Session 1 - Semiotics
Everything around us take use of semiotics in some way, whether it be on TV, in sport, fashion or in newspapers. Defined as the study of signs and their use and interpretation, it can be applied to anything that has the ability to convey a meaning. The way clothes can be a sign is for example what it says about you as a person to someone else, it plants a seed of expectation and instantly forms an opinion about you. Sometimes these signs can be grouped together to form a code, for example a dress code. It is a constant feed from signifier (a physical representation) and signified (a mental concept of how you personally perceive it), which happens without us even knowing it. This lesson made us brush up on a lot which we learnt last year, and dipping our toes deeper into the subject matter.
Terminology:
Langue: A language system
Sign: Anything that communicates meaning, like a word
Sign system: The relations between signs
Parole: Examples of Langue, partial example to speech or writing
Syntagm: A complete ordered sentence of signs, a sentence
Paradigm: A point where you can substitute a word in a sentence for a similar sign, without changing the structure
Myth: A way of thinking about people, products, places of ideas that send messages to the reader
Connotation: Signifieds that do not directly relate to the sign, but is formed through social concepts (e.g. Expensive car brand can signify wealth and luxury)
Terminology:
Langue: A language system
Sign: Anything that communicates meaning, like a word
Sign system: The relations between signs
Parole: Examples of Langue, partial example to speech or writing
Syntagm: A complete ordered sentence of signs, a sentence
Paradigm: A point where you can substitute a word in a sentence for a similar sign, without changing the structure
Myth: A way of thinking about people, products, places of ideas that send messages to the reader
Connotation: Signifieds that do not directly relate to the sign, but is formed through social concepts (e.g. Expensive car brand can signify wealth and luxury)
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Roland Barthes: Mythologies
For our reading we read The World of Wrestling in Mythologies by Roland Barthes (1972) pages 15-25, which is a very interesting deep look into the semiotics of wrestling. Below are some notes from the extract but I would like to write a bit about it too. Barthes sees wrestling as a spectacle of excess, where it all lies in the theatricals and the visual representation of passion, but not passion itself. Crying when you're not hurt, jumping back hen you're not hit and playing everything over the top. Almost like ancient theater, they bear the same excessive body language and props like costumes, telling a clear story of what is happening even though it is scripted and not a passing whim. When a wrestler is knocked down, he shows clear defeat and again visualizing this spectacle of powerlessness and despair. We as an audience do not wish for actual suffering, just the display of it. It is all a pantomime. It is pure social comedy, playing off nuances and stereotypes in their act, and we can often see a fight against the 'bastard' and the one who wants revenge (Barthes, 1972, p. 15-25). This is further amplified by costumes, body language and even known strange sayings or names. The bastard might play off the stereotype of being fat, dirty and evil. To me personally I feel like this is a prime example of needing a critical eye and analyzing what you see and what you know. I knew for a long time it wasn't real, but judging by the popularity of it is seems like it isn't as evident as I thought.
Barthes, R. (1972) Mythologies. London: Jonathan Cape
Barthes, R. (1972) Mythologies. London: Jonathan Cape
