1. languages of media and analysing images

plus sign

crucifix

crossroads

(poss denote christianity and therefore connote suffering or oppression or sacrifice)

Pierce – Divide SIGNS up into 4 different kinds:Arbitrary: no relationship between sign and signified e.g word ‘daffodil’ and actual daffodilIconic: resemble what they signify e.g. photo of daffodil, icon of Jesus resembles actual Jesus, some computer icons Indexical: act as evidence of the signified e.g. smoke of fire, sweat of effort, spots of measlesSymbolic: linked arbitrarily to referents e.g. crown as symbol of monarchy

This biohazard sign is a completely conventional symbol with no inherent

relationship to what it

represents.

Also CONVENTIONAL

signs e.g. ‘NO’ circle with cross through it

Roland Barthes - French semiologist

Denotation = literal or obvious meaning

Connotation = potential or suggested meaning e.g. + is sign which has many literal and potential meanings.

‘Let us deconstruct this text’

Iconic sign (it is a photo of a real person, tanks etc and visually resembles its

referent.)

Indexical sign ( the light and shadow act as evidence of time of day, weather etc. The photo

and video shot at same time used as political evidence too.

Symbolic – the photo was widely circulated and interpreted. Became a symbol of western

democracy/consumerism vs. totalitarian communism

Some definitions you should know:

Denotation

Connotation

Polysemic

Open/closed text

Preferred reading

Aberrant decoding

Anchorage – fixed usually with caption

Intertextuality

Intertextuality

Anchorage (used wrongly)