Turning media into emojis took me longer than I originally anticipated. Initially, I tried to think about whether my focus should be on the words of the title or words related to the plot or words related to the core atmosphere and themes. In the beginning, I tried to focus on key themes – thinking about what emojis symbolized those ideas. When I typed them out, it seemed so broad, and I realized I had to approach it from thinking about how someone else would view them. This idea is reflected in Kress’ 2005 article about how the author is no longer has the sole authority over meaning. Readers have way more agency within digital media spaces to shape their own knowledge (Kress, 2005).
In the end, I used a blend of all three, trying to capture the essence of the story in ways that others would quickly understand. I rewatched part of the media and wrote down key objects and symbols that defined the media. Luckily I did choose a piece of media that has very specific and dramatic symbols and ideas attached to it. After this, it was a lot easier. In thinking about other TV and movies, I could see it being a lot harder. This assignment had me thinking about if the popularity of this media was due to the specificity of the symbols it invokes. Whether it’s success has to due with its easy branding.
Kress, G. (2005), Gains and losses: New forms of texts, knowledge, and learning. Computers and Composition, 2(1), 5-22.