RATIONALE

Issues addressed by this activity are the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudice through the media and the use and misuse of images to provide information and to evoke emotive responses.

OBJECTIVES

• To explore how pictures are used in the press.
• To develop skills of critical analysis

REQUIREMENTS

• Time: 45 minutes
• Group size: 6+

PREPARATION

• Print the photos of the handouts, preferably in A3 format, colour.
• Strips of paper, pens, pins or tape to attach pictures to the walls.

DESCRIPTION

1. Pin or tape the pictures on a wall.
2. Give participants strips of plain paper and ask them to look at each picture in turn and then to write two alternative headlines, one positive and one negative, on separate strips of paper.
3. When everyone is ready stick the headlines under the pictures, clustering the positive ones on the left side and the negative ones on the right side. Offer 10 minutes for this.
4. After all participants placed their headlines offer another 5 minutes for them to review the photos and the headlines that were associated to them.

DISCUSSION TOPICS (DEBRIEFING & EVALUATION)

• How many different interpretations were there for each picture?
• Why do you think that different people see different things in the same picture?
• Pictures are considered to show the truth and are often an instrument that is used to back a claim. To what extent do you think pictures show the truth of what happened in a situation?
• What can this activity teach us about the use of pictures to convey information, arouse emotions, provoke sympathy etc?

Method inspired from the Education Pack "all different - all equal", Council of Europe, second edition revised in 2016, pg 176-177, https://rm.coe.int/1680700aac, 09/10/2019