Preliminary Exercises 1: Ferdinand de Saussure's Theory of Semiotics Analysis

 

          Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols as elements of language and systems of communication. Ferdinand de Saussure is a Swiss linguist who revolutionized the study of language and signs in his semiotics theory of sign, signifier, and signified. Sign is a motion or gesture used to express or convey an idea, command, or decision. Signifier is a sign's physical form/object. Signified is the meaning or idea expressed/conveyed by the signifier. Ferdinand de Saussure's theory is beneficial to the research of film by providing framework for analyzing how signs and symbols in film convey meaning and contribute to the overall feeling and mood of a film. The objective of this first preliminary exercise is to complete a semiotic analysis table based on Saussure's Semiotic Theory, which can be shown below.

 

Reflection

          The objective of the activity is to recognize and define signs (visually and audibly) when analyzing media products for sign, signifier, and signified. I created a PowerPoint presentation to show how Saussure's theory is used in media. I'm at an intermediate level with PowerPoint because I have been using it for about 7 years now, but I still have a lot to learn about it. In the first slide, the words myth, denotation, and connotation are all defined as they are all important in establishing the meanings of signs and their signifier and signified. The second slide gives examples of  Saussure's semiotic theory of signs, signifiers, and signified. A picture or a sign of a rose can be known to represent love, as it is common in romance and relationships, but it can also represent pain, as its thorns can be painful to touch. This exercise was done in a group of two with one person searching up the information and the other writing down the information. I learned that people can interpret signs differently as there can be multiple meanings to a particular sign.

Work Cited

Semiotics | Definition, Theory, Examples, & Facts. (2023, November 17). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/semiotics