Lecture 3: Semiotics

According to Roland Barthes, (1964) Semiology also known as Semiotics is the study of signs. The important question here is what are signs? Signs can be in a form of images, gestures, sound, and even objects that individual sees in everyday life. For example it could be public toilet signs, sign boards on roads, and even the different color of the traffic light are signs. Why is it important to learn semiotics in visual communication? According to Thomas Sebeok, (1991) semiotics is all about the learning the meaning and understanding the verbal language of the signs. This is needed in analyzing visual communication because it is to understand how and why images are perceived differently by individuals in society.

"Tutorial Question: Provide examples of Signifiers, Signified and Connotation."

Semiotic uses two important factors to identify a sign:  it is the signifiers and signified. Barthes, (1964) believed that the idea of semiotics was founded by Ferdinand de Saussure (1916) who defined signifiers also known as signification to be seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting. This is basically the five physical senses where individuals use to perceive the image or object and turn it into verbal language. For example: Having a word that sounds the same however has different meanings.

To Write

To the Right

The word "Write" and "Right" have the same tone and sound therefore, hearing these words maybe depend on their perception of what comes first in their mind.






This verbal language is known as the signified, according to the definition used in Griffin (2009) it is "the meaning we associate with sign". In other words, a sign is formed when both signifiers and signified are combined together. This is an example where it is a warning sign, the signifier is to "see" that zombies cross in this area and the signified is to be "warned" and stay away.

However, how a sign is interpreted is by the denotation and connotation. According to Sebeok (2001) denotation is defined as the "initial, or intensional, meaning captured by a form or sign." In other words, denotation is the literal meaning of the sign, for example: a picture of a kitten playing with a ball of wool will only be understood as the what the image shows.

However, connotation is the opposite, it is defined as "the extended meaning of a form or sign." (Sebeok, 2001, p.152) For example: a picture of a rose will have the connotation for beauty, love, passion, and desire, yet these words are not written in actual picture itself. It is the based on the individual's own perception whether the picture of the rose does convey those perception or not.

In conclusion, semiotics is the process of learning the signs. It is important to understand because it is useful in analyzing visual communication. Understanding the signifiers, signified and denotation and connotation is important for analyzing the visual ideology and perception of individuals in different society

References:

Barthes, R. (1964) Elements of Semiology. Hill and Wang

Griffin, E. (2009) A First Look at Communication Theory (7th Ed.) Glecoe, IL: McGraw Hill.

Saussure, F. (1916) Course in General Linguistics. (trans. Wade Baskin) London: Fontana/Collins.

Sebeok, T. A. (1991) A Sign is Just a Sign. Bloomingtom: Indiana University Press.

Sebeok, T. A. (2001) Signs: An Introduction to Semiotics. (2nd Ed.) University of Toronto Press Incorporated.

Lecture 2: Seeing and Perception.

First and foremost it is important in understanding the meaning of Visual Communication, according to  Lester it is defined as the "function of the eyes and brain that makes sense of all the sensory information." (pg.2, Lester, 1995) Other than the biological abilities that allows individuals to "see" images and objects, however it is culture, ideology, and society that shapes their perception of the world.  

 "Does culture and society affect perception? Why?"

The definition of perception according to Barry (2002) it is the process which we utilize external sensory information in combination with other internal conscious and unconscious workings of the brain to make sense of the world. In other words, individuals use perception to understand the meaning of visual communication.

Yes, culture and society does play a major role in perception. As mentioned earlier, perception is viewed in two ways: the external sensory and the conscious and unconscious working of the mind. According to Flanagan (1984) the mind will consciously try to understand and respond to the environment and experience, here  is where extrospection and introspection occurs. The process of extrospection is the process in which the individual understand the external, material world. As for introspection, it is the process of understanding the material world through one's psychology and mental actions such as feelings, reflecting and imagining.

The unconsciousness of perception may vary on a society's race, gender, age, customs, beliefs, and past experiences from generations and generations before us. this  Different societies develops its unique ideology on they will perceive, time and space will change these values and comes the diversity of perception in society. Socialization is one of the agents that unconsciously develops society's perception, where from families to institutions teaches the different rationale of the visual communication.

An example of how different cultures and societies perceive is the image of beauty. Women are naturally conforming to the norms and values to achieve the physical beauty in order to be accepted in society. As Naomi Wolf (1991) states that women are constantly changing their looks because of what is shown in the media. Take Unites States for example: the perception of being platinum blonde, fit physique, flawless make-up is considered as beautiful and empowering.

However, in a more traditional perception of beauty is the women of the Kayan tribe in Thailand (Burma). At a young age, the girls wear brass coils around the neck, as they age more brass coils are placed around their necks and the longer the neck the more beautiful she is. Here is an exact example of how culture and society shapes their perception. Although not every society may think this is what beauty is defined as but it is the Kayan tribe's belief, tradition and custom that to this day they still perform such a unique beauty ritual.

In conclusion, perception is shaped by culture and society. It is from the past experience, customs, belief systems, and personal encounters that encourages how individuals view images in society. According to Barry (1997) most perceptual theorists believe that perception is largely confined by the individual consciousness, emotions, and memories and therefore, an individuals' perception is unique according to their society's norms and values and cultures.

References List:

Barry, A. M. S. (1997) Visual Intelligence: Perception, Image, and Manipulation in Visual Communication. State University of New York Press, Albany.

Barry, A. M. S. (2002) Journal of Visual Literacy: Perception and Visual Communication Theory.
Massachusetts, USA.

Flanagan, Jr., Owen J. (1984) The Science of the Mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT P.

Lester, P. M. (1995) Visual Communication: Images with Messages. 

Wolf, N. (1991) The Myth of Beauty: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. London. William Marrow and Company.