Journal #3 Response: "Gains and Losses: New Forms of Texts, Knowledge, and Learning"

Kress states that "each of the modes available for representation in a culture provides 'specific potentials and limitations for communication'" and asserts that text is being "replaced" by image
While he says that the modes of communication that we choose are motivated by "the social" and that the effects of representation and communication are outcomes of economics and politics, there are many instances in which the state of the political atmosphere and economy may motivate the social usage of text versus image as a mode of communication, or vice versa. For example, Kress himself mentions that the mediums for different modes of communication are a typically books for text and a screen for image; the limitations of the book and the advent of "distinct cultural technologies." It's not just society that has caused image to be preferable to text; the demands of the economy and the need to communicate efficiently and quickly demanded by political events. Economic interests drive society to need to convey and receive messages quickly, clearly, and in ways that are accessible to many people. 

Fig 1. Flow of cause and effect for motivation of what mode of communication/representation to use. 

I think it's ironic that Kress is discussing how people are moving away from the written word, and yet the author writes with a style that may alienate many readers. For example, on page 291, he has three sentences spanning 4 lines. Many of his sentences are of such a complex structure that they would be difficult for an ESL reader to understand. This being said, how can we even make our audiences aware of these issues or open to our ideas about the usability of text, without communicating it in a way that they can participate in the discussion and engage in the ideas?

I have taken two classes on the juxtaposition, disposition, and comparative usage of text, static image, and video: Document Design from Dixie State University's English department, and Comic Books and Graphic Novels from Coursera. The issues surrounding text and images as modes of communication, whether discussed in the context of supplementing and enhancing one another, or--in the context of the Ullman and Kress's articles--competing with one another, is one that evokes a lot of emotional bias in almost any discussion of the two, and even crops up in prescriptive discussions such as when professionals and academics discuss the usability and best practices in using the two.

Kress, Gunther. "Gains and Losses: New Forms of Texts, Knowledge, and Learning." Multimodal Composition: A Critical Sourcebook, edited by Claire Lutkewitte, Bedford/St. Martins, 2014, pp. 283-301