Visual journal

Beginning the  visual journal was quite daunting for me because i wasnt really sure what direction to take or if i was doing it right. I thought i might begin with images that contextualise fairy tales, and tried to come up with ideas based around this. I began by making collages of images that surround the fairytale timeline, beginning with oral tradition, how fairytales became widely known by word of mouth, and then how they progressed to literature by various authors such as the brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Andersen etc. I tried to use appropriate images here like the authors. I then went on to show images of how the fairytale has now been adopted by animation, with many peoples knowledge of fairytales beginning and ending with Disney animations. I then went on to show images of how the fairy tale has been further explored and reinvented in modern cinema, with films like 'Snow white and the Huntsman' and 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch hunters' changing the fairytale and bringing it up to date. I also explored how essential the fairytale genre is as inspiration for much of modern fantasy media; Lord of the rings, Narnia etc all take fairy tale elements and use them as inspiration.

Triangulation and referencing context research

To introduce my first essay I have been researching the author of 'The Uses of enchantment," Bruno Bettelheim. I have found some interesting context on the author that I think is helpful to keep in mind when analysing his quote. Bettelheim received alot of criticism, particularly after his death, from former students at the University of Chicago where he was director. These claimed emotional, physical and even sexual abuse. Apparently he also hired young and untrained staff on purpose, with one counselor recalling; "I didnt know a thing about mentally disturbed children. I think he hired us because he didnt want staff with its own ideas, people who had been trained by someone else." There are also acusations that he plagiarised alot of 'the uses of enchantment' and claimed false academic credentials. None of this disproves his theory that fairy tales are beneficial to children, but i think its interesting and important to keep in mind while reading and analysing his work, as his opinions may be quite biased.

Study Task 2: Triangulation table

Triangulation & Referencing Task Worksheet

Theme: Politics / Society / Culture / History / Technology / Aesthetics

Focus:Culture

Book reference (author, year of publish) e.g. “Jones, 2015”	Relevant key points in summary (use bullet points)	Additional notes (e.g. for or against)
Bettelheim, B. (1989)	·         Fairy tales give the message that a struggle against severe difficulties in life is unavoidable and an intrinsic part of human existence ·         if you do not shy away from the unexpected and perhaps unjust challenge, you will emerge victorious ·         modern stories written for young children mainly avoid existential problems	I agree that fairy tales could prepare a child with an awareness that life will not always be easy and that the idea that facing your problem rather than hiding from it is something that should be reinforced in a child's mind. I am more against the idea that modern stories avoid life's problems, as I think it is untrue in a lot of examples of modern children's literature.
Marilyn Fleer & Marie Hammer (2013)	·         Fairy Tales are an emotionally imaginative situation for helping children to become aware of their emotions and feeling state when engaged in the storytelling and reenactment of fairytales, potentially leading to the development of children’s self-regulation of emotions ·         Children make emotional corrections in emotionally imaginative situations. As the imaginary situations become more complex, more cognitive emotionality is needed reflecting the child’s own self and social awareness.	I agree that fairytales allow children to develop their own critical thinking and problem solving skills and should not be removed from school curriculum.
P. Tsitsani, S. Psyllidou, S. P. Batzios, S. Livas, M. Ouranos and D. Cassimos, (2010)	·         storytelling provides not only entertainment, but also a creative way to help children form a clear picture of themselves in order to be able to understand others and develop meaningful relationships with them ·         All parents agreed on the positive effect of fairy tales and quoted several behavioural patterns that their children exhibit in order to share their enthusiasm ·         fairy tales represent a literary genre concerned with finding solutions and developing the ‘self’ ·         the punishment of evil characters is well tolerated and does not seem to have a pathological effect upon children ·          Fundamental universal values and principles, such as courage, bravery, honesty and sincerity, can find, through storytelling, a safe conduct to children’s souls, thus influencing their future behaviour and their way of life.	The findings of this study on how parents believe fairytales affect their children are extremely positive and provide a lot of evidence supporting Bettelheim’s quote.
E. Pretorius , H. Naudé & U. Pretorius (2005)	·         Reading of fairytales only once to a child without repeating and discussing they does not necessarily improve the memory of a child; while facts repeated or ‘replayed’ enhance ‘memory’, and ‘memory practicing’ and environmental enrichment should form an integral part of a child’s education. ·         parents and educators should place more emphasis on memory ‘training’ activities followed by reinforcement of facts, than perhaps lengthy and sometimes taxing reading activities	I am inclined to disagree with this study, I think the way they have compared the learning a child would gain from the reading of fairy tales and the learning they would gain from memory exercises would both be helpful but teach the child completely different skills.

History of Type Part 2

In part two of Fred's lecture we were introduced to post modernism within type, beginning with the Bauhaus movement in the 1920s. I found this part of the lecture interesting, particularly the concept that "form follows function." This concept was key in developing the fonts we know today, and also in the birth of graphic design. During the Bauhaus movement all different areas of creative practice - such as theatre, fashion, interior design etc all came together. 

We also learned about the origins of fonts such as Helvetica and Arial. Helvetica was developed first and has survived so long because of its clean and basic style. The font represents the epitome of 20th Century Graphic Design. We also discussed the Comic Sans font in this lecture. It is supposedly easier for people with Dyslexia to understand, and while I dont hate it, I would say it should be used only in certain settings- and definitely not nay that are very important. The most interesting part of the lecture for me was when Fred discussed how the way we express type has almost come full circle- comparing the modern day emoji to cave paintings found in prehistoric times, both of which are used to convey meaning through an image.

Research sources

CoP theme: Culture

'In order to master the psychological problems of growing up [...] a child needs to understand what is going on with his conscious self so that he can also cope with that which goes on in his unconscious. [...] It is here that fairy tales have unequaled value, because they offer new dimensions to the child's imagination which would be impossible for him to discover as truly on his own.'

KEY TERMS: SOCIALISATION, IDEOLOGY, MYTH, NARRATIVE, STORYTELLING, ORAL HISTORY, MORALITY TALE, PROPAGANDA, DAYDREAMS, NIGHTMARES, GOOD, EVIL, HERO, VILLAIN.

LCA Library:

1. Franz, Marie-Louise, 1996, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales
2. Zipes, Jack, 1988, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales
3. Franz, Marie-Louise, 1993, The Feminine in Fairy Tales

Google Books:

1. Zipes, Jack, 2006, Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre, New York, Routledge
2. Haase, Donald, 2004, Fairy Tales and Feminism: New Approaches, Michigan, Wayne State University Press
3. Zipes, Jack, 1994, Fairy Tales as Myth, The University Press of Kentucky
4. Joosen, Vanessa, 2011, Critical and Creative perspectives on Fairy Tales, Michigan, Wayne State University Press
5. Tatar, Maria, 1992, Off with their heads!Fairy Tales and the culture of Childhood, New Jersey, Princeton University Press
6. Campbell, Joseph, 1949, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Green Press Initiative

Google Scholar:

1. Cook, Elizabeth, 1969, The Ordinary and the Fabulous: An Introduction to Myths, Legends, and Fairy Tales for Teachers and Storytellers, Cambridge University Press
2. Bacchilega, Cristina, 1997, Postmodern Fairy Tales: Gender and Narrative Strategies, University of Pennsylvania Press
3. Zipes, Jack, 1997, Fairy Tales, Children and the Culture Industry, New York, Routledge

Websites

1. http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15745/1/Influence-of-Fairy-Tales-on-Children.html
2. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/society-and-culture/moral-of-the-story/153.aspx
3. http://www.exquisiteterror.com/a-fairy-tale-influence
4. https://prezi.com/ywhwndbhu4dc/how-fairy-tales-impact-our-lives/

JStor

1. Bottigheimer, Ruth, 1986, Fairy Tales and Society: Illusion, Allusion, and Paradigm, University of Pennsylvania Press
2. Sparks, Christopher, 1984, Using Fairy Tales with Younger Children, International Literacy Association
3. Kidd, Kenneth, 2011, Freud in Oz: At the Intersections of Psychoanalysis and Children’s Literature, University of Minnesota Press
4. Stone, Kay, 1975, Things Walt Disney Never told Us, American Folklore Society

  
  

Type- Production and Distribution

Our third lecture was on the history of Typography. The lecture was focused on the chronology and evolution of type. I found the lecture very interesting, especially seeing the origin of different languages and how long some different kinds of type have been around that we still use today. I found the observation that "Type is what language looks like" very interesting. We focused on the occidental hemisphere and the origins of writing here that led to the creation of western languages. I found it very informative and interesting, particularly the slides about how symbols in different languages have evolved, such as egyptian, greek and latin. I also found it interesting to learn about the Rosetta Stone, which I had never heard of before. Towards the end of the lecture we talked about the Bauhaus movement and how it is almost a modernist idea of a visual language, and industrialisation mixed with design. The lecture on type will continue with part 2 next week.

OUAN401- Seminars

List of Quotes

During our first seminar with Richard, he introduced us to a list of quotes, one of which we would pick to focus on for the year to investigate and write essays on. I decided on the following quote;

'In order to master the psychological problems of growing up [...] a child needs to understand what is going on with his conscious self so that he can also cope with that which goes on in his unconscious. [...] It is here that fairy tales have unequaled value, because they offer new dimensions to the child's imagination which would be impossible for him to discover as truly on his own.'

I chose this quote as it was the one which appealed to me the most. The quotes were obviously intended to be challenging but this is the one I felt I could explore the most without becoming too frustrated or losing interest. I am looking forward to exploring the deeper meanings to Fairy Tales and the fact they aren't merely stories for children. I thought many of the topics we have to explore, such as gender, would be interesting to write about in the context of Fairy tales.

OUAN401- History of the Image lecture

History of the Image

In this lecture with Richard we were introduced to the visual communication of art throughout history. We began by talking about prehistoric cave paintings on walls and how drastically art has changed over such a long period of time. We discussed artists such as Rothko, and how emotions are connected to art, or how we are expected to react to different artists work. I found this all very interesting, if a little hard to get my head around. Richard then discussed how modern art has been affected by consumerism and reproductions  of the original work, for example how widely spread the image of the Mona Lisa is now in the digital age, and how it takes value away from the actual work itself and is purely for profit. This lecture opened my mind to the way art can be perceived, from cave paintings to modern art that may not be seen as 'real art' but means a lot to the artist who created it.

COP1 Visual Literacy lecture

Visual Literacy

  In our first lecture we were introduced to the importance of visual language and how it is our job as animators to communicate through image, type and motion. We need to be able to effectively communicate ideas, concepts and content to different audiences in a range of contexts. Visual communication is based around the shard understanding of signs, symbols, gestures and objects, and is affected by audience, context, media and method of distribution. I found it very interesting to explore how much influence Visual literacy actually has on society. The ability to construct meaning from visual images and type is a necessary skill in society today. It is essentially the idea that pictures can be read. The conventions of visual communication are a range of universal and cultural symbols that we are surrounded with on a daily basis. Fred used many different images as interesting examples of how expansive and effective visual communication can be. For example, what does the following image communicate to us:

And why does our interpretation of it change whenever it looks like this:

One of the most interesting points that Fred brought up was the following; "All that is necessary for any language to exist is an agreement amongst a group of people that one thing will stand for another." We also learned about Visual Semantics and Visual Syntax. Syntax refers to the pictorial structure and visual organisation of elements while Semantics refers to the way an image fits into a cultural process of communication. 

We then learned about Semiotics: the study of signs and processes. I found this part of the lecture very interesting as we learned about how different versions of an image can act as symbols signs, and signifiers. For example, how the Apple logo symbolises an apple but is a sign for Apple products. It signifies quality, innovation, creativity, design etc. Fred further broke this down into logo, Identity and Brand. He also talked about Visual Synecdoche, the term applied when a part is used to represent a whole, or vice versa. The main subject is substituted for something that is connected with it, however this only works if what the synecdoche represents is universally recognized. He also talked about Visual Metonym and Visual Metaphor.