Today, we learnt about Semiology which is also known as the theories of semiotics. Semiology is an approach that can be used to understand how media texts make meaning for their audiences. This approach can be applied to all sorts of different media texts from newspapers and magazines to documentaries and soap operas. This approach provides a way of thinking about media texts which can help you consider how media texts show meaning.
Key terms that are used in Semiology are the following: Signs and Signifiers, Denotations, Connotations and Context and Anchorage. In the posts that I will make after this one, I will talk about all of the following key terms in much more detail and show my understanding of them with some examples of evidence in the media where it has been shown. In this post, I will make a brief summary of what these key terms mean.
Signs are everything that seen or heard on screen or that can be seen on a page. Signs aren't limited to words - but also include images, gestures and sounds. Signifiers is something very similar to signs but it means the sign which conveys something. For example, the cigarette that a femme fatale may use would be the signifier of the femme fatale because the character is supposed to be dangerous and seductive and having a cigarette shows this because the women of that specific time period were seen as non-smokers and if they did smoke they were seen as rebellious people.
Denotation means the literal meaning or description of a word or object. For example, if a sign with naked flame is shown with a red circle and a diagonal line running through it. We then say what it is. That is what denotation means.
Connotation means the associations that are made when interpreting the sign. For example, if the colour of the sign is red we can associate this with danger.
Context is the way we see a colour that we can associate with danger. The context of the colour would be the way we interpret it. Anchorage is a term used to describe how the combination of elements work together to fix meaning and interpretation. Print based media will use anchorage to help readers to interpret they use to illustrate their stories and articles.
These are the small summaries of what they mean. I will make some more posts explaining in detail what they mean and give some examples of these key terms.
No comments:
Post a Comment