Semiotics (Discussion)

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Group 3

  • What would be two examples of C. S. Pierce's "indexical sign" (aka, index) that are not mentioned in the textbooks?

Group 4

  • What would be two examples of C. S. Pierce's "iconic sign" (aka, icon) that are not mentioned in the textbooks?

Group 1

  • What would be two examples of C. S. Pierce's "symbolic sign" that are not mentioned in the textbooks?

Group 2

  • What would be one example of syntagmatic structure that is not mentioned in the textbooks?

All groups

  1. 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?
      1. Denotations: List/identify as many of the images as you can.
        • Moon landing
        • Nixon
        • Vietnam war
        • Children on carnival ride
        • 1968 Mexico City Olympic protest
        • Robert Kennedy
        • Mets winning world series ("miracle Mets")
        • ML King
        • Hippie van (Wavy Gravy)
        • Kent State shooting: tear gas thrown, woman over dead student
        • John Lennon & Yoko Ono: sleep in for peace
        • Child at chalkboard
        • Yearbook photo at end
        • 1972 Olympics: Israeli hostages
  2. 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?
    • Both programs are about high-school students. How might paradigmatic sets be used to identify a similar thematic structure in the two programs?
  3. List two strength(s) of semiotic/structuralist analysis. List two weaknesses of this approach (no, a difficult vocabulary does not count).
    • Group 4:
      • Strength of semiotic/structuralist analysis: Makes analysis of themes in a television show easier to understand by identifying syntagms within the work.
      • Weakness: Analyzer must be familiar with the signs that appear in the work for them to hold any meaning. A level of cultural understanding is required.

Bibliography

  1. Jeremy G. Butler, Television: Critical Methods and Applications (NY: Routledge, 2011).
  2. Ellen Seiter, "Semiotics, Structuralism and Television," in Robert C. Allen, Channels of Discourse, Reassembled, second edition (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992).

External links