Visual Grammar and Cultural Perception in Thai Tourism Memes: A Study of the ‘Farangs Gone Wild’ Instagram Page
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Abstract
This study qualitatively examines a set of 20 visual memes related to tourism in Thailand from the “Farangs Gone Wild” Instagram page using Kress and van Leeuwen’s Visual Grammar (2006) and Goss’s (1966) perceptual tendencies. The goal was to examine how visual and textual elements convey meanings and reflect perceptions of the memes’ creator. The findings suggest that the memes convey representational, interactive, and compositional meanings. In terms of representational meaning, the findings suggest an interplay between processes within tourism memes, revealing their function as sites for meaning construction and cultural commentary. Furthermore, the memes are influenced by closure and expectation based on Goss’s (1996) perceptual tendencies. This research highlights the role of the interplay between images and texts as dynamic forms of digital communication. However, future research should involve a wider and more diverse sample across social media platforms to strengthen the findings.
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บทความทุกบทความเป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของภาษาและภาษาศาสตร์
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