GIFs as Text

The Relationship Between Text and Animated GIFs

Universally accessible on the web (Troemel, 2011)—though not all Web 2.0 platforms permit their use an some Web 2.0 platform giants have banned them altogether (Weiner, 2010) —the GIF format allows for the already hypertext-savvy Internet user to express himself or herself, not only pictorially, but also with motion. GIFs provide a more elaborate means of communication than written words for a culture that demands emotional impact and information immediately (Weiner, 2010) and it caters to short attention spans (Troemel, 2011), dwelling on a single moment and a few frames to create its impact.

What makes GIFs highly textual is their propensity to express thoughts, situations or desires in a way in which viewers—or  readers—can immediately understand, process or consume.  While Bolter (2001) argues that writing in pictures can lead to confusion as “pictures lack narrative power” (p. 59), GIFs attempt to prove the old saying that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ by expressing a thought or emotion with a very limited number of frames (Troemel, 2011).  GIFs not only represent ideas, but they display actions and reactions explicitly, a few inches from the viewer’s face.  Bolter argues that the addition of icons to Internet exchanges serves to clarify the possible confusion that comes from reading faceless prose; similarly, GIF give a face, a movement, even an attitude to communication between computer users.

This animation, which might be used in lieu of a greeting card, plays on allusions to love, lunacy (“flipping”) and the comical antics of cousins Larry and Balki in the 1986 sitcom ‘Perfect Strangers’.

Animated GIFs are primarily a mode of Internet conversation. McKay (n.d.) argues that the Internet relies on exchanges, and that the GIF format provides the means for these exchanges, as it in consumed quickly and recognized as a communication meme (Don & Brad, 2011).  On message boards and platforms such as Tumblr and Reddit, users can respond to other’s text, images and videos by posting one or several animated GIFs (Troemel, 2011).  There is no longer the need for the ‘ROFL’ acronym, as users can easily create and upload an animation which expresses the same sentiment.  Moreover, they can do so employing the face of a famous person or a beloved pet, adding humour or allusion to every exchange.  This feeds the need to reflect and respond to digital media (Bolter, 2001), as well as the Web 2.0 propensity for remixing cultural artifacts (McKay, n.d.).  Not only do animated GIFs have a personal significance to the user and creator, but they can have a shared significance among users.

This animated GIF quotes the last stanza of Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” (1923) over a background of falling snow, echoing the theme of the poem, while the animation loop causes the image to rock slightly, mimicking the poem’s rhythm.

Bolter states that “in semiotic theory, a sign is not a static thing, but rather a function, a relation between the signified and the signifier” (p.177)”; in the case of animated GIFs, the phrase “not a static thing” is both literal and figurative.  The image literally moves, evoking reactions, thoughts and emotions through mere looping of frames, while figuratively referencing an original work, an Internet meme or an important societal concept, such as love or family.

Because GIFs are easy to create, save and share, they fall into an ambiguous area in terms of copyright.  Few GIF artists receive compensation for their work; many employ minute portions of pre-existing materials and most display their artwork on sites that encourage viral reproduction of media, cultivating open source movement ideals (McKay, n.d.).  As such, GIFs themselves are not only a vehicle for communication, but often a political statement about the idealism of sharing thoughts, ideas and emotions through easily recognizable cultural references.

The GIF’s Depency on Literacy

While animated GIFs are primarily pictorial in nature, many of them incorporate text to further supplement the silent clip.  These animations depend on literacy (textual, digital and cultural) for a clear ‘reading’.  In terms of traditional art, Bolter notes that juxtaposing pictures and text enhances the understanding of a work of art through what he calls “a pleasing tension” (p.63).  In the case of animations, adding text may enrich the message or compete with it to create a new meaning.  Adding subtitles to an animated clip may allow viewers to grasp the meaning more clearly, while adding a caption under an animated facial expression can entirely change its meaning, creating humour or irony.

GIF-friendly platforms also depend heavily on text-based literacy, especially when curating a group of animated GIFs (McKay, n.d.). On Tumblr, for example, users may arrange up to 10 gifs in a photoset.  If the order of these animations is important, users generally rely on Western reading and writing practices; that is, GIFs will be arranged from left to right, top to bottom, to be ‘read’ one line at a time, particularly in the case of photosets that reproduce or reinterpret film segments.