Images and society (or Images, Society and its Decoding)

Abstract

Common sense, the thinking of the people par excellence, asserts that: a picture is worth a thousand words. This is a big mistake. The images are not carriers of meanings. The images always go through three basic processes are: production, circulation and reception. These processes are always determined in the time and social space. They are always the result of multiple relationships (social, ideological, political, moral, religious, etc.), established with them. Always there are so many elements beyond the image, which determines its meaning. The meaning of an image always depends on the relationships established with it in a historical time and space, socially and culturally determined. The images are never alone. To decrypt their meanings, you must first know the symbolic life of the societies in which they appear. Images do not have a single meaning because it depends on the historical and cultural geography which presents. The images always have a close relationship with the society they were born. The Muhammad cartoons not offend everyone equally.