Representing Meaning In Visual Images In Visual Narratives

With the development of science and technology and the advent of the digital information age,the media and channels of information exchange are no longer limited to text,but include images,colors,lines,spatial layout and other symbols.This kind of discourse,which integrates multiple symbols to construct meaning,is called multimodal discourse,which places a higher demand on discourse analysis.Painter et al.(2013)developed a systematic and comprehensive visual narrative analytical framework,which,different from the previous frameworks for single image analysis,can provide a more profound interpretation of complex multi-modal narrative discourse.Picture books were born in the seventeenth century in Europe,passed to the United States in the 1930 s and then ushered in the golden age.In Taiwan,the representative writer Jimmy has caused a boom in reading picture books.In the mainland,however,the creation of picture books is only at the initial stage or is called renaissance.Previous multimodal studies focus on political cartoons,advertisements and illustrations in textbooks or magazine,rarely involving this art form.Based on the visual narrative analytical framework of Painter et al.,this thesis makes a deep interpretation of three selected works by the Taiwan writer Jimmy and explores how meaning is constructed through visual modality so as to attract readers and produce aesthetic experience.First,the visual narrative analytical framework has strong explanatory power and applicability for complex multi-modal narrative texts such as picture books and movies.Second,the theory provides a new perspective for multi-modal discourse analysis,gives more comprehensive and in-depth analysis of how to convey meaning and appeal to readers through the selection and combination of different elements.Third,different choices made by the author are consistent with the style of works on the one hand,and the author's personal experience,cultural trends and social psychology on the other hand,which result from a specific social and economic base.In short,by comparing three picture books,this study shows that this theory plays an important role not only in constructing meaning but also in examining cultural differences.In this study,the visual narrative analytical framework is applied to the research of picture books,which proves the feasibility and broadens the application of the theory.Meanwhile,this study not only helps to better read and understand the works,but also can bring inspiration to the creation and design of picture books so as to realize the revitalization of native picture book industry and improve cultural soft power.