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T&F Proofs: Not For Distribution
14 Multimodal Texts as
Mediated Actions
Voice, Synchronization and
Layered Simultaneity in
Images of Disability
Najma Al Zidjaly
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, I draw on the notions of voice, synchronization and lay-
ered simultaneity to explore, from the perspective of multimodality and
mediated discourse analysis, how visual texts can unintentionally harm
social causes. Building on Blommaert’s (2005) conviction that synchro-
nization and layered simultaneity in discourse can be key to uncovering
hidden discourses, voices and agendas—and drawing upon the concep-
tualization of images as mediated actions with consequences rather than
as simple means of representation or expression (Al Zidjaly, 2005, 2007,
forthcoming)—I examine critically a representative number of visual cov-
ers, advertisements and featured articles taken from 10 magazines pub-
lished by the Association for People with Disabilities in Oman over the
course of 15 years. The analysis demonstrates a shift in the representation
of disability in Oman from a social cause to a charitable one; this shift
is congruent with a more widespread change in various disability non-
government organizations in Oman, which have moved from promoting
social action (i.e., being rights-based foundations) to providing mainly
material aid (i.e., being charity-based foundations). The dangerous rami-
fi cations of such a shift are highlighted.
The dynamic approach to multimodality developed in this chapter
aims to capture the full realization of images. It does so by demonstrat-
ing the need to conceptualize images as situated, mediated actions that
carry histories and create identities and are synchronized instead of
just mere means of representation; it also demonstrates the necessity to
link multimodal texts to larger social and political contexts. Only then
can we identify the dangers, intentional or otherwise, that can lurk in
images. The chapter additionally has methodological implications and
far-reaching practical applications; through applying the tools of voice,
synchronization and layered simultaneity to images, the chapter uncov-
ers the role that images can play in creating or alleviating disability. In so
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doing, it a i m s to encou rage disabilit y cent ers in Oman to make mor e pro -
ductive use of visual resources to advance the cause of disability, instead
of unintentionally hindering it as is the case now.
In what follows, I fi rst provide a synopsis of key approaches to visually
complex texts that are pertinent to the analysis in this chapter and sum-
marize the relationship of multimodality to disability studies. I then intro-
duce the theoretical concepts of mediated action (Scollon, 2001) and voice,
synchronization and layered simultaneity (Blommaert, 2005) on which my
analysis is based. A brief review of the disability situation in Oman is pro-
vided to situate the analysis. The analysis examines the fi ve major phases
that the government of Oman has undergone in dealing with disability. The
concluding remarks discuss the ramifi cations of the arguments proposed to
multimodality as a theory and a methodology; the chapter also discusses
practical concerns and proposes solutions to advance the cause of disabil-
ity, in Oman and elsewhere.
MULTIMODALITY AND DISABILITY: MEDIATED ACTION
AND ANALYSIS OF VOICE IN IMAGES
Multimodality is an analytical framework created to examine complex
discourses that draw upon or consist of various visual and textual modes;
the framework gained ground recently due to the palpability of multi-
modal texts brought about mainly by the advent of new media technolo-
gies and a recent turn in linguistics towards viewing communication as
multimodal (Iedema, 2003). Disability studies, a subdivision of medi-
cal anthropology, is a fi eld that emerged in the 1960s and the 1970s in
response to traditional conceptions and treatments of the notion of dis-
ability. Given the importance of artistic expression to healing (Ainsworth-
Vaughn, 1998; Corbett, 1999) and the fact that people, especially those
with certain disabilities, draw upon various modes beyond language to
communicate, multimodality and disability have naturally been brought
together in social scientifi c research.
Various approaches to multimodality have been proposed over the
years. Key to the arguments developed in this chapter are those that take a
dynamic approach towards multimodal texts and practices, with the under-
lying proposition that communication cannot be achieved through study-
ing tools of communication as decontextualized from their situated use
(Jones, 2005). In these frameworks visual analysis is not conceptualized as
a matter of just analyzing images (with or without context); it is a matter of
analyzing them in their socially specifi c and multimodal contexts. Pioneers
of such an approach are Goodwin (1995, 2001, in press) and Iedema (2001,
2003), who demonstrate how dynamic social practices unfold and mean-
ings transform from one semiotic mode into another in interactions where
non-verbal communication (such as gaze, gesture, images and so on) plays a
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role. Taking the perspective of mediated discourse analysis (Scollon, 2001;
Norris and Jones, 2005), Jones (2005) adds to this dynamic framework by
examining rather than the grammar of visual images per se, the interplay
between the semiotic modes that social actions draw upon and the identi-
ties created. This interplay between semiotic modes and identity is further
developed by Norris (2007) and Jewitt and Jones (2007) in the context
of workforce. This newly developed dynamic approach to multimodality
combines textual representation with social construction; combining the
two offers a powerful tool to do critical and socially driven multi-semiotic
discourse analysis.
The fi eld of disability studies is of an interdisciplinary nature; however,
the focus is a social, collective one with a special interest in addressing
social exclusion—the major predicament faced by people with disabilities.
Because disability is a social construct that prevails across race, gender and
geographic boundaries, the general consensus among disability researchers
is that it must thus be scrutinized in its social, cultural and historical con-
texts (Barnes, Oliver and Barton, 2002). Past research in disability studies,
however, just like earlier multimodal frameworks themselves, dedicated
itself to examining visual art as decontextualized tools for self-expression
(e.g., Corbett, 1999; Diem-Wille, 2001) or representation (e.g., Ainsworth-
Vaughn, 1998; Crutchfi eld and Epstein, 2000).
More recent research that deals with the interplay between art and
disability from a multimodal perspective, however, moves beyond con-
ceptualizing multimodal texts as simply mediums of representation or
means of expressing visually what one is inhibited from expressing ver-
bally to seeing them as communicative actions for self-empowerment.
Two notable examples of such an approach are Wexler and Cardinal’s
(2009) analysis of art in educational settings and my own research (Al
Zidjaly, 2005, 2007, forthcoming), where I draw upon mediated dis-
course analysis (Scollon, 2001; Norris and Jones, 2005) to conceptualize
multimodal texts as mediated actions instead of simple means of expres-
sion or repre sent ation. I n mediated d iscou r se ana lysi s the u n it of analysi s
is real-time actions carried out by social actors. These actions are social
because they are inherently communicative; that is, they carry histories
and create identities. Actions are also mediated by either language or
other mediational means such as computers or Microsoft PowerPoint, as
is the case in my work. In Al Zidjaly (2005, 2007, forthcoming), concep-
tualizing multimodal texts as mediated actions enables me to go beyond
examining the “music videos” created by a quadriplegic man in Oman
via Microsoft PowerPoint as a simple means of emotional management
or as a place for the interplay of various modes. Instead, I demonstrate
how they are strategically used by a person with quadriplegia to manage
social inclusion. This approach adds to the current dynamic approach to
multimodality, which uncovers a detailed understanding of visual texts
but also has applied elements.
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In addition to conceptualizing multimodal texts as mediated actions,
in order to capture the full realization of images, in this chapter I apply
to the analysis of visual texts the concepts of voice, synchronization and
layered simultaneity. According to Blommaert, a critical analysis of dis-
course has to be an analysis of voice—of whose views and perspectives
are represented or get to be included or excluded. To examine voice,
which to Blommaert (2005) is an examination of how power works in
rea l l if e, tw o con ce p ts mus t b e add re ss ed . Fi rs t, pe o ple a re n ot f re e ag e nt s;
their choices are limited by how much access they have and by local and
global discourses. Thus, Blommaert suggests contextualizing individual
agency (voice) in wider social and political milieus. Second, discourses
and texts are subject to layered simultaneity; that is, discourses are made
to look synchronized. In reality, however, discourses and texts are com-
plex constructions, consisting of various meanings and referring to mul-
tiple times in history. This means that synchronization could be either
the representation of diverse experiences or the representation of diverse
historical time frames and positions as a unifi ed whole that includes cer-
tain voices and stances while excluding others. Thus, synchronization
is a “tactic of power” (136), not just because it includes and excludes
certain voices, histories and time frames but also because the positions
from which one speaks are dictated by sometimes confl icting and ever
changing discourses. Thus, Blommaert argues that a critical analysis of
discourse or voice must include an analysis of the particular local and
global systems in which synchronicity is situated.
DISABILITY IN OMAN: BACKGROUND
The global system in which the analysis in this chapter is situated is the
Islamic, Arabian country of Oman. Historically, people with disabilities
in Oman have been isolated and excluded from participating in pub-
lic life. The current Omani government, which came to power in 1970
(referred to as the Omani Renaissance), however, has been adamant to
change that. This is because the current government of Oman takes the
issue of promoting and protecting human rights very seriously, as evi-
denced by the Statute Law of the Omani nation and its ratifi cation in
2008 of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of People with
Disabilities. Accordingly, Omani legislation acknowledges fi rst and fore-
most that disability is a social problem—not just a medical predicament
(that is, the problem does not lie in those with disabilities but rather in
the physical, social and psychological obstacles that face them). Thus, the
Omani government now believes that people with disabilities constitute a
foundational part of a society’s economic, social, health and educational
sectors; hence, they are adamant about removing the various types of
obstacles and stigma that face them to enable the process of inclusion (Al
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Zidjaly, 2005). In reality, however, the medical model prevails, and as a
co n s e quence p e ople wit h d i s abilities in O m a n co ntinue t o be stigmatized,
marginalized and concealed due to outdated societal misconceptions of
disability that equate those with disabilities with oddity and uselessness.
Thus, despite providing accessibility measures, rehabilitation centers and
health and educational benefi ts, the Omani government’s contribution to
public awareness remains limited. That is, despite its belief that disabil-
ity is socially produced, the Omani government has not yet succeeded
in implementing this belief in the wider Omani society. This failure is
demonstrated by the fact that handicapped parking spaces and ramps,
for instance, mostly remain unused as people with disabilities in Oman
remain confi ned at home. I suggest that this is largely because some of
the government’s own practices unintentionally perpetuate isolation and
thus add to the experience of disability. I now turn to one of these prac-
tices and examine it in detail.
CONSTRUCTING DISABILITY IN CHALLENGE
The Omani government’s dedication to promote the lives of the country’s
people with disabilities has led to the fl ourishing of many NGOs in the
country, with the supervision of the Ministry of Social Development. Chief
among these is the Association for People with Disabilities which was
established in 1995. In this chapter the Association for People with Dis-
abilities and the Omani government are used interchangeably because the
association is supervised, and funded partly, by the Omani government.
Its main objectives are in line with the government’s—to raise awareness
about the cause of disability and to aid in the process of including people
with disabilities in mainstream society. To achieve these goals, the associa-
tion provides many crucial services and is the fi rst association in Oman to
publish a magazine dedicated solely to empower those with disabilities.
Challenge was fi rst published in 2000 in both English and Arabic. Over
the last 10 years, the association has published 10 Challenge magazines,
which—although still not adequately distributed—are bought by all gov-
ernment agencies in Oman, so they generate a large amount of revenue for
the center. Although the magazine and its publisher cater to all types of dis-
abilities, their focus is on physical disability, the second-largest disability in
Oman following blindness.
The focus in this chapter, in line with the focus of the association
itself, is on people with physical disabilities, who are the most marginal-
ized group in Oman by both the Omani society and the government (Al
Zidjaly, 2005, forthcoming). I divide the analysis into fi ve sections, index-
ing the fi ve major periods the government of Oman has undergone in their
mission to implement the ideology that disability is a social construction.
To identify the danger that can lurk in images, I fi rst conceptualize the
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representative images as mediated actions that create identities and carry
histories, rather than as tools of expression and representation; addition-
ally, I apply to the representative images Blommaert’s (2005) proposal
that synchronization in discourse can be key to uncovering hidden agen-
das by eliding certain voices. In so doing, I uncover not so much hidden
agendas—for the government of Oman is for the cause of disability—but
rather how their choice to use certain types of synchronized images has—
likely subconsciously and unintentionally—perpetuated isolation. The
chosen images have done this through (a) misrepresenting disability via
creating idealistic views and synchronizing Oman’s disabled population
as a unidimensional group that goes against the reality of people with dis-
abilities in Oman and (b) eliminating the voices of people with disabilities
through positioning them as passive beings in need of fi nancial aid. It is
my hope that the analysis will aid the Omani government (and others) in
fi nding the right path to reach its disabled populations. I also hope the
analysis adds to the dynamic approach to multimodality by examining the
construction of voice in images.
PHASE 1: SYNCHRONIZING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
AS AN IDEALISTIC, UNIDIMENSIONAL GROUP
The fi rst 10 years (1995–2004) in the life of the Association for People with
Disabilities and its fi rst fi ve volumes of Challenge are dedicated to address-
ing the problem of inclusion—especially in the workforce. Sport activities
for people with disabilities are also highlighted along with accessibility
measures, political inclusion, rehabilitation centers and educational and
other special needs. The fi rst fi ve volumes also centralize physical disability
as evidenced by the choice to prominently represent paraplegic Omanis on
four of their fi ve magazine covers.
As a representative example and for the sake of the argument of this
chapter, I focus on the cover of the second volume (Challenge 2001 [se e Fig-
ure 14.1: Example 1]) with the staged image of a cheery paraplegic man in
traditional formal attire. This constructs an identity of an Omani national
sitting in front of a computer in what looks like an offi ce. This action, which
is representative of many more like it in the fi rst fi ve volumes of Challenge,
is intended to both highlight and engage in the international discourse at
the time of including people with disabilities in the workforce by creating
the identity of a successful employee at an offi ce. Until 2005, however,
most Omanis themselves did not own a computer; many people with dis-
abilities do not own electric or nonelectric wheelchairs until this very day
(as Challenge itself acknowledges later); most public places in Oman lack
accessibility measures such as ramps; many people with disabilities reside
in the interior of Oman, in villages and small mountainous towns with no
facilities; and most families refuse to take their affected family members
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out of the house for either stigma reasons or lack of facilities. This medi-
ated action, which is intended to create a dialogue of hiring people with
disabilities, speaks to a privileged few from the capital area while leaving
many unable to participate.
This constructed image or mediated action I argue might have worked
in a different culture where the foundational work has already been laid,
but not in Oman. The government clearly rushed to adapt international
discourses on the importance of workforce inclusion for people with
disabilities without fi rst laying the groundwork in the local context by
examining the reality of people with physical disabilities in Oman. Addi-
tionally, it neglected to address the impact of such images on the real
lives of those with disabilities and their families. Thus, the government
represented what it aspired to achieve, instead of the reality, by provid-
ing the public with an idealistic view or action that did not exist at the
time. The result, as Challenge acknowledges later and as demonstrated
by the fact that the discourse on workforce inclusion is still ongoing, is
that the aim of such actions to start a dialogue that includes people with
disabilities failed because people did not relate to this idealized action
that contrasts with their personal experiences; in fact, most felt like their
individual voices did not easily fi t into this dialogue—they seemed to
be excluded. This idealistic view further complicates matters by mis-
representing disability through synchronizing the diverse Omanis with
diverse disabilities from diverse areas as a unidimensional group that
goes against the multidimensional reality of individuals with disabilities
in Oman. In fact, this synchronization not only misrepresents the reality
of the poor and the needy but also elides their voices by not showcasing
images that are more realistic. In short, this decontexualized, synchro-
nized mediated action did not achieve its intended goal.
PHASE 2: REFLECTING ON PHYSICAL DISABILITY
After two years of continuously constructing idealized, synchronized
images as the one featured in Figure 14.1 (Example 1) and seeing no
change, Challenge and the Omani government underwent a self-imposed
critical review of their mission to advance the cause of (physical) disability
in Oman. So in 2002 (Volume 3), Challenge acknowledged, fi rst, the seri-
ousness of the problem of physical disability and, second, their inability
to envision the future of the cause of physical disability. This assessment
phase was motivated by the realization that the path to empowerment and
full inclusion through education and strong will of those with disabilities
has been “moderately” successful (and it was fraught with diffi culties).
A new direction was needed. To capture this sentiment for refl ection and
change, the editors of Challenge 2002 (Volume 3) resorted to a cover that
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consists of a compilation of actions by people with disabilities in Oman
(see Figure 14.1: Example 2).
The running theme of the cover of Challenge 2002 is that of empower-
ment. The central fi gure on the cover is on the right—it shows a child with
a minor disability framed by a yellow crescent raising his hand as a sym-
bol of empowerment. The second most prominent image is on the left—it
is a compilation of three actions of Omani females at different stages of
life and with various degrees of disability engaged in some type of activ-
ity. The least striking image on the cover is that of an unidentifi able man
on a wheelchair giving his back to the reader and facing a paved but bleak
future (signaled by the dark and stormy clouds before him). Although
each character on the cover appears alone in his or her photograph, the
reader still gets the sense that the child and the three women are engaged
in some sort of interaction (e.g., the child with the disability interacts with
an audience, the women at the top and bottom interact with a book and a
piano, and the professional woman interacts with the camera). The sense
of interaction is absent in the image of the man with the physical disabil-
ity, who is left in a vacuum to fend for himself by himself in the face of an
unpredictable future ahead of him.
On the surface it might look like Challenge 2002’s intended message of
empowerment has been met by the choice of representing voices of people
with physical disabilities from all walks of life in Oman engaged in various
actions. Things are not that simple, however. First of all, the child and the
woman in the middle of the collection have minor disabilities. The other
two women look like they are in a school or at home, and are most likely
from the capital city. However, the case is not as simple with the young
unidentifi ed man. The fi rst thing that is noticeable about him is the absence
of his voice—his interaction with the receiver of the message; secondly, he
is located in a surrounding that is foreign; it is not an Omani landscape and
what is even more unsettling is that he and the surrounding images look so
far removed and so synchronized, as if he is in a vacuum or in space away
from reality. The resulting outcome is not that of empowerment but rather
of disconnection. The actions collectively send the message of belonging
to no identifi able place. This cover, with its confl icting representations,
indicates the government’s inability to represent, and ultimately deal with,
physical disability.
PHASE 3: VOICING INDIVIDUALS AND GRIM REALITY
One year following the refl ective phase, Challenge 2003 for the fi rst time
ran an editorial on the reality of those with physical disabilities in the
rural towns of Oman. In this editorial, the magazine acknowledged the
challenges faced by many Omani individuals with disabilities, especially
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those living in villages and mountainous towns, namely: lack of facilities,
lack of crucial equipment like wheelchairs and lack of understanding.
Additionally, instead of using contrived, staged images of people with
disabilities, the magazine this time resorted to using powerful images
of real young men and women with paraplegia at home (see Figure 14.1:
Example 3).
The images in Figure 14.1 (Example 3) are representative of a collec-
tion of actions taken from the Challenge 2003 editorial on the reality
of people with disabilities in the regional areas of Oman outside the
capital city of Muscat. In contrast to the idealized, synchronized actions
on the cover of the fi rst fi ve volumes, the cover of this editorial includes
an image of a not so happy young individual. As for the images inside
the editorial, they are a collection of photographs of real young men
and women with physical disabilities lying on the fl oor in various posi-
tions because of lack of wheelchairs, the lack of which had prohibited
them from attending school. In other words, it is a collection of diverse,
original individual voices. The most striking of all used images is the
action in Figure 14.1 (Example 3 [image on left side]), which is a frontal
image of a paraplegic young man by the name of Amer Mohammed Al
Amri sitting on the ground hiding his face out of shame. This action is
in sharp contrast with the previous staged image of a young cheerful
Omani paraplegic man facing the camera head on (Figure 14.1: Example
1) because it is the identity of a real person with real needs that are not
met (this young man had to drop out of school because he did not own
a wheelchair). Additionally, the editorial provides real names, thereby
creating real identities of Omani people that the society in which they
reside can associate with.
Prior to moving to Phase 4, a summary of the stages that Challenge
and the Omani Association for People with Disabilities went through
thus far is in order. In apparently rushing to adopt international dis-
courses on workforce inclusion, Challenge decided upon presenting
synchronized and idealized actions or “displays” (Jones, this volume),
likely thinking that these “powerful images of successful people”
would effortlessly fi t into the ongoing discourse on disability in Oman.
Unfortunately, the message did not get across. The reality as Challenge
acknowledged later is far different from the images presented; in fact,
the grim reality was found to be in sharp contrast with the staged,
synchronized images or actions that were ubiquitous on the pages of
Challenge and graced its covers for at least three years. So for the next
few issues, the cause of physical disability was backgrounded for lack
of vision on how to proceed, whereas other disabilities such as deaf-
ness were foregrounded. Then something drastic happened in 2005: the
Omani Association for People with Disabilities changed its approach to
advance the cause of disability drastically because of a simple decision
that came out of necessity.
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Figure 14.1 Example 1 (Cover of Challenge 2001); Example 2 (Cover of Challenge
2002); Example 3 (Editorial from Challenge 2003).
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Figure 14.2 Example 1 (Bank Ad [Challenge 2005]); Example 2 (Company Ad
[Challenge 2009]); Example 3 (Editorial from Challenge 2009).
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PHASE 4: DEVOICING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
The fi rst thing that one notices starting from Volume 6 is that the covers
of Challenge no longer ca rry images of people with di sabilities — physical
or otherwise. This started with Challenge 2005, which celebrates the
10th anniversary of the Omani Association for People with Disabilities.
A second change that marks the association’s anniversary is that Vol-
ume 6, and the following three volumes, demonstrate a drastic shift in
positioning people with disabilities from strong, happy and productive
people to passive people in need of charity. This shift is represented in
the large number of advertisements from the Omani private sector that
started gracing the covers of Challenge since 2005. A representative of
such ads that linguistically and visually eliminate the voices of those
with disabilities in Oman is Example 1 in Figure 14.2 taken from Chal-
lenge 2005.
Although requesting fi nancial aid has always been a part of Challenge,
the requests were not prominent: the fi rst volume for instance starts with
a verse from the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, praising those who
help others in need. Thus, although there were ads here and there that
sought fi nancial aid from the public, the foregrounded representations
were those either of power and independence (Figure 14.1: Example 1)
or of struggle toward power and independence (Figure 14.1: Example
3). The shift towards eliminating the voices of people with disabilities
altogether came per the decision of the association to turn to the private
sector for funding. Although the association, as are all NGOs in Oman,
is supervised and funded by the Oman i Ministry of Social Development,
the government’s funding was deemed insuffi cient in 2005, especially
with the association’s expanded services and expanded service areas.
This led the association to turn to the private sector to cover its costs.
The decision was welcomed by the private sector; however, this joint
endeavor led to the increase in the number of advertisements that syn-
chronize people with disabilities to a mere symbol such as the ad in
Figure 14.2 (Example 1).
The literal translation of the ad in Figure 14.2 (Example 1) is “They
depend on you to change their lives. They need more than expressions of
pity; they need fi nancial aid so help them fi nancially because they depend
on you in their lives.” Synchronization in this ad works at multiple levels.
Linguistically, in this ad, the main action is taking place between the
sender of the message, the corporate bank, and the receiver of the mes-
sage, the Omani public. People with disabilities are synchronized to the
third-person singular pronoun they, an unidentifi able third party who
has no say. Visually, the people with disabilities in Oman have now been
synchronized into a mere minute symbol of disability, eliding not only
their voices but also the messages of power, independence and full inclu-
sion. This action of linguistically and visually synchronizing people with
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disabilities into mere symbols, thereby completely eliding their voices,
while referring to them as an absent third party continues throughout
Volumes 6, 7, 8 and 9, thus not only taking away their voices but also
positioning them as helpless beings, which goes against the association’s
belief that people with disabilities are strong, productive people. This
misrepresentation could be the result of the fact that Oman is new to the
international discourse of charity. What is more alarming is that since
Volume 6 , Challenge itself started resorting to either not representing
people with disabilities on their cover at all or representing them as a
symbol (e.g., Volumes 7 and 8).
CURRENT PHASE: SEEKING BALANCE
In 2008, the Care and Rehabilitation Law for People with Disabilities, the
fi rst of its kind in the Sultanate, was promulgated by Royal Decree No.
63/2008, to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities and to regulate,
organize and improve the services provided to them. This has led to a
slight, and positive, change in the representation of people with disabili-
ties in Oman. Though charity ads which synchronize people with disabili-
ties to mere symbols in need of aid continue, they are being counteracted
in the latest issue of Challenge 2009 with ads that construct those with
disabilities as not completely helpless but rather as needing some help to
prosper. So words such as enable and ability as well as symbols where
the running theme of “enable” and “ability” have crept in, such as in the
advertisement in Figure 14.2 (Example 2) from a hotel company advertis-
ing its services while showing they care about enabling those with disabili-
ties to reach some independence.
In contrast to the ad by the corporate Omani Bank (Figure 14.2: Exam-
ple 1), which elides the voices of those with disabilities linguistically and
visually, the ad in Figure 14.2 (Example 2) directly addresses people with
disabilities head on instead of constructing them as an absent third party.
Also, whereas those with disabilities in Figure 14.2 (Example 2) just like
the ad in Figure 14.2 (Example 1) are synchronized to a mere symbol of
disability, the symbol in Figure 14.2 (Example 2) is able to leave disability
behind and stand on its own (with the help of the company’s support of
course). Those encouraging words and actions are missing from previous
ads. In addition to such ads that try to fi nd a balance between repre-
senting those with disabilities as needing support and not constructing
them as too helpless as before, Challenge 2009 reports stories of Omanis
with disabilities who overcame adversity in their own special way. Unlike
previous reports, these are accompanied with images of the protagonists
in their local environments, and these actions neither are removed from
reality (they are not idealistic views as in Figure 14.1: Example 1) nor are
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Multimodal Texts as Mediated Actions 203
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pitiful pictures of people who suffer from lack as in Figure 14.1 (Example
3). A representative example is Figure 14.2 (Example 3).
The report from which Figure 14.2 (Example 3) is taken is about the
ever yday t rial s and tribu lat ions of living with physic al disability in Oman .
The young protagonist had to take early retirement as a teacher because of
the car accident that rendered him paraplegic. Although he is capable of
teaching, the s chool he used to work in lacked accessibil ity mea sures so he
is now fi nancially dependent on his siblings. Whereas the story speaks of
lack just like the Challenge 2003 editorial, here the accompanied images
are not pitiful actions of people avoiding facing the camera in shame (Fig-
ure 14.1: Example 3); the images are instead positively constructing the
identity of empowerment while demanding respect (by facing the camera
and staring the reader in the eye [Kress and Van Leeuwen, 1996]). They
are additionally neither contrived nor idealized. These are actions that
Omani people could relate to and might actually lead to a dialogue about
the changes that need to be made to better improve the lives of people with
disabilities in Oman. It is these kinds of discourse and images that Chal-
lenge and the Omani government need to engage in.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
In this chapter, I examined the construction of voice, layered simultaneity
and synchronization in images involving disability. I did so by adapting
Blommaert’s (2005) principles of critical language analysis to multimodal
texts. According to Blommaert, a critical analysis of language must be
an analysis of voice, of whose position gets to be represented. Because
being heard is always a matter of access, discourse (and human agency
consequently) must everlastingly be contextualized locally and globally to
determine exactly how language matters to its users. In this chapter, I sug-
gested that full realization of the power that can reside in images can be
achieved only through focusing on what images or visual texts can mean
to their users and how they matter to the people they address. This can
be done, as I had hoped to show, only through peeling off the various lay-
ers of synchronization that reside in images and contextualizing them in
local contexts and global systems as mediated actions with histories and
identities. As stated, the staged image of a happy, productive paraplegic
might have worked in a culture where the modal of disability as a social
construction has already been widely accepted but was not effective in
the cultural and historical context of Oman where the medical model of
disability still prevails. This chapter thus contributes theoretically to the
current dynamic approach to multimodality by illuminating the impor-
tance of going beyond decontextualized images to contextualizing them
as mediated actions situated in larger societal and political contexts. It
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204 Najma Al Zidjaly
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also demonstrates methodologically the construction of voice and syn-
chronization in visual texts.
The analysis presented additionally has practical potential in helping
disability centers in Oman and other places to be better aware of the
choices they make, especially when it comes to complex visual resources.
It is no secret that the Omani government, despite its efforts, has failed in
implementing the widely accepted and practiced ideology that disability is
a social construction, and, therefore, that society plays a role in the lives
and experiences of those with disabilities. My analysis, which examined
the construction of voice and synchronization in images, uncovered how
visual images might have hindered, rather than advanced, the cause of
disability in Oman. That is, the analysis sheds light on the role that the
association might have played, unintentionally, in jeopardizing their own
efforts. Challenge editors and other NGOs in Oman continue fi nding
themselves in a bind between a desire to present images of courageous
pe ople wit h disabilities a nd a need to present ima ges of helpless people s o
that they can get adequate fi nancial support. But a happy medium is not
only possible, it is of crucial signifi cance (a case in point is the images in
Volume 10). Because images are actions that speak louder than words,
being mindful of their power is a must to advance social causes.
Research connecting multimodality and disability is limited. Using
multimodal discourse analysis highlights personal agency, which is
especially important in the context of disability where personal agency
is often underestimated or denied. Analyzing visual texts as mediated
actions that create identities and carry histories instead of mere means
of self-expression, healing or representation also shows how disability
is indeed a social construct. It additionally demonstrates the power that
can lurk in images; they are indeed not simple tools for expressing or
representing that which one cannot express or represent verbally; they
can perpetuate, even create—or alleviate—disability, as illustrated in
this chapter through the examination of the construction of voice and
synchronization in images. This calls for a more productive use of visual
resources in advancing social causes and a more critical examination of
the power that can lie in them.
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