Todays lesson : Seminology

In todays lesson we talked and learned about the science of semiotics. The definition of semiotics is "the signs and symbols of communicative behaviour, the analysis of systems of communication, as language, gestures, or clothing" and "a general theory of signs and symbolism, usually divided into the branches of pragmatics, semantics and syntactics".
So basically, in the case of what i am going to do: the analysis of the sign and symbolism which comes from a photo. What a photo could tell us about a person using connotations (the meaning behind a description) and denotation (the literal meaning of that description).

Denotations often lead us onto a connotation: for example, the woman is wearing a diamond necklace, therefore suggesting she is a very wealthy lady who likes to impress.

We did a 2 big sheets in class which one featured photos of an old lady, a youthful girl, a sexy woman and a brightly-haired young girl. With these photos we had to write what we thought about them and words which we associated with these women. To do this we had to be very stereotypical and judgemental, however people need to be put into categories in order to create a target audience and to have an idea of how to target this audience.

There were also some more keys words: context and anchorage: the way that different media language elements combine to help fix meaning. Elements which finalize and certify a meaning. Print based media texts will use anchorage to help readers interpret the photos they used to illustrate their stories or articles. Basically when lots of descriptions all link into one full fixed meaning.

Here i have done my own examples of signs and signifies, denotations, connotation and context and anchorage:

 Denotations: Black leather bikini, dark hair, centre frame, smiling, lots of make-up, action-style belt, half-naked, strong and confident persona due to hands of hips and focused eyes, attractive to men, sexy, determined eyes

Connotations: daring, tough personality, vain, keeps fit

This magazine is a international men magazine. This is known without researching as the women is aimed at men through what she is wearing and how she is standing, and we know its an international mag due to the variations of currency near the bar code. This magazine would be sold from one of the top shelves in a newsagents as it wouldn't be in children's eye level and would be next to all of the other men's magazines.

This is David Bowie in the 1960's, some of his earliest years.

Denotations: Smart dress with tie and button-down collar. His hair is swept to one side smartly. Two different coloured eyes. Blank background. White clean shirt. Stylish tie. Young boy. Teenage/early twenties-ish. Center frame. Shiny, clean hair.

Connotations: A lot of the denotations indicate Bowie looking smart which also links to the time the photo was taken. The smart dress makes it look as if he was trying to make an effort and his two different coloured eyes show uniqueness, however, it can only be noticed when looking close. The blank background makes the photo look as if it is a school or work photo - very simple and appropriate. The shirt is very clean and white indicating he may not work in somewhere dirty. However, if the viewer knew that this is David Bowie, the musical legend, they may just think this is a press shot or a school photo of his personally.

I found this photo on the internet which firstly came from a men's magazine.

Denotations: Skimpy clothing - black underwear. The model is blonde, attractive and is wearing diamonds. She has long velvet boots on with pointy heels. She is 'sitting' on a Doberman dog. The dog has a diamond collar. The background is white - contrasting with the black. The dog looks relaxed. The models nails are painted and she is tanned and toned.

Connotations: The skimpy clothing aims the photo towards men, and the black could indicate that she is strong. The diamonds show that she has wealth and likes the better things in life. The velvet boots could be seen as sexy and the pointy heel might be taken as dangerous and sexy again. The model has control and domination over the dog, which could be linked to men wanted the woman to have control and domination of them also. The white background makes our attention go straight towards the model and then the dog. The dog is relaxed and is letting the model have control. The model is tanned, has her nails done, is toned, slim and has make-up on showing that she looks after herself and her looks, and possibly is vain.

This is Hilary Duff who was originally a Disney star and now also is an entrepreneur, author, singer-songwriter and an actress.

Denotations: Funky lilac hat and colourful top, blonde young hair. Fresh-faced with little make-up. Hoop earrings. Eye-contact. Smile. Youthful. Natural. White background. Close-up.

Connotations: A role model for children - 'child

friendly'. Sensible and funky dressing indicating she likes fashion and style, and also likes to look different from other people. With the blonde hair and fresh face, she looks very innocent and clean. Eye-contact shows confidence. Parents wouldn't mind their children to be fans of Duff as she looks sensible and promotes the right things just from this photograph.

This is a 1960s bra advertisement.

Denotations: Four 20-somethings, all have radios. Wearing different coloured bras. Different style of bras Red background. Text fills less than half of the page compared to the photo. Wearing the same white skirts - uniform? All smiling, perfect hair and make-up. Advert aimed at women. A get together, a sociable occasion.

Connotations: They all have radios which links to the moto 'tune in to the colour parade' but also could indicate they are up to date with the latest music, and can afford to have radios each. The red background and different colour bras links again to the moto. The different colour and style of bras could show that each woman has a different personality and style and also it show to the audience that the bra comes in different colours. They are all wearing the same skirts which could show that they all work at the same place - maybe as air hostesses. The smiles show they are happy to wear these bras - showing the audience they will be happy if they buy them. The advert shows that it is a sociable occasion.

Keywords

 

Signs: Everything that can be seen or heard is a sign. It is a discrete unit of meaning.

Arbitrary: The meaning of many signs.
Negotiated meaning: Meanings of different things such as colour can be different in every country or society. We have agreed what these colours mean accordingly - this is can negotiated meaning.
Language culture: The people who share an understanding of associations.
Cultural agreement: The agreement in which for example, our culture agrees a colour means a certain thing.
Polysemic: When signs have a multiple of different meanings
Achorage: How the combination of elements in a sign work together to fix meaning and interpretation.

 

We also got handed out these sheets which are an introduction to seminology. I have highlighted some keys points which are mentioned and i am planning to finalise those points later in this post. Here are the sheets:

Here are the notes i took from this sheet:

- Semiotics can be used to understand how media texts make meaning for their audiences.
- The approach of semiotics can be applied to all forms of media texts such as print, documentaries and soap operas.
- All media texts are constructed using a variety of signs. Everything seen or heard is a sign. A sign is a discrete unit of meaning.

I have also decided, just like the sheet, to apply semiotics to some well known printed signs:

 - The sign looks like a tick
- The colour green indicates positivity and nature
-The leaf design also indicates nature
- Overall the sign shows that it is okay to eat this product, and is a positive sign of nature and health

-The colour red indicates danger, anger and the practical use is that it catches the eye of the public
- The word 'stop' is an instruction and an order











In conclusion

Semiotics let us delve further into the photograph instead of making us judge what is on the surface. This can provide us an understanding of why things look the way they do and the effect this has on the audience. The idea of semiotics can help us as audiences deal with media issues such as genre, narrative, representation and ideology. Semitotics show that photos which are simple could mean more than photos that are busy depending on the subject. The approach identifies the active nature of the producing institutions in creating meaning with their media texts. I believe that semiotics do involve stereotyping people a lot, however, this must be done to understand why photos and images look the way they are.