Semiotics: blog tasks
There are three parts to this week's homework - make sure you complete everything:
Part 1: English by Tarun Thind analysis
Watch (or re-watch) the short film English by former Greenford Media student Tarun Thind and then answer the two questions below:
English from Tarun Thind writer | director on Vimeo.
1) What meanings are the audience encouraged to take about the two main characters from the opening of the film?
That people go on about they day to day life differently
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?
Part 2: Media Magazine theory drop - Semiotics
Greenford Media department has a subscription to Media Magazine - a brilliant magazine designed exclusively for A Level Media students and published four times a year. We strongly recommend you read it regularly and also set plenty of work for the course based on the articles inside. You can find our Media Magazine archive here and for this task need to go to MM68 (page 24) to read the introduction to Semiotics. Once you've read it, answer the following questions:
1) What did Ferdinand de Saussure suggest are the two parts that make up a sign?
2) What does ‘polysemy’ mean?
3) What does Barthes mean when he suggests signs can become ‘naturalised’?
4) What are Barthes’ 5 narrative codes?
5) How does the writer suggest Russian Doll (Netflix) uses narrative codes?
Part 3: Icons, indexes and symbols
1) Find two examples for each: icon, index and symbol. Provide images or links.
Icon:
Index:
Symbol:
2) Why are icons and indexes so important in media texts?
3) Why might global brands try and avoid symbols in their advertising and marketing?
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? (This web feature on bad ads and marketing fails provides some compelling examples).
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.
Extension work: additional semiotics terminology
The new Media specification identifies further semiotics terminology that could potentially appear in an exam question. Read this document with semiotic terms and definitions to become a true semiotician.
1) What meanings are the audience encouraged to take about the two main characters from the opening of the film?
That people go on about they day to day life differently
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?
some people may think that they use sign language because they cannot speak or hear or talk however some people may think that they use sign language as a way of communicating in a way others don't know.
Part 2: Media Magazine theory drop - Semiotics
Greenford Media department has a subscription to Media Magazine - a brilliant magazine designed exclusively for A Level Media students and published four times a year. We strongly recommend you read it regularly and also set plenty of work for the course based on the articles inside. You can find our Media Magazine archive here and for this task need to go to MM68 (page 24) to read the introduction to Semiotics. Once you've read it, answer the following questions:
1) What did Ferdinand de Saussure suggest are the two parts that make up a sign?
2) What does ‘polysemy’ mean?
3) What does Barthes mean when he suggests signs can become ‘naturalised’?
4) What are Barthes’ 5 narrative codes?
5) How does the writer suggest Russian Doll (Netflix) uses narrative codes?
Part 3: Icons, indexes and symbols
1) Find two examples for each: icon, index and symbol. Provide images or links.
Icon:
Index:
Symbol:
2) Why are icons and indexes so important in media texts?
3) Why might global brands try and avoid symbols in their advertising and marketing?
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? (This web feature on bad ads and marketing fails provides some compelling examples).
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.
Extension work: additional semiotics terminology
The new Media specification identifies further semiotics terminology that could potentially appear in an exam question. Read this document with semiotic terms and definitions to become a true semiotician.
Comments
Post a Comment