Lesson 9

• CODES – rules or conventions by which signs are put together to create meaning.
• In most cases a media text will use a variety of codes – visual, audio and written – that fit together in a certain way to create a particular meaning.
• Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) saw language as a cultural creation rather than something innate.
• Roland Barthes (1913-1980) looked at the way visual images transmit meanings. He showed how we go through various stages when deconstructing a sign.
• Charles Peirce (1839-1914) introduced the idea of semiotics and developed Saussure's ideas.
• Semiotics is the study of sign. It examines how symbolic, written and technical sign construct meaning. It looks at how meaning is made and understood.
• Signifier is the sign: a word, colour, or image.
• Signified is the concept, meaning, associations that the sign refers to.
• All media texts have two layers of meaning: the denotative and connotative level.
• Denotative level is what we actually see
• Connotative level is what you associate with this image - we bring cultural experiences to what we see, add our own information and attempt to identify meaning.
• Denotative is the surface meaning while connotative is the deeper or hidden meanings and associations.
• Some signs are arbitrary - they can have several meanings.
• Iconic signs is the use of wheelchair to indicate disabled facilities
• Indexical signs - smoke used to identify fire or a tear for sorrow.
• Superiority, Domination & Body Language: Men are shown in dominant positions and appear to be reflective of thought and intelligence. Women are physically portrayed in sexual or reclining poses with blank or inviting expressions.
• Dismemberment: On females, parts of the body such as legs, chest, etc., are used, rather than the full body. This is often applied to sell products which are not related to the body, such as mobile phones (right)
• The Voice-Over Authority: In moving image advertisements, male voices are used as voice-over's in commercials rather than females.