Images are tools in the social construction of reality. The meaning of images is not a feature of the image itself but the outcome of a communicative process that involves a negotiation between social actors with a stake, interest and resources to participate in the process. In this perspective, visual communication is a form of communication in which images are used and meanings negotiated, constructed, challenged etc. In a political perspective, one that looks at the competition for the distribution of values in society, visual communication and communication in general are greatly influential in establishing who gets what, when and how. While some believe that the emancipative power of digital visuality consists in the fact that this is a form of visual communication that facilitates non institutional and amateur production and circulation of images, I claim that the emancipative potential of this as other forms depends on their effects on the process through which images are given meaning – supporting or undermining openness, diversity, etc. – and on the nature of the meanings that can – or cannot – find expression in this process. The approach of social representation provides a useful conceptual framework for the systematic study of the visual construction of meaning in the digital age.

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数字视觉和社会表征。意义的视觉建构研究笔记

图像是现实社会建构中的工具。图像的含义不是图像本身的特征，而是交流过程的结果，该过程涉及具有利益，兴趣和资源的社会行为者之间进行谈判以参与该过程。从这个角度来看，视觉传达是一种交流形式，其中使用图像，并协商，构造，挑战等含义。从政治角度来看，它关注的是价值分配在社会中的竞争，视觉传达和一般的交流在确定谁获得什么，何时获得以及如何获得方面有很大的影响力。尽管有些人认为数字视觉的解放能力在于这样一种事实，即它是一种视觉交流形式，可以促进非机构性和业余性图像的生产和流通，但我认为这种形式的解放潜力取决于其对其他事物的影响。赋予图像含义的过程–支持或破坏开放性，多样性等–以及在此过程中可以或不能找到表达的意义的本质。社会表征方法为系统研究数字时代意义的视觉建构提供了有用的概念框架。多样性等–以及在此过程中可以或不能找到表达的意义的本质。社会表征方法为系统研究数字时代意义的视觉建构提供了有用的概念框架。多样性等–以及在此过程中可以或不能找到表达的意义的本质。社会表征方法为系统研究数字时代意义的视觉建构提供了有用的概念框架。