Central to Kress' and van Leeuwen's analysis of composite or multimodal texts lies a discernable frustration at the lack of vocabulary for their project: "Our insistence on drawing comparisons between language and visual communications stems from this objective. We seek to break down the disciplinary boundaries between the study of language and the study of images, and we seek, as much as possible, to use compatible language, and compatible terminology in speaking about both, for in actual communication the two and indeed many others come together to form integrated texts"(183--my italics) In other words, Kress and van Leeuwen aim to provide at least a rudimentary vocabulary by which to attempt such a language, and in the following cases, such an attempt can best be expained by making visible some of the cultural values/practices at work behind "literacy."

Given and New: The Informational Value of Left and Right

Basing their initial investigations of the "left/right phenomenon" on Australian women's magazines, the authors conclude that a certain pattern emerges as a result of comparing the images and items which habitually inhabit the left or right side of a magazine layout. Kress and van Leeuwen conclude:..."the left (page/side) is the side of the 'already given,' something the reader is assumed to know already, as part of the culture, or at least part of the culture of the magazine...the meaning of the New (right side) is therefore 'problematic,' 'contestable,' 'the information is 'at issue;' while the Given (left side) is presented as commonsensical, self-evident.

I have included a layout taken from Time Magazine (Fall 1996), an "Extra" edition exclusively devoted to the presidential election of 1996. The layout is a good example of Kress and van Leeuwen's theory at work: President Clinton occupies the "Given" space of the layout, while Senator Bob Dole represents the "problematic" and "contestable" position of challenger.

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