written by: Eleanor Cwik
Photo credit: Andrew Medichini
This photo, published by the mediated source, Mercury News, is an example of asymmetrical mass communication. If we follow Laswell’s formula, then we can define the chain of communication of this photo. The “communicator” being Mercury News, the “message” being the photo of the Pope giving his blessings from his window in Italy, the “medium” being an online news source, and the “audience/receiver” being their weekly or daily viewers, or the masses. Lastly, we have the “intended effects,” which in the case of Mercury News, is to share an update from Corona-ridden Italy, which in my interpretation is a message of hope even through uncertain and trying times.
Visual Context Analysis
Firstly, let’s chart this photo on the Visual Context Analysis Chart created by M.G. Müller and A. Kappas (2011). This chart helps us define the context in which a photo is produced and received. Easier to start with is the reception concept, since this photo was published by an online news source, it is obvious to note that it will fall in the “journalistic” column. More difficult to discern would be the production context. As the photo was taken by an individual, it could fit into the “private” row, but then the image was sold to a journalistic source, making it also fall under the “journalistic” row. So, as you can see in the chart below, I categorized it as both.
Down and Dirty Analysis
Before we dive too deep into interpretation, we should start with the pre-iconographic step of analyzing visuals. This step consists of simply making observations, without connecting those aspects to anything else.
What do I see? (pre-iconographic phase): Pope Francis is standing at a large window, he is wearing his traditional garb and cross, and his right hand is extended, while his left sits on the window sill. The sun (or light source) is fairly bright, making the Pope illuminated and squint a bit.
Now, we can move onto the iconographic stage, where we will further describe and begin to interpret this image.
What do I see and what does it mean? (iconographic phase): The pope is standing at a big window, and seems to be there with the intention to reach many people. His hands are positioned as if he is giving a blessing, or a speech. My inference would be that he is either leading mass, giving a speech, or giving a blessing from a window of his house or church. Additionally, I can use my knowledge of the pathos formula to identify the signifiers of pain in his face, which could mean he is in distress, or is simply worried.
Lastly, we can approach the iconological phase, where we will form interpretations from context clues.
What is the meaning (or message) of the visual with context? (iconological phase): In the case of this photo, it was attached to an article, so after reading the article and using my own knowledge of the world today, I can further interpret the meaning of this photo with proper context. This photo was taken on March 22nd, 2020 of Pope Francis as he was giving his blessings to the Christians of the world, from the window of his private library at the Vatican. Where he urged them to recite “Our Father” on the upcoming Wednesday as a global blessing, in hopes of curbing the atrocities of COVID-19. He is standing in the window, because all public events have been canceled in light of the very contagious Coronavirus. Rather than being able to hold his normal mass on Sunday, he had to keep his distance, and give his blessing from a window for all to see.
Link to article: https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/22/photos-fighting-the-coronavirus-abroad-in-italy-and-spain/
Cultural Context
Furthermore, I should expand on the cultural context of this image. Cultural context explains how meaning (of a visual/text/etc..) differs from culture to culture, region to region, person to person. For example, as a non-religious person or atheist scientist, this photo of the pope is encouraging, sweet, and uplifting, but when connected to individual values, holds little importance. Whereas, for a christian Italian living near the Vatican, this photo (or even experience) could be of extreme value, a sign of hope for those in times of crisis. In short, this photo will be interpreted by all people differently, depending on their culture, background, values, etc… This just happens to be my analysis of the image, which includes influence from my background, as well as (unwished) bias.