Semiotics: blog tasks

 Part 1: English by Tarun Thind analysis

1) What meanings are the audience encouraged to take about the two main characters from the opening of the film?

The audience is encouraged to believe that the main characters are unfriendly and criminal characters through the use of background characters and what they say. This is also accomplished through their costumes and behaviour/expressions throughout.




2) How does the end of the film emphasise de Saussure’s belief that signs are polysemic – open to interpretation or more than one meaning?

At the end of the film we see the main character giving the old man who they seemed to have robbed earlier in the movie a fresh bunch of bananas and we also find out that both the main characters are deaf as they communicate through sign language. This shows how signs are polysemic because the signs throughout the movie can be seen differently depending on the person seeing them. Some people may have seen the signs that they were deaf but some may think that by ignoring people they were just being rude thuggish teens.


Part 2: Media Magazine theory drop - Semiotics 

1) What did Ferdinand de Saussure suggest are the two parts that make up a sign?
2) What does ‘polysemy’ mean?

Something that has multiple meanings 

3) What does Barthes mean when he suggests signs can become ‘naturalised’?

some signs are culturally accepted and therefore most people just agree on it and take them to have one dominant meaning 


4) What are Barthes’ 5 narrative codes?

Hermeneutic,proairetic,cultural,connotative,symbolic code

5) How does the writer suggest Russian Doll (Netflix) uses narrative codes?



Part 3: Icons, indexes and symbols

1) Find two examples for each: icon, index and symbol. Provide images or links.

Icon: 🚳🚷

Index: 🚦stop,go 🔥fire=smoke

Symbol: ? $

2) Why are icons and indexes so important in media texts?
Icons and indexes allow for meanings/messages to be conveyed quickly without the need for explanation.



3) Why might global brands try and avoid symbols in their advertising and marketing?
Some symbols may be polygenic and be offensive to some people.

 
4) Find an example of a media text (e.g. advert) where the producer has accidentally communicated the wrong meaning using icons, indexes or symbols. Why did the media product fail? (This web feature on bad ads and marketing fails provides some compelling examples).




This doll has on a necklace which many people thought resembled an inappropriate object even though it was meant to be a kids toy.


5) Find an example of a media text (e.g. advert) that successfully uses icons or indexes to create a message that can be easily understood across the world.




In this advert the use of the gun symbolises death as most people know that guns are used to kill people and therefore it’s clear that by comparing a cigarette to a gun they’re trying to say that smoking is equally capable of killing you. 

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