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.
        • John & Yoko in bed
        • Hippie bus (Wavy Gravy--Merry Pranksters)
        • 1968 Olympics black power salute
        • RFK
        • MLK
        • Moon landing
        • "miracle Mets"
        • Vietnam War combat images
        • Vietnam War protest images: Kent State
        • 1973 Munich Olympics: Terrorists
        • Nixon and Agnew
        • School kids


  1. 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?
  2. List two strength(s) of semiotic/structuralist analysis. List two weaknesses of this approach (no, a difficult vocabulary does not count).

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