Semiotics• Semiotics aims to reveal and analyze

meanings that are produced out of the structural relations that exist within a sign system, and not from the external reality they seem naturally to depict

• Meaning is produced within the confines of the sign system and that suggests that meanings are produced out of the relations that exist between the elements of the sign system.

signifier + signified = sign

Sign

SignifiedSignifier

Semiotics and the meaning of signs

Sign

• Signifier - the form that a sign takes I.e., the word or image that depicts, the “cowboy”

• Signified - the concept to which the sign refersI.e., an idea of the rugged masculinity and self-reliance

• The sign is a recognizable combination of signifier and signified. All signs are arbitrary, which means they are not the same as what we call: reality.

The Sign

signifierphysical existence of the sign

signifiedmental concept of the sign

arbitrary relationship

dynamic relationship

Kinds of signs

symbol• A sign that is connect to its object as a matter of convention,

agreement or rule. It is arbitrary.

‣ e.g. word, flag, rose for love

Icon• bears some resemblance to the object it stand for

‣ e.g photo, map

Index• Bears a causal connection or points to referent

‣ Eg. smoke, footprint, symptom of disease (snapshot too)

Motivation & Convention

Icon

ic

Sym

bolic

Arb

itra

ry

Degree of Motivation

Degree of Convention

Denotation:

• Literal meaning of the sign

Connotation:

• The social-cultural (and sometimes personal) associations a reader makes

‣ how it is represented

Encoding and Decoding ImageryDenotation – “literal” meaning of a signConnotation – associative, conventional meaning of a sign

Image is from the opening page (splash page) for

“Obama for America”

(https://donate.barackobama.com/page/content/splashsignup_welcome)

syntagm/syntigmatic

para

digm

/par

adig

mat

ic

Meaning and Structure• Meaning is defined by structural relationships in

language or in representational systems.

I.E., woman is not man

black is not white

• Meaning is produced through language or other systems of representation, the meaning of words, images and other forms of communication are shaped by their relationship with other terms operating in the system.

• This means the value of signs is based on difference. “What distinguishes a sign is what constitutes it.” (Saussure)

Six Principles of Semiotics

1. We view the world through the filter of a semiotic code or mythic frame

2. Always question the “commonsense” view of thing

3. The “commonsense” view is usually ideologically motivated

4. Cultures portray their ideological practices as “natural’ and condemn contrary practices as “unnatural”

5. In evaluating cultural practices, look at the underlying interests

6. Signs mark the dynamic movement of social history

Meaning and History

• To say language and systems of representation (images, etc.) construct reality tends to deny the role of history, community and cultural context in defining the meaning of signs.

• Languages develop based on intra-linguistic consistencies. I.e., screw-driver

• They develop through historical association and cultural practice.

• In this sense, it is more helpful to think of the relationship between the signifier and the signified in terms of relative autonomy, which really means there are multiple sources that shape the meaning associated with the signs we use.

Stuart Hall – Encoding/Decoding

• Meaning as discourse where discourse refers to the social production of knowledge through specific practices of representation and articulation.

I.E., a “raw” historical event is not just depicted on TV; it is signified through the audio-visual language of TV, which in turn shapes what we understand the event to be.

• For this reason, Hall talks about the process of encoding and decoding messages, which are crucial to the way meaning operates.

Encoding and Decoding Texts – The cycle of Meaning

Filippa Hamilton

Dominant/Preferred Reading

Negotiated Reading

Oppositional Reading

C.S. Peirce and the relationality of Signifier/Signified

• Symbols - relationship between signifier and signified is arbitrary or purely conventional. Thus it must be learned

• Icon - the signifier resembles the signified - but there is always a degree of conventionality involved.

I.e., a portrait, a film, sound

effects on radio program

C.S. Peirce - Thinking about relationality

• Index - signifier is not arbitrary but is directly connected in some way - physically or causally - to the signified.

I.e., smoke to fire, photograph/film to

the subject or event, medical

symptoms

• Problem is that iconic and indexical signs are likely to be read as “natural” but it is important to think of the role of conventionality in these signs.

Surveillance cameras and the production of meaning

• The context for this discussion is the tremendous expansion of surveillance throughout our lives

• This raises the question: How has the proliferation of surveillance footage impacted the construction crime and public space?

Why has surveillance footage exploded?

• Development of digital technologies

• Breakdown in sense of local community - which has lead to the use of surveillance as part of monitoring shared community space

• Development of a culture of fear, particularly in the post 9/11 era

• Demand from television programming

• Police provide surveillance as part of public campaigns to assist with police work and serve the political ends for the police.

What are the ideological effects of surveillance footage?

• Defines the cause of crime in relation to notions of individual responsibility or evil because police/media provide the defining interpretations of video surveillance tapes. “Event orientation” is not about the social or historical context of crime.

• Exaggerates fears about an increase in violent crimes because these are typically the focus of media attention

• Exaggerates crime as a phenomenon unique to lower classes because cameras are more common in low income areas of cities

Ideological effects c’ont

• Reinforce a relationship between crime and youth, males and people of colour

• Because police typically control what surveillance images are broadcast on TV, there are limited screenings of material that portray the police in a negative light. There are exceptions.

Why do surveillance tapes have such power?

• TV is emotive - the footage creates an illusion of immediacy and threat. This is accentuated by gritty, grainy look of the tape - which fits the aesthetic of common sense notions of crime (i.e., it happens on dark streets in a random fashion)

• TV is embodying - it visualizes the lone body in distress

• TV is epistemologically forceful - “seeing is believing,” and the power of an aesthetic of authenticity

• TV is both collectivizing and individuating

• TV is voyeuristic - we take pleasure in viewing the forbidden

Surveillance tapes and power

• Surveillance produces both a synoptic (the many see the few) and a panoptic (the few see the many) relationship with power, which leads us to monitor ourselves through an imaginary lens.