Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Semiotic Theory

Today we looked more into the semiotic theory, more specifically codes, text, myth and signs. 

Iconic: literal signs where the signifier resembles the signified, e.g., a picture of a person. 

Indexical: signs where the signifier is caused by the signified eg. smoke signifies fire

Symbol: Obvious sign- has an arbitrary connection with the thing, for example toilet symbol. An obvious sign

Myth: Somewhat  related to connotation, Roland Barthes refers to myth. We usually associate myths with classical fables about the exploits of gods and heroes, for example prometheus. However, for Barthes myths were the dominant ideologies of our time. Myths can be seen as extended metaphors. Like metaphors, myths can help us make sense of our experiences in culture/society. 

Codes: One of the fundamental concept in semiotics, codes provide us with a organisational system of meaning which gives us the basis for creating and understanding semiotic texts.Codes provide a framework within which signs make sense- culturally applicable. 

Text: Text is a group signifiers and codes. Text can be photographs, posters, books etc however its meaning will change depending on the context in which it is seen. 

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