Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. 

We are all brought up and told certain things are signs without any training, we grasp what signs are and what functions they serve. Signifying orders allow people to encode and store knowledge. We are all brought up with sounds, presiding random noises for example 'r-a-b-b-i-t' we know as a 'long eared, short tailed, burrowing mammal, with soft fur' but for some reason we all know it as a 'rabbit' because we are told. 

Media has a big part to play within semiotics; it was the French semiotics Ronald Barthes (1915-80) who drew attention in the 1950's the value of studying media and culture with the tools of semantics. Semiotics is the discipline aiming to study in sign based behavior. The mass media create and recycle signs for there own ends. For example, super man. What and who does super man represent? We all know him as a hero, which comes from another planet that has these powers that humans cannot portray. The mass media has produced him as some sort of God like character. Superman came to Earth from galaxy, making him lead a double life. He wears a distinctive costume, we all know as being the ‘superman’ code, with his tights and red cape it makes him recognizable to the audience a symbol. As long as he is indestructible, wears the same suit, has the ability to fly etc. he will be instantly be recognizable as super man, no matter which particular artist draws him or who plays him in a movie. Connotation is powerful because it evokes feelings and perceptions about things.

There are various types of signs that resemble different things in different ways. Portraits of people are different signs/visual icons showing the faces of people from the perspective of an artist as they all have different views. Onomatic words are vocal signs such as ‘drip’ ‘plop’ ‘bang’ they are there to try and replicate the sounds of certain things. Chemical foods that use additives, trying to replicate the taste of natural foods. A symbol is a sign that stands for something in an arbitey way. Words are symbolic signs in general, as are hand gestures; they have a symbolic meaning that we are all taught to know. The ‘V’ sign made with the two fingers one way is offence and the other symbolizes peace. Colours are another good example of signs, when we see them they all evoke different meanings, for example:

White- purity, innocence, clean

Black- evil, guilt, impurity

Red- blood, passion, love

Blue- hope, sky paradise

Going back to the superman example he wears red and blue, which both suggest different things his red cape shows ‘noble blood’ and his blue sybolises ‘hope’ he brings to humanity. Also red and blue are the combination used in America an indication of American patriotism.