In this task, I initially wanted to describe one of my favourite films, <Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind>. However, I immediately felt stuck trying to visualize the word “Eternal.” According to Kress (2005), elements in an image are simultaneously present, which made it difficult for me to represent abstract temporal concepts like eternity through emojis. This limitation forced me to choose a different film, one with more concrete visual metaphors.
When creating the plot with emojis, I first attempted to translate the title using a syllabic approach, but I quickly shifted to a word-for-word method and ultimately settled on a conceptual approach. This focus on ideas felt more intuitive for representing the narrative, which naturally led me to apply the same conceptual strategy when constructing the plot.
This experience also made me reconsider whether the meaning I assign to an emoji is universal. For example, I recently discovered that this emoji is intended to represent a hug! I had always used it to signify “welcome” or “jazz hands”. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had unintentionally confused people in the past. This realization highlights that while emojis are intuitive visual elements, they are not universal. I find myself curious whether the readers will interpret my plot in this task as intended or whether our visual vocabularies differ. (Indeed, when I shared my emoji draft with my husband, he was unable to recognize the movie I described..!)
While emojis effectively convey emotions, their meaning can remain ambiguous without text. This resonates with Bolter’s (2001) discussion of picture writing. Bolter explains that visual signs can sometimes convey too much information, leading to a lack of precise narrative power. Without the anchoring effect of prose, the visual modality is open to diverse interpretations. As Kress (2005) noted, “Speech and writing tell the world; depiction shows the world.”
In conclusion, my experience confirms that the most effective communication occurs when multiple modalities complement each other. This synergy aligns with Bolter’s concept of remediation, where digital media integrate images and prose to achieve greater immediacy and authenticity. To convey a rich and accurate narrative, it is essential to strategically select and combine modalities according to the purpose and audience.
Gemini (Google, 2026) was used to refine the grammar, spelling, and overall clarity of this post.
References
Bolter, J. D. (2001). Chapter 4: The Breakout of the Visual. In Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kress, G. (2005), Gains and losses: New forms of texts, knowledge, and learning. Computers and Composition, 2(1), 5-22.
Claire Ji
March 29, 2026 — 11:02 am
Hi SooYoung, I enjoyed reading your reflections a lot. I liked the point you raised that emojis are not universal and can remain ambiguous without text. Your example of the emoji that is supposed to represent a hug but you interpreted as “welcome” or “jazz hands” really shows how visual symbols depend on personal experience and cultural understanding (I never knew the exact meaning this emoji either until now). This made me realize that when we communicate through emojis, we often assume others share the same visual vocabulary, but that is not always true.
I also agree with your point that multiple modalities work best when they complement each other. When I created my emoji movie plot, I noticed that emotions were easy to represent visually, but the narrative sequence and specific meaning were harder to communicate without words. This connects well to Bolter’s idea that images alone can sometimes be too open to interpretation and that meaning is strongest when text and images work together rather than separately.
Looking at how your work is presented, I also noticed that your page contains written reflection supported by images, which privileges textual and conceptual literacy more than purely visual literacy. Compared to my work, I think your structure guides the reader more clearly through your thinking process, while mine relies more on interpretation.
chanj54
March 30, 2026 — 2:43 am
Hi Sooyoung,
I really connected with your struggle to pin down the word ‘Eternal.’ – that little emoji is a great illustration of Kress’s point. See, an emoji is just a static image, but the idea of eternity is always changing, something that shifts with time – that shows just how much more emojis are good at conveying a mood rather than telling a story in a real way
Your ‘jazz hands’ vs ‘hug’ moment made me chuckle . It’s such a textbook example of polysemy – who knew an image that seemed so universal could mean so many different things to different people? I especially loved the part where your husband just had no idea what you were trying to say – and how that shows that without words to keep things straight, images can actually end up giving you way too much info – making it seem like they’re just floating around with no meaning at all.
I absolutely agree about remediation – for me, emojis are like a splash of colour on a map, the words are the actual map. Has that changed how you use them in your day to day writing, or are you still kind of leaning into that ambiguity and letting the emoji speak for itself?