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What Is Paulo Freire's Code-Breaker?

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A useful theoretical perspective through which to explore this text is that developed by Paulo Freire, a Brazilian philosopher and educator. Freire viewed literacy as having the potential to challenge power structures and hierarchies and believed developing literacy empowers the oppressed. This belief lead him to explore the potential for change in the way literacy is learnt and taught; “The formation of critical consciousness allows people to question the nature of their historical and social situation—to read their world—with the goal of acting as subjects in the creation of a democratic society.” ("A Brief Biography of Paulo Freire", 2017)
“I didn’t understand anything because of my hunger. I wasn’t dumb. It wasn’t lack of interest. My social condition didn’t allow me to have an education. Experience showed me once again the relationship between social class and knowledge” ("A Brief Biography of Paulo Freire", 2017) …show more content…

Firstly, as a code-breaker, the text requires a working knowledge of the English language, and especially the meanings of words such as union and racism. As there is an important visual element to the text, the audience must also understand what art is, and some of the features associated with it - i.e. understanding that the figures are symbolic rather than representative of real people. In terms of its semantic practice, it requires a cultural knowledge of the racism, prejudice and lack of opportunities that Aboriginal people faced at the time of the posters creation, and still face today. The text is used for a specific purpose, and that is to create awareness of the racism rife in workplaces and put the onus on workers to create an equal environment for people of other races, and specifically Aboriginal people, to work

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