MIGRAIN semiotics

 Alezey

MIGRAIN semiotics

 PART 1: English by Tarun Thind ; analysis 

1) What meanings are the audience encouraged to take about the two main characters from the opening of the film?

The audience are encouraged to comprehend that the two main characters from the opening of the film are deaf and wouldn’t understand anyone who is talking, which is clearly portrayed as the film continues to show them not listening to anyone as they can’t.

2) How does the end of the film emphasise de Saussure’s belief that signs are polysemic – open to interpretation or more than one meaning?

The end of the film emphasises de Saussure’s belief as it develops the mindset that the film is polysemic and open to interpretation as people may have many beliefs on what the end is and how it reflects on the whole of the film, like in this one it shows sign language.

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PART 2: Media Magazine theory drop - Semiotics

1) What did Ferdinand de Saussure suggest are the two parts that make up a sign?

signifier - the thing that which is communicated

signified - the thing in which is communicating

2) What does ‘polysemy’ mean?

polysemy means when something has multiple meanings and not only singled to one meaning, and open to interpretation.

3) What does Barthes mean when he suggests signs can become ‘naturalised’?

naturalisation is when certain ideas and values are presented so often that they start to feel normal and natural, so Barthes meaning of signs becoming naturalised means that signs communicate meaning, like an image for example.

4) What are Barthes’ 5 narrative codes? 

enigma code - questions created in a scene that keep the audience engaged and increases the amount of mystery, constantly generating questions.

action code - the actions that move the story forward, and general signals of what may occur 

semantic code - when so,mething has extra meaning beyond the obvious, e.g a rose can be linked to romance then rather just being a flower,

symbolic code - deeper themes or opposites, for instance a film may include good vs evil

referential code - links to things the audience already knows from history, culture, science or society

5) How does the writer suggest Russian Doll (Netflix) uses narrative codes?

In Russian Doll on Netflix, the writer constantly links to Barthes’ narrative codes to keep the story interesting and encourage the audience to watch more. The plot of Nadia dying repeatedly and restarting the night each time generates an enigma code and constantly making us as the audience question repeatedly as to why is this happening. Furthermore, the action code is shown every time she dies and it pushes the story forward, like each time Nadia dies, wakes up and tries something to break the loop, these are all chain of events. The semantic code comes through symbols like mirrors and the rotting fruit, linking to themes like identity and time. The symbolic code shows opposites like life vs death and past vs present, showing how Nadia has to confront her past and the relationships to change. Finally, the referential code (cultural) appears in references to video games and russian dolls, connecting the story and connoting bigger ideas about trauma and identity.

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PART 3: Icons, indexes and symbols

1) Find two examples for each: icon, index and symbol. 

Icon:

 

Index:

 

Symbol:

 

2) Why are icons and indexes so important in media texts?

Icons and Indexes are important in media as icons look like what they represent and indexes point to something else (e.g smoke = fire), they help audiences understand and simplify the message fast.

3) Why might global brands try and avoid symbols in their advertising and marketing?

They may do this due to the reason that symbols can have different meanings in different cultures, for example what’s positive in one country might be confusing or even offensive in another.

4) Find an example of a media text (e.g. advert) where the producer has accidentally communicated the wrong meaning using icons, indexes or symbols. Why did the media product fail? 

BURGER KING 2009 advertisement 

Icon: The woman’s open mouth was an iconic representation of eating, but in this context it seemed to represent a sexual gesture leading to unintended interpretations.

Index: The text used a sexual pun, which combined the image to seem worse and thought to be a sexual action more than the intended humour.

Symbol: The Burger King logo, a symbol, was meant to represent the brand, but it was overshadowed by the controversial thoughts and imagery of the advertisement, affecting the brands image.

The miscommunication of the icon, index and symbol and featuring a woman with her mouth open and along with the tagline made the audience get the wrong idea and although it was supposedly meant to be humorous, it was widely criticised and backlashed for sexualising women.

5) Find an example of a media text (e.g. advert) that successfully uses icons or indexes to create a message that can be easily understood across the world.

KITKAT: take a break campaign

Icon: The image of a Kit Kat bar directly resembles the product, making it easily identifiable and the product being advertised.

Index: the presence of the snap in the chocolate bars connotes consumption, linking  the product to the act of taking a break.

Symbol: The slogan ‘take a break, have a KitKat’is a culturally learned phrase that associates the product with relaxation and taking a pause.

This combination of signs ensures that the advertisement is easily understood and relatable to a wider audience, and was a successful campaign due to conveying its message across various cultures.