Semiotics

In media we have also been learning about semiotics which help to show what genre something is. Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use/interpretation.

Signs are made up of two things, the signifier and the signified

A signifier is the form of which the sign takes and the signified is the meaning behind the taken form.

For example:
A rose is the signifier and showing that it's a type of flower would be the signified



There are 3 types of sign- iconic, indexical and symbolic.

An iconic sign is where someone or something is in the film that you recognise. For example, Bruce Willis in a film is iconical, and he is usually known for starring in action films.

An indexical sign works through linking, it leads to an interpretation. For example, if you see smoke coming out of a building, you immediately assume that the house is on fire. The smoke signifies fire.

A symbolic sign is a sign that represents something else, it is something that is learnt, people see the symbol and think of the thing that they were taught it is linked to. It's culturally specific, words don't actually mean anything, they are just linked to objects/pictures. For example,


This is a symbol used to symbolise peace.



We also learnt two key words:
"Denotation" (The literal meaning of something)
"Connotation"  (The potentional or interpretated meaning)

15.09.2012