Broadcasting: Concepts and Contexts Chris Gilgallon

 The Oxford English Dictionary defines semiotics as…  ‘…the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.’  Whether we realise it or not, signs are an integral part of our every day existence.

 We communicate using signs: ◦ Words, (spoken and written) ◦ Images, (still and moving) ◦ Acts, (what we do and how we react)

 There are also other signs which we interpret: ◦ Sounds, (artificial and natural) ◦ Odours ◦ Flavours ◦ Objects, (man-made or natural)

 Pierce stated that 'Nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted as a sign‘  Anything can be considered to be a sign as long as someone choses to see it as ‘signifying’ something. In this case it will refer to, or stand for something other than itself

 Normally our interpretation of things as signs is an unconscious act.  We have learned though social conventions or personal experience to interpret things as signs.

 I can only understand what a sign represents  If I understand what it does not represent.

 The linguist Ferdinand de Saussure offered a 'dyadic' or two-part model of the sign. He defined a sign as being composed of: ◦ a 'signifier' - the form which the sign takes; ◦ and ◦ the 'signified' - the concept it represents.

 The association between the signifier and the signified provides the sign.  The relationship between the signifier and the signified is referred to as the ‘signification’.

 Symbolic signs: ◦ Arbitrary. ◦ The relationship between signifier and signified is culturally specific. ◦ Words would be an example

 Iconic Signs: ◦ The signifier resembles the signified. ◦ A picture would be an example.

 Indexical signs: ◦ A sign where the signifier is caused by the signified. ◦ Smoke signifies fire.

 Ideology: ◦ Ideological codes work to organise other codes into a coherent set of meanings. ◦ Serving the dominant interests of a society.

 Codes: ◦ Combination of semiotic systems. ◦ Imply values about the world in which we live. ◦ The interaction of values, social structures and semiotics.

 Metaphor: ◦ Connotation where one sign is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. ◦ Used to refer to something it does not literally denote. ◦ Suggests similarity.

 Often a signifier can represent a different signified and therefore a different sign.  The word ‘open’ when seen on a shop window is a sign that the shop is open for business.  The same word on a piece of packaging is a sign of where and possibly how to open the package.

 Think of the word library when it is placed at the entrance to a building.  We interpret this as a sign.  The signifier is the word ‘library’.  The signified concept is of a building which contains books and materials which can be borrowed.

 Other signs: ◦ A red traffic light is the signifier and having to stop is the signified. ◦ A particular ringtone on your phone is the signifier; the arrival of a message is the signified ◦ The smell of curdled milk is the signifier; that the milk is off is the signified.

 Roland Barthes believed that Saussure’s sign focussed on denotation at the expense of the connotation.  Barthes was a French literary theorist who used semiotics to analyse the mass media and who developed his own contributions to the field; in particular the idea of denotation and connotation.

 Think of an image of a heart  The denotation is what we see; a heart.  However the connotation can be of love.  The connotative reading will be influenced by both cultural and personal experience.

 An example of mixed connotations is the colour red.  The colour red denotes a certain bandwidth in the spectrum which separates it from other colours.  However, in terms of connotation red can stand for passion but can also stand for danger.

 Remember that the names we attach to things are purely arbitrary, there is no law of nature which states that red has to be called red, or that a heart has to be called a heart.  These are just names which have been given to them and have, through cultural learning been fixed to them.

 Barthes was interested in the power of the mass media and believed that the primary way that the mass media communicate ideological meanings is though connotation.

 The American space programme from the 60’s onwards in terms of media coverage was laden with connotations: ◦ Technological (and tied into that, military) superiority ◦ access to seemingly inexhaustible financial resources ◦ scientific ingenuity ◦ bravery

 It will depend on your own cultural background and personal beliefs.  To most Americans the connotation is of their superiority and rightful place as world leaders.  If you lived in the USSR it would have been of danger and imminent threat.  Eventually these beliefs can be seen to evolve into what are effectively myths.

 Ultimately a rocket is just a rocket, and the image of a man walking on the moon is just an image of a man walking on the moon, they are both signs.  However, the important thing is the connotations associated with these signs.

 But the connotations, (and therefore the myths) can change.  The Challenger and subsequent Shuttle disasters changed the connotations of US space programme.  This consequently challenges the myth.

 Television is an integral part of our culture.  Television presents the viewer with a multitude of signs.  Television makes use of a langue, (language system), consisting of both visual and aural signs.

Everything within a programme is a sign. ◦ Opening credits ◦ Theme tune ◦ Design of the set ◦ Actors cast ◦ mise en scene ◦ Music used ◦ Make up ◦ Lighting

 Think of the structures of different types of programmes.  Even if we have never seen a particular programme before, we can recognise the signs, their connotations and make assumptions regarding the genre of programme it is.

 What are the signs you can read, and connotations of the following images?