alone. Complementing but also contradicting each other, the modes of photography, drawing, and written text, together with color and graphic elements, represent the tireless efforts of the Doctors without Borders initiative in Afghanistan in 1986 while at the sam...This article analyzes "The Photographer" (2009) focusing on the way that its multimodal character helps to create and shape possible readings in decisive ways which would not have been possible had any of the involved modes been used alone. Complementing but also contradicting each other, the modes of photography, drawing, and written text, together with color and graphic elements, represent the tireless efforts of the Doctors without Borders initiative in Afghanistan in 1986 while at the same time reflecting on the problems involved in such a representation. While modes come with specific advantages that we tend to take for granted, their combination helps to highlight what one could call their limitations and shortcomings, which makes The Photographer an ideal text to both teach reading and analytical competences and reflect on a meta-level on such meaning-making processes. The articles starts by briefly defining and discussing the terms multimodality, mode, and literacy, providing working definitions suitable for the analysis. Secondly, a sketch of how The Photographer came into being as well as a brief look at genre and its implications for a reading of the text is provided. The paper then turns to selected passages of the graphic novel to show how a multimodal approach might not just help students to arrive at a more complex reading but also serve as a critical reflection of its representational strategies. Finally, suggestions of how one can work with "The Photographer" in the classroom are provided. » weiterlesen» einklappen

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Klassifikation

DFG Fachgebiet:
Literaturwissenschaft

DDC Sachgruppe:
Comics, Cartoons, Karikaturen