Incorporating a series of different video clips in the lecture, Martin Scorsese did his best to put his audience on the same line of thought as himself. He managed to do so by presenting them with thoughts about the progression of cinematography in the American society. “Young people need to understand that not all images are out there to be consumed like, you know, fast food and then forgotten,” said Scorsese.

According to the legendary director, the culture of visual literacy is one which is seriously lacking in the upcoming generation of film enthusiasts. Martin Scorsese stressed on the fact that not every image in a film must “sell something” to the viewer. In his own words, people must be educated to “understand the difference between moving images that engage their humanity and their intelligence, and moving images that are just selling them something.”

Martin Scorsese makes it clear that visual literacy is a critical aspect of film appreciation

Martin Scorsese has also used the opportunity of presenting the Jefferson Humanities lecture to speak about the advancement which digitisation has brought to the film industry. According to him, a critical aspect of visual literacy is the ability to “preserve everything”. The process of visual literacy would be hindered if it was not for today’s technology. Scorsese is basing this statement on his own experience in film preservation.

The director’s non-profit Film Foundation, launched in 1990, is responsible for the recuperation of over 500 fragile old film reels which would have otherwise deteriorated and therefore lost forever. It may be said that Martin Scorsese has used digitisation to further his upholding and implementation of visual literacy.

Official webpage for Jefferson Humanities lecture

Typos: martin scorcese, marty scorsese, visual literasy, visuel literacy

Image credit: © The Film Foundation official website

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