Semiotics (Discussion)
From Screenpedia
Revision as of 18:26, 2 October 2012 by Jeremy Butler (talk | contribs) (Removed ''Wonder Years'' examples)
Group 3
- Explain C. S. Pierce's "indexical sign" (aka, index) in terms of the relationship of "signifier" and "signified." What examples of it are provided in Television and Channels of Discourse? What would be two examples of it that are not mentioned in the textbooks?
Group 4
- Explain C. S. Pierce's "iconic sign" (aka, icon) in terms of the relationship of "signifier" and "signified." What examples of it are provided in Television and Channels of Discourse? What would be two examples of it that are not mentioned in the textbooks?
Group 1
- Explain C. S. Pierce's "symbolic sign" (aka, symbol) in terms of the relationship of "signifier" and "signified." What examples of it are provided in Television and Channels of Discourse? What would be two examples of it that are not mentioned in the textbooks?
Group 2
- Explain the semiotic principle of syntagmatic structure. What examples of it are provided in Television and Channels of Discourse? What would be one example of it that is not mentioned in the textbooks?
All groups
- Define "denotation" and "connotation." What does semiotician Roland Barthes mean by the term, "myth"?
- What are the denotations and connotations of the Wonder Years' opening montage?
- Denotations: List/identify as many of the images as you can.
- What are the denotations and connotations of the Wonder Years' opening montage?
- Ellen Seiter, in Channels of Discourse, writes, "The picture [of Fangface] itself is a syntagm. ... In the paradigmatic dimension the options are a pair of categories nature/culture (or animal/human...), which is the source of the image's meaning." She continues, "...Hodge and Trip have introduced the binary opposition (nature/culture) and proceeded to organize the elements of the television image into paradigmatic sets."
- List three or four "paradigmatic sets" in the "Prophecy Girl" episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Refer to your list of the episode's scenes to provide specific examples.
- Are there any "paradigmatic sets" to be found in the Wonder Years montage?
- List two strength(s) of semiotic/structuralist analysis. List two weaknesses of this approach (no, a difficult vocabulary does not count).
Bibliography
- Jeremy G. Butler, Television: Critical Methods and Applications (NY: Routledge, 2011).
- Ellen Seiter, "Semiotics, Structuralism and Television," in Robert C. Allen, Channels of Discourse, Reassembled, second edition (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992).
