Liam Kearney
Semiotics
Semiotics is
defined as study of signs, symbols and behaviours to which a system and their
role in the construction and definition of the meaning. Semiotics was
established from the works of linguistic philosophers such as De Saussure and
Pierce and more recently from the collected and established works of the
Italian Philosopher of Umberto Eco.
1.
Who are the two linguistic philosophers that semiotics is established and defined by are The Italian Philosopher of Umberto Eco
and the Swiss philosopher De Saussure.
2.
Which French
‘Structuralist’ recently developed this media concept? Lévi-Strauss
was a French philosopher who established the Structuralist movement which
influenced thinkers such as Louis Althusser, the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan,
as well as the structural philosophy of Nikos Poulantzas.
3.
The two methods
1.
Describing the TEXT is called
Textual Analysis
2.
Myths and associations with the
TEXT is called “ Signs contributing Ideology”
4. The quest at
the heart of the semiotic approach is the study of the most important
feature of the human state
of mind and line of thought. With the capacity for creating and manipulating
signs such as texts and symbols for thinking, communicating, conveying,
transmitting, with the most important in the preservation of knowledge.
5. The factor used to identify media texts in semiotics would be Symbols
and how they would hold value depending towards there intended audience and the
surrounding context relating to said symbol. An example in the line of
consumerism are the Golden arches of McDonalds and how they are recognised
world-wide as a symbol being the relation of the fast food chain. Another
example linking more into the social sphere would be the Cross of Christ and
how that is a universal symbol for Christianity or any branch of the Abrahamic
faith. These symbols being used in media can vary in the context more so for
the later, however for the first the association of the symbol only relates to
the context of the consumer drive for fast-food and the mass marketing of the
brand in the western and even the social sphere worldwide.
6. The word that is given out for Open texts is the word “Sign” or is
broken down into the two known as the “Signified” and “Signifier” depending on
the context and the direction of the analysis.
7. Popular and mass culture e.g. mass media texts are known as Dominant culture texts. Which would reflect to the behaviours of the Mainstream and
what is considered common behaviour in the media an example in the line of the
social and public sphere would be trends that are influence by the medias
mainstream function in the line of the Dominant culture.
8. Semiotics would determine that it would a phenomenon of direct
contact which would use media that would allow the means for where words,
captions or logos are used to direct a reader towards a particular meaning.
9. “Agenda setting” is when a text prefers one particular meaning.
These can be a result of media producers’ agendas and assumptions.
10.
Define Stuart Hall’s THREE main
types of audience decoding.
1.
DOMINANT: The reader fully
accepts the text believing it without question and in the way the manner that
the publisher and the writer intended them to interpret it as.
2.
NEGOTIATED: The reader partly
believes and is partly critical of the text as a whole in the reading of the
code, while at the same time the reader broadly accepts the intended
interpretation of the text, however may modify the text to modify it in a
manner that would corelate to their own world view which would tie to their own
experiences, positions and interests.
3.
OPPOSITIONAL: The reader becomes or is highly sceptical of the text and is
highly critical or if not out and out rejects the intended reading of the text
and its intended message thus being sceptical of the text in it for the most or
in its entirety.
11.
How media texts speak to an
audience is known as” Direct mode of Address”
Describe how this is applied to
FILMS and TELEVISION: This is applies through television with the likes of the
News when the news anchor is talking directly to the audience, or to the likes
of shows such as “Good morning Britain” this would be in the line of the
Television in where the Audience is receiving their message through the means
of “Direct mode of address”. Another case would be Films such as Wayne’s World
of 1992 in where the Wayne would make direct but subtle messages to the
audience an example would be the” I Will Not Bow to Any
Sponsor” scene where Wayne is shown to display a variety of Brands while trying
to disapprove of Media sponsorship of consumer goods acting as an Ironic twist
with the message directed towards the audience however not so directly as the
following however. The Second would be the film by Charlie Chaplin known as “The
Great Dictator” towards the end the Dictators doppelganger (Henkel) makes a
speech what is dubbed by the scene and the speech as the “Dictators final
speech” in where (Henkel) makes a speech
denouncing the evils of the world in perhaps quite a dramatic and an emotional
speech which is directed towards more then the fictional audience of the film
with the intention of communicating to the audience.
12.
Define what the MALE GAZE is the
Media term for how men would view women and example of this would be the
magazine “Playboy” which is a degenerate publication that portrays women as
sexualised objects and only focuses on the physical characteristics and
attributes which would appeal to the male audience due to men being driven by
the attraction by force of primal nature, which this magazine exploits with the
knowing of the full intention. Another example is a highly debated issue would
be the “Stay at Home Housewife” which was something that the media and more
over society focuses and held as a standard that women should follow this line
of lifestyle, many feminists and (Progressives) believe that this devalues
women and confines them to a stereotypical place of serving the man and not in
any way of being “Impowering” this type of media was mostly in circulation from
the earliest times up until the 70s and 80s where the remnants of this media
phenomena was extinguished from the mainstream.
13.
What is Semiotics?
1. How could you apply this to a MUSIC VIDEO: You could apply this to
a music video, for example if you had a message you could include political
symbols, religious symbols, or even consumer symbols. However, the general
context to the symbols and the use of the presentation of such. An example Lady
Gaga’s “Telephone” where there is a consistent display of consumer goods such
as Kraft, Beats by Dre and Chevrolet to name a few. The Music Video itself is
nothing more than one glorified commercial however the fact that this is a
music video is however though deceiving however very clever in the sense that
it uses music to glorify the commercial as whole. Another effective example of
having a message in a music video that being a politics or a social matter this
being one of Eminem’s most infamous “The Storm” in where Eminem goes after
Trump by calling him out and highlighting a lot of the controversial statements
and policies of the U.S President. This generated a lot of controversy however
this was effective in its sense of raising awareness on certain matter and the
state of the country.
Links in relation to my sources.
Music Videos and sources to Visual
media in relation to the Document.
Film and example pieces in relation to
the Document
The Great
Dictator “Final Speech”
