WEEK 1: Semiotics

2/2/2022

Semiotics is the study of signs and their systems in society; how they communicate meaning, and how we relate to them.

As touched on in Y1, Semiotics is a critical methodology focusing on 'signs', and providing a framework for decoding them.

A sign is anything capable of conveying meaning (eg. words, images, gestures, clothing, etc). Signs can be grouped together to form 'codes', to convey encoded messages (eg. body language, alphabets, dress code, etc).

Modern semiotics (as noted by Jonathan Bignell in 'Media Semiotics', 2002), owes itself to the work of two semioticians; Charles Peirce (1839-1914), and Ferdinand de Saussure (1859-1913). Both were linguists with a synchronic approach to language. Their ideas were relatively similar, but their stances were succinctly different; Peirce was an essentialist, whilst Saussure favoured a structuralist view.*

*Essentialism suggests our external environment influences us - that we are born a "blank slate" which is then imprinted on by our experience of reality.
Structuralism suggests we have an underlying, inherent nature that shapes us even before we are born - that we are not moulded by our reality.

SAUSSURE & THE HISTORY OF SEMIOTICS

Ferdinand de Saussure

As a structuralist, Saussure proposed that language is ideological - relating to political and cultural ideas. He also viewed lingual communication as an 'exchange of minds', requiring mutual cooperation (reference and knowledge of reference) to work.

An entire language system (langue) is made up of words (signs, which are symbolic and arbitrary). This concept, that each sign is in fact dyadic, is the basis for Saussure's equation:

SIGNIFIER + SIGNIFIED = SIGN
(textual stimulus + stimulated concept = sign)

A syntagm would then be a complete, ordered sequence of signs (ie. a sentence). A paradigm is a point of substitution in a sentence which allows for an exchange of a similar sign without changing the overall structure. Noting these two elements is essential in explaining the meaning of a parole.

BARTHES, CONNOTATION & MYTH

Roland Barthes

Another semiotician directly influenced by Saussure was Roland Barthes (1915-1980). Notably, Barthes' work built on Saussure's ideas and focused on their link to cultural media, coining the term myth (the bringing-together of a sign and its connotations).

As Barthes mentioned in 'Mythologies', 1957, myths in mainstream media and culture may:
- reflect dominant ways of thinking ("cultural norms").
- be structured (to communicate messages or propagate stereotype).
- be ideological (politically/socially motivated).

An example in Bignell's text I found quite useful was that of the Rolls-Royce. The word, or linguistic sign, denotes a make of car. But beyond that, considering the connotations we've derived from our experience of reality, it becomes a connote or "symbol" of luxury and wealth.

CASE STUDY: THE WORLD OF WRESTLING

In lecture, we looked at wrestling and the wrestler/audience dynamic as another example of Barthes' mythology concept.

Exaggerated body language and excessive gestures are used in wrestling to emphasise meaningful discourse. These gestures can be seen as individual signs, used together to create a semiotic code - when repeated and reinforced, they can be easily decoded by the audience.

SIGNIFIER + SIGNIFIED = SIGN
(gestures + wrestling concept = sign)

Therefore, the myth here is that wrestling presents the illusion of passion. It has all the context of sport, but is actually a performance - fans derive pleasure from the illusion of dealt justice.

From this case study, we can separate the whole process into 3 parts:
- PRESENTATION: the live event.
- REPRESENTATION: mediation (editing, direction, relay).
- RE-REPRESENTATION: reframing (highlighting, biased opinions).