Attuned to the truth

The focus of this article is Gunther Kress' opening and closing comments: how he chose to introduce the intellectual landscape of social semiotics to a new audience and the challenges with which he left people. Connections with Kress' past publications are also made. Most importantly, the article attempts to engage with the political nature of Kress' work by linking his ideas to disturbing events in contemporary Australian politics and their implications for the creation of a new generation of young people attuned to the truth. As Kress emphasises at the outset, it makes no sense to examine representation and communication alone: Exploration of the changing relationship between the word and the image must be seen in the wider framework of economic, political, social, cultural and technological changes. This important understanding is intrinsic to the ideas explored in the article.