There’s always two sides to a story. We’ve all heard that line at least a few times, especially when we didn’t want to see the other side. However, sometimes those two sides are polar opposites.
Ambigram Examples
The link above leads to a website filled with ambigrams. Unfortunately, I can’t copy and paste them all here to show you exactly what they look like, but by rolling your mouse over the pictures, the image will automatically flip over to expose the other side. As you will see, an ambigram is a special design that spells out one word, but when the design is turned a different direction, looks completely different. It may spell out the same word, a different word, or may have words hidden in it, but regardless, a different way of looking at the design will give a different interpretation of the word.
When I read this article, I felt that the two opposing sides, Adorno and Fiske, represented the two different ways of interpreting an ambigram.
Adorno looks at media as a “commodity” and we choose from a “limited range presented by the culture industry” (20-21). They view media as more of propaganda against the masses which doesn’t care as much about the idea behind so much as selling as many as possible. They also believe that since we are so immersed in media there is “no opportunity for resistance to develop” (22). This belief leans more towards the side that media has the power.
However, on the opposite side, Fiske argues that the audience maintains more of the power. He says that “the power of the audience to interpret media texts, and determine their popularity, far outweighs the ability of media institutions to send a particular message or ideology to audiences within their texts” (23). He believes that what is popular is popular by choice; the audience decides what it likes and doesn’t like, what it will watch and ignore, and what will dominate in a culture and what won’t.
It is clear that neither side of the argument is entirely right; however, each side does have some validity. When it comes to power in the media one side will read it as “media” but if you flip it over, the other side will read it as “audience.” This ambigram will never read the same upside down and right side up.
The link above leads to a website filled with ambigrams. Unfortunately, I can’t copy and paste them all here to show you exactly what they look like, but by rolling your mouse over the pictures, the image will automatically flip over to expose the other side. As you will see, an ambigram is a special design that spells out one word, but when the design is turned a different direction, looks completely different. It may spell out the same word, a different word, or may have words hidden in it, but regardless, a different way of looking at the design will give a different interpretation of the word.
When I read this article, I felt that the two opposing sides, Adorno and Fiske, represented the two different ways of interpreting an ambigram.
Adorno looks at media as a “commodity” and we choose from a “limited range presented by the culture industry” (20-21). They view media as more of propaganda against the masses which doesn’t care as much about the idea behind so much as selling as many as possible. They also believe that since we are so immersed in media there is “no opportunity for resistance to develop” (22). This belief leans more towards the side that media has the power.
However, on the opposite side, Fiske argues that the audience maintains more of the power. He says that “the power of the audience to interpret media texts, and determine their popularity, far outweighs the ability of media institutions to send a particular message or ideology to audiences within their texts” (23). He believes that what is popular is popular by choice; the audience decides what it likes and doesn’t like, what it will watch and ignore, and what will dominate in a culture and what won’t.
It is clear that neither side of the argument is entirely right; however, each side does have some validity. When it comes to power in the media one side will read it as “media” but if you flip it over, the other side will read it as “audience.” This ambigram will never read the same upside down and right side up.
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