A note to ComS 169 students.

1
A note to ComS 169 students.

• Dont worry if you feel challenged by Vande
  Bergs treatment of semiotics and semiology in
  the text. Frankly I feel challenged as well!
  Thats one reason why we will be welcoming a
  guest lecturer tonite. We will work to help
  straighten things out during the second half of
  class. The first half will be given over to the
  peer review of the first assignment.

2
Semiotics and TV Criticism

• ComS 169
• Professor Nick Burnett
• Guest Lecturer
• Professor David Zuckerman

3
Semiotics and Semiology A Bit of History

• In the United States, C.S. Pierce
• In Europe, Ferdinand de Saussere
• Beginning of the 20th century
• As a coherent field of study not really embraced
  until the 1970s with the work of
• Umberto Eco (Italy)
• Roland Barthes (France)

4
Some definitions

• Semiology is the study of signs
• Unfortunately that may not be helpful because the
  definition of a sign is not what you think it is.
• A better definition might be to consider
  semiology/semiotics as the study of meaning
• Key equation for this approach
• Signified Signifier Sign

5
So whats a signifier?

• A signifier exists is the material world. We
  experience signifiers by means of our senseswe
  see, feel, smell, hear signifiers. Signifiers
  are objects, words, images or sounds before they
  are given meaning. There is no inherent
  connection between signifiers and the signifieds.

6
Ok, then whats a signified?

• The signified has no material presence at all.
  It exists purely in our minds. The signified is
  what we think or feel in response to a signifier.
  Because the signified and signifier exist in two
  different realms, they can never be permanently
  attached. We LEARN how to make meanings by
  interpreting signs.

7
How is this related to TV?

• Because in the mass media, the producer of a
  program cannot know exactly who her audience is
  or how they will be responding to a series of
  signs and because that producer cannot interact
  with the audience (as in interpersonal
  communication), using signs to make meaning
  through the media is uniquely challenging.

8
Interpreting signs

• A signs meaning is dependent on the context in
  which it is presented. What does a car mean? To
  a teenager, perhaps freedom. To an ELF member,
  pollution and death. To a auto dealer, an asset.
  To a chauffeur, work. To a celebrity rapper, a
  validation of lifestyle. To an SUV owner, a
  girlie man!

9
Frames

• Eco suggests that the media uses frames to help
  give meaning to signs. Frames are larger
  contexts which give us clues to interpreting
  signs. Consider the supermarket frame, the work
  frame, the classroom frame, the bar frame, etc.
  How does a signifiers connection with a frame
  change the signified and hence the sign?

10
Types of signs

• Symbolic or unmotivated signs language, Morse
  code, semaphore signals (arbitrary relationship
  between the signified and the signifier
• Non-lingistic signs images and objects have a
  less arbitrary relationshipa banana and a
  picture of a banana have a pretty close
  relationship to our mental image (the signified)
  in our heads of banana

11
Barthes and myth

• In this case, myth is NOT used to represent
  fables or legends, but the juxtaposition of signs
  to create meanings. This meaning making is not
  causal or logical, but powerful nonetheless.
• Example carmakers use a beautiful women in a
  car ad to create a meaning for potential buyers,
  or beer is shown in ads being consumed by
  attractive young people having a good time