If students are not trained to ask basic questions about the images which confront them, if they are not asked to examine the knowledge and assumptions which they already possess, they are being denied the opportunity to develop the most simple and essential critical tools.
Bio/Short Description
Judith Williamson is a professor, and journalist, and teaches cultural studies at the Maidstone College of Art. She is the author of Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising, Deadline at Dawn, and Consuming Passions: The Dynamics of Popular Culture.
HOW THEY INFLUENCED YOU?
External Links
http://www.teachingmedia.org/williamson-judith-decoding-advertisements/
Gallery
jwyatt7
Judith Williamson's Decoding Advertisements examines print advertising through the lens of semiotics and ideology. While the work is anchored in ads from the late 70s, the principles and theories developed by Williamson are incredibly insightful in understanding how advertising operates in our digital environment today. The work is focused, razor sharp and passionate in the engagement with the subject. I have used the text in many media advertising and media studies courses, and students always embrace Williamson's insights and method. My own work -- especially High Concept: Movies and Marketing in Hollywood -- draws from Williamson's seminal text in both method and analysis.