Visual Literacy

I actually took a film class in the English department last semester, in which my instructor asked us to "read the films." We would watch a variety of films, and analyze them scene by scene. We would look at every angle, every expression, every movement, and through that come up with the meaning of the "text" which was the movie.

I never had thought of myself as "reading" while watching movies, or anything, but through that class I discovered that looking at something analytically and and deciphering the meaning makes one literate. My teacher was extremely literate in film, I however just broke the surface; but I can say that I now watch movies with a bit more critical eye.

I think it can be said that there is such a thing as visual literacy. It can be complex, to piece together sound and images, and put together all elements that make a movie, and "read" them for what they are meant to be.