I need a dedicated place for journaling my work on the Digital Media and Composition final project, and since this is public and WordPress is on our schedule I’ll try using my u.osu.edu blog.
So, step one is try out ideas for a “Concept in 90” video. The prompt is straightforward: create a 90-second video text that illustrates the concept and/or power of multimodality.
I find the cultural codes and coding of gesture fascinating. Code may not be quite the right word. It depends on our subject position, I guess, and how I mean “code.” So, some gesture are coded in the sense they invite some people in (and, by implication, keep others out). The sign of the cross is for Christian worshipers; the Scout salute is for those in Scouts. Outsiders may see and understand those gestures, but there’s a sense in which they do not receive it. Yet all gestures are coded in the sense they convey meaning. Young people learn the sign for “hi” and “bye” often before speaking. Thumbs up may not convey a complex message, but clearly it’s coded in a way that allows it to be nearly universally used by sender or receiver.
We might say the coding of some gestures like applause or thumbs up is so strong as to make irony or ambiguity difficult. Does anyone every doubt the sincerity of the audience clapping?
There’s one other way to take the idea of gestural coding, though, that is more interesting. There’s something meme-like to gestures that accumulate cultural significance for multiple audiences, multiple purposes. The fist bump, dap greeting, money sign, Clinton speaking thumb, Mr. Burns’ excellent finger rubbing. Although all gestures are meme-like, these examples suggest a special category. These examples gain cultural currency as a part of their remediation. Part of this has to do with how parody and imitation promotes popularity (or perceived cultural significance). However, on some level these gestures are attractive because they invite experimentation and play.
I have a lot to think about. Is a typology of gesture really something I want to work out? If these special gestures are just memes, so what? What about cultural appropriation? And, how to illustrate any of this in a 90-second video?
I’ll wrap up with a funny story, though, and leave the tough questions for later. My kids have taken to watching a vlogger who ends his videos by asking viewers to express their appreciation by “smashing the ‘like button’.” After hearing this a few times, I started making fun of it. Soon my kids were running around asking me to smash the like button. Now, instead of high fives, I hold out my hand and ask them to smash the like button.