Book Four
Language and the Visual
Photography, film, and television have changed the world more
than Gutenberg's printing press. Much of the blame for the
decline in literacy is attributed to them, especially to movies
and television. More recently, computer games and the Internet
have been added to the list of culprits. Studies have been
conducted all over the world with the aim of discovering how
film and television have changed established reading habits,
writing ability, and the use and interpretation of language.
Patterns of publishing and distribution of information,
including electronic publication and the World Wide Web (still
in its infancy), have also been analyzed on a comparative basis.
Inferences have been drawn concerning the influence of various
types of images on what is printed and why, as well as on how
writing (fiction, science, trade books, manuals, poetry, drama,
even correspondence) has changed.
In some countries, almost every home has a television set; in
others even more than one. In 1995, the number of computers sold
surpassed that of television sets. In many countries, most
children watch television and films before they learn to read. In
a few countries, children play computer games before ever
opening a book. After they start to read, the amount of time
spent in front of a TV set is far greater than the time
dedicated to books. Adults, already the fourth and fifth
generations of television viewers, are even more inclined to
images.
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