Terministic screens
A practical lens for applying this stage of the Social Media Graffiti process.
Attention, visibility & first impressions
See
Seeing critically begins by noticing what communication makes visible, what it places in the background, and what it encourages audiences to overlook.
The Social Media Graffiti process
Notice what hides in plain sight.
Every message directs attention. Images, headlines, camera angles, page layouts, and repeated words determine which details become prominent and which remain almost invisible. Burke’s idea of terministic screens helps explain how symbolic choices select some features of reality while deflecting others (Burke, 1966).
Critical seeing therefore requires more than looking carefully. It means asking who designed the frame, what assumptions guide the arrangement, and which people or consequences are missing. Visual culture research shows that audiences learn to see through shared conventions, making perception both personal and cultural (Mirzoeff, 2015).
Communication scholarship
Four lenses for practicing this stage.
These ideas turn the process into a repeatable method for examining communication more carefully.
Visual framing
A practical lens for applying this stage of the Social Media Graffiti process.
Attention
A practical lens for applying this stage of the Social Media Graffiti process.
Representation
A practical lens for applying this stage of the Social Media Graffiti process.
Questions to apply
Move from observation toward constructive response.
- What is the first thing the message asks me to notice?
- What important detail is easiest to overlook?
- Whose experience is visible, and whose is absent?
- How would a different image or headline change the meaning?
- What might become possible if the hidden part of the issue were made visible?
Notice what hides in plain sight.
Selected references
Scholarship supporting this stage.
- Burke, K. (1966). Language as symbolic action. University of California Press.
- Mirzoeff, N. (2015). How to see the world. Pelican.
Continue through the process
Each stage supports the next.
The complete process moves from noticing what is present, to decoding strategy, understanding perspective, evaluating evidence, and creating more humane communication.