Semiotics in That 70s Show: A Concise Analysis

Semiotics In That 70s Show
Introduction Semiotics can be defined as the study of symbols and signs particularly with regard to
how they are used to create meaning and communicate it to others. Semiotics also offers tools that
make it possible to uncover the cultural conventions and codes that highlight the period to which a
setting was placed and interpret meanings behind the symbols (Berger, 2014). In the pilot episode of
"That 70s Show", it is possible to apply semiotic analysis since there are various signs and symbols
that reveal different elements of the show. Different signifiers in the episode and what they portray
helps the audience to interpret the message that the producer is trying to convey. That 70s Show has
a large presence of signs, signifiers, codes and ideologies that relate to teenage relationships and
their lives in general during the 1970s. Additionally, it is important to highlight character placement
and the semiotics involved pertaining to the viewers.
Parents–son relationship The character Eric and his father form an important conflict in the
storyline. His father, Red, is a conservative war veteran who is an all–American and very patriotic.
He hates the Korean War despite the fact that he fought in it and he has a difficult time adapting to
the changing times. Most ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Although the producer does not make this evident, there are several signs that highlight this point.
For one, there is one teenager who would be holding a stick of incense and behind them the
audience can see smoke clouds behind this group. This normally signifies the use of drugs and in
particular marijuana. It is also evident from the teenagers' reactions that they are under the influence
of marijuana. They laugh uncontrollably and their statements do not seem to make sense. The
camera also pans from one individual to the other to symbolize the passing of the
... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...

The Mockingjay: A Semiotic Analysis
Williamson, J and Goldman, R claimed that semiology can be used as a method to help "penertrate
the apparent autonomy and reality of adverts, in order to reveal their ideological status" (Rose,
2001:71). Alongside the use of semiotics to break down an image/sequence Affect can be used to
help show the hidden meanings and ideas within the image. Helping the viewer understand the
world around them through the signs and signifiers that mainstream media has created. This is
shown in the Hunger Games– The Mockingjay Part 1 scene (50:08– 52:29) I have analysed. With
Semiotics and Affect I have been able to uncover and understand the hidden themes and double
meanings of specific elements, dialogue and objects within specific frames within this scene.
In this sequence ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In historical, societal and cultural contexts. In this sequence we see Capitol hovercrafts bombing the
makeshift hospital in district 8. Killing innocient men, women and children. This is hugely
significant symbollically as it shows how horrific war really is. Throughout this sequence there are
many elements that are significant due to the symbolism behind it connecting with the audience
allowing us to think about historical and cultural contexts of war. In this still (Still 3) we see Katnis
Everdeen running towards the rubble of the hospital that minutes later had sheltered innocient men,
woman and children. This still is symbolic as shows the destruction that the Capitol caused but in
the same frame, we see the destroyed Capitol plane showing that the will fight back. This
symbolism can be seen in historical and cultural contexts from World War I and II, to cultural wars
from Germany to the middle Eastern wars that started due to cultural differences and power hungry
politicians. This meaning is also noticed throughout the sequence as we see Katnis and Gale fight

Saussure's System For Evaluating Linguistics Essay
In "Course in General Linguistics", Saussure does two things to develop his system for evaluating
linguistics: he chooses language as his linguistic object and he only incorporates factors into his
model that can be said to be true of all languages over all time. The net result is a very high level
and flexible classification structure, which is more intent on making a developmental framework for
evaluating linguistics than necessarily providing tremendous insight into it's more concrete aspects:
rudiments like structure, meaning, morphology, syntax, or phonology.
Others, including Levi– Strauss in "Structural Anthropology", have used
Saussure's methodology to develop their own models for study in different aspects of human society.
But ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
But I feel he still needed to explicitly say it: 'that despite all the differences between languages, I
have identified these invariants to be true over all time, and I believe this is because of certain
specific commonalities between all humans, particularly the human desire to create and maintain an
effective and convenient system for communicating ideas with one another.' Levi–Strauss' additional
step provides a sense of completeness to the process; that is to say that the last step provides the
'why' and 'what' while Saussure's method provides the 'how'.
Incorporating the Levi–Strauss step gives us a new line of thought to ponder: engineering and
design. Going through the steps: "Structural Anthropology" first hypothesizes that myths exist to
provide people with anecdotes to help explain the unanswerable questions of their society such as
life versus death or love, etc. Then Levi–
Strauss applies Saussure's method, designating a mythological object, in this case the myth itself,
and then determining a set of invariants true to all myths. The most interesting of these invariants is
the use of categories to deconstruct the events of a story into specific event types, which are
common across all myths. And finally, Levi– Strauss uses his myth decomposition to draw
conclusions about the myth's moral and, by extension, the society that uses this myth.
This

Semiotic Analysis : Be Delicious, Perfume Print...
In contemporary society, advertisings are everywhere, attracting individuals to various products and
services via a range of media. Through the use of a semiotic analysis, it can effectively help to study
how signs used in advertisements connote different myths and ideologies. This idea of semiotics is
proposed by Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Peirce who both suggest that signs are used to
conceptualised the world by communicating meanings and being the means of access to thought or
reality which individuals have (Bignell, 1997). A sign is the combination of its signifier and
signified for which the signifier is the vehicle or written marks that are used to convey a word
whereas the signified is the concept that is evoked by the signifier (Bignell, 1997). These meanings
and thoughts relate to the way individuals perceive and understand the real world beyond the
advertisements. Therefore, this essay will adopt a semiotic analysis to deconstruct the signs, myths
and ideologies in the DKNY 'Be Delicious' perfume print advertisement and ultimately examines the
messages that the advertisement wants to bring out. This advertisement encodes two major
significatory structures in which I will first examine how it connotes the myth of women as primal
temptress and the myth of feminine beauty. Then, I will explore the ideology of the simplistic
cosmopolitan culture as presented by the iconic signs and texts in the advertisement. Finally, based
on these two significatory structures,

Semiotics Approach To Representation Analysis
Part 1
1. The name given to the approach of understanding representation as a sign system which has been
developed by Saussure is called Semiotics.
2. The Semiotics approach to representation is based around three central ideas: The sign, signifier
and signified. The signifier is the actual object or material you are observing, using any of your
senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste), it can be anything (text, music, images et cetera). The
signified is what you think of, feel or how you react when you see or hear it. The combination of
these is what makes up the sign, the actual thing being observed and what it evokes in you(Hall
1997: 31). For example, a traffic light (Hall 1997: 26). It utilizes three different colours (red, amber
and ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
One example of a system of control is the punishment system. Multiple sources are available on the
subject matter both in legal and everyday circumstances (Hall 1997: 50). These sources impact how
society views prisons and prisoners, therefore affecting how prisoners are treated and how they are
punished. Resulting in them being considered as less human than the rest of the community.
Foucault discusses this in Discipline and Punishment, speaking about how prisons have changed
from being public, with public punishment (torture) and execution, to private (isolated and
individual) (Hall 1997:

Ferdinand De Sassuare Reflection Essay
Reflection (Page 850) In Ferdinand De Saussure's Course in General Linguistics, almost the entire
reading from our assigned texts that is, has conventionally been summarized on page 850. Overall,
Sassuare explains his analysis of language by describing it as a system of signs and
comparing/contrasting words in a language to other words. He says that words are what they are
because of what they're not, and language wouldn't exist without sound–image. Saussure analized
language as a system of linguistic signs that he used to explain the "..indefinite plan of jumbled
ideas.." inside our minds (Saussure 856). Sassaure's diction on page 850 really stuck out to me
obviously because it's the first example of his strange thought process. His diction is rather strange
at times, but I thought this page served as a great introduction of what type of "adventure" you're
about to embark on trying to follow along and get inside of Sassaures head for the rest of this piece.
For example, who characterizes language and speech as heterogenous or homogenous? What does
that even mean? What is a speech–circuit? This definitely is NOT a book that you can read or should
be able to read, process, and comprehend on a first read through.
On page 850, he explains what he considers to be the characteristic of language. He says that
language is just a system for phonic images and were we're first introduced to his obsession with
sound image, "..auditory image becomes associated with a concept.."

Semicolon Essay
It isn't bold like the exclamation mark or straightforward like the period, but the semicolon is more
than just the eyes of your smiley. It isn't bold like the exclamation mark or straightforward like the
period, but the semicolon is more than just the eyes of your smiley. It's a subtle form of punctuation,
but it does not have to be difficult. The main purpose of a semicolon is to join two complete and
similar sentences. When two thoughts are tied strongly to one another, you may find a period too
great a separation. Using a semicolon visibly increases the link between these thoughts. Our rule
with semicolons then becomes as follows: If you can use a period, you can use a semicolon. This
does not mean that you should abolish periods from your work. Using a semicolon is like sprinkling
spices on a dish; you want the spices to enhance the flavor, not dominate the dish. Here are a few
examples: ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
If you already have one of the FANBOYS linking your thoughts, use a comma instead. For example:
"There were four survivors on this island, but only two remain." Here are a few instances where you
would not want to use a semicolon. "Zombies eat brains; the history of zombies predates the dawn
of time because everyone knows that zombies are night creatures, and darkness existed before
light." These two ideas are only vaguely related. Use a period to show a greater sense of separation.
"Bears are mentioned in 'The Wizard of Oz'; the blue whale is over 100 feet in length." Unless
you're encountering one of my fabulous underwater bears, these two ideas are completely unrelated.
Grouping them as one thought would be

The On The Other Hand, Parole, By De Saussure
On the other hand, parole refers to the use of the langue – the action in and of itself. It occurs in the
phenomenon of language as a sequence of speech. Parole, which includes both written and spoken
languages utilized in everyday life, is extremely diverse and varied dependent upon the number of
people attempt to use a common language. In addition, de Saussure noted the constant change that
parole undergoes as social groups, and age of users manipulate the language over time.
De Saussure's interpretation of the underlying basis of language also included a composition of
signs as opposed to sentences. Signs consist of two parts: a notion and a sound/written pattern.
Without a sound, the notion is incommunicable. Similarly, without a notion, sound patterns are just
noise. Without a comprehensive understanding of langue, parole is a meaningless collection of
sounds or symbols grouped together at random. By understanding the relationship between the two
parts of a sign, langue and parole create meaning. Therefore, de Saussure spoke heavily on the
importance of understanding the langue of a language, especially a foreign one, than to grow the
vocabulary of parole. By approaching a nonnative language as such, the speaker increases his or her
ability to make sense equal to that of a native speaker. Language acts as a link that allows thought to
be expressed through sound. As thoughts become more coherent, thus leading to the creation of
sounds in words and phrases, language

The Importance Of Language-Based Communication
The categorisation of humans into various gender related groups is something spanning across time
and cultures. Possible causes of such divisions include grammatical forms of communication, a
prospect investigated by structuralism. A variety of approaches concerned with the classification of
language in the mind (Jenkins, 1992), it demonstrates just how the power of spoken and written
word creates detachments between men and women. Key thinkers including Claude Lévi–Strauss
and Ferdinand de Saussure are credited with introducing and popularising the movement and
evidence provided by Bourdieu, Louie & Low and Abu–Lughod shows the utilisation of verbal
communication in contrasting areas. These ethnographies display structuralism via the linguistic
communications they detail, with their contexts holding great importance as they inform meaning
(Schirato & Yell, 2000). Interpretations of the organisation of a Kabyle house, the significance of
'wen–wu' in Eastern Asia and hushed conversations between Bedouin women all relate to the
divisive nature of language in societies. The intention of this report is to determine the degree to
which language–based communication establishes the gender–based groups individuals belong to,
using structuralism to explain my reasoning.
A popular topic in anthropological circles since Giambattista Vico published 'The New Science' in
1725, in which structuralism is described as a key mental component of the "instinctively poetic"
human race (Hawkes,

Essay on T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land
T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land "Both the hysteric and the mystic transgress the linear syntax and logic
governing the established symbolic order." –Helen Bennett It is perhaps part of the unique genius of
T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" that both critics and lay readers have repeatedly felt forced to look
outside the published text of the poem for clues as to its meaning. The text's fragmented, seemingly
violated body seems to exhibit wounds through which its significance has slipped, creating a
"difficulty caused by the author's having left out something which the reader is used to finding; so
that the reader, bewildered, gropes about for what is absent...a kind of 'meaning' which is not there,
and is not meant to be there" ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Asked to describe what sort of life might spring up out of the "stony rubbish" (20) of the poem's
sterile landscape by an interlocutor who seems – by the force of the allusion to Ezekiel – to be a
representative of some sort of transcendent reality, there seems to be no way for the poet to answer.
The speaker continues in almost accusatory tone: "You cannot say, or guess, for you know only/ A
heap of broken images" (21–22), and it is in this line that Eliot questions the potential for meaning
inherent in language. The self is unable to explicate the nature of this life for his only language is a
mere "heap" – a disordered pile of "broken images". Here Eliot describes language as
representation, and in this mode it is doubly useless; first, because it is "broken", fragmented and
divorced from the very realities it was intended to describe, and second, because it consists of mere
"images" – representations of things and not the things themselves. One might argue that language,
though only "a heap of broken images," does achieve a certain reflexivity here, for in that disordered
pile of reflections lies a landscape "where the sun beats,/ And the dead tree gives no shelter, the
cricket no relief" (22–23). But the space that language presents here is a sterile, "dead" one, without
evidence of the growth of either root or branch. Absent too are the Starnbergersee, the "shower of
rain" (9), and the verdant Hofgarten which

Why Semiotics Is A Useful Method For Analysing Advertisements
Explain why semiotics is a useful method for analysing advertisements.
Straight away when thinking of signs one would automatically think road signs, star signs or even
pub signs however signs can also be drawings, paintings and photographs as well as words, sounds
and body language. The study of signs and symbols is also known as semiotics. Ferdinand de
Saussure was a Swiss linguist and semiotic whose ideas laid a foundation for many significant
developments; He is one of the founding fathers of semiotics which he called "semiology".
Semiology also looks into the use of signs and their interpretation. Semiotics are frequently used in
advertising to signify an advertisers message through the use of signs and symbols for example it
plays a significant role on catching the targets audiences eye by the placement of pictures, texts and
logos. The use of semiotics is very important for a successful advert. Saussure offered a two–part
model of a sign, he defined a sign being composed of two parts for example the signifier and the
signified. According to Saussure the signifier was the representation, the word or the image, where
as the signified was the meaning, the concept in which is associated with the signifier. This is why
semiotics is so useful in advertisements because a sign straight away has a connotation behind it and
can give away the message straight away to its audience for example the signifier is always going to
be signified. In an advert if you see a packet of

French Structuralism: The Concept Of Language And French...
Poststructuralism was derived to confront a different theory, structuralism, which was a dominant
theory in Central Europe and America during the twentieth century. Structuralism emphasizes that
there is forces in social live, which are created out of human activity but stand outside of human
agency or intervention (Pg 393). There were different versions of structuralism, one that derived
from France, which put great emphasis on language. Structural functionalism accentuates human
social organization at the level of institutions, whereas French structuralism emphasizes the role that
language plays in the organization of systems. French institutionalism looks at how language
provides organization for human communication and other characteristics of human life.
French structuralism has direct ties with Ferdinand de Saussure who established the concept of
semiotics. Semiotics is the study of signs, like those that humans use to express meaning. Saussure
distinguished the difference between language and speech. He used this distinction do create and
define the term sign. Saussure understood a sign is something that is designated to represent a
specific object. So anything that carries meaning can be considered a ... Show more content on
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Poststructuralism was developed in critique of semiotic model that Saussure created.
Poststructuralists are doubtful about the shared meanings of signs. They argue that the universal
understanding of signs is actually fragmented. There are no signs, but there are "floating signifiers"
which mean there is not connection between signified and signifier, so signs have collapsed and
become disjointed. Poststructuralists do not believe in the organization of signs and see the
sociocultural world as broken, with no clear patterns. Poststructuralists base the social world on the
idea that the patterns that are found in social life are not permanent because they are

Semiotics In Politics Essay
We are a society that thrives upon communication, from texting to "tweeting" and all forms in
between. It is not surprising that we often find ourselves drawn in and influenced by the
manipulative skills of well organized syllables and strong punctuation. Political rallies are in no
shortage of examples of the prowess of semiotics. We use them to speak our minds, to spread the
truth, to satirize other's opinions, and to fabricate our own. As human beings we are not unused to
the idea that politics often involves tricky rhetoric and verbal wordplay in efforts to persuade us.
However, not often are we aware that tangible signs sway us to much the same effect. Political signs
first and foremost seek to influence a decision, or ideals that ... Show more content on
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Semiotics influences signs by modifying the way we see them when certain aspects are changed or
enhanced to convey or evoke certain meanings or feelings, when words are italicized or bolded our
eyes immediately focus more on them than the other words, when messages are presented to us in
strange or noticeable fonts we are drawn to them, they stick in our minds, they make a certain
impact. As Ferdinand de Saussure stated and is quoted on a University of Vermont educational
website, "All signs have two aspects: the signifier and the signified. The signifier is any material
thing that signifies, e.g., words on a page, a facial expression, a picture, a bit of graffiti. The
signified is the concept that a signifier refers to. In most cases the signified is in relation to the
signifier in order to ensure the signified is able to relate to it's signifier. I/e, men smoking looking as
though they are enjoying themselves, the signifier is the man smoking the cigarette, and the man,
and the cigarette, seeking to signify men or masculinity" (Saussure p.2). The same is applied to
political signs, in relation the creator of the sign seeks to put emphasis on something that they wish
the audience to connect the main idea of their sign too. For example at The Rally to Restore Sanity
and/or Fear, many protestors utilize symbols in order to connect their beliefs or ideas to a grander
concept. In one protestors sign, a

The Communication Model Of Communication
1. What is the transmission model of communication? Where does it come from? What does it do
well in helping us understand the process of communication in everyday life? What are its
limitations? The transmission model of communication as defined by James Carey is a process
whereby messages are transmitted or sent and distributed over distance and into space for the
purpose of control. The transmission model includes a sender on one end and a receiver on the other.
In the middle is the median that the message is being sent through. This comes from the nineteenth
century from religious origins. For example, to try to understand this model, we can think about
missionaries. The missionaries were sent from the Roman Catholic Church to other countries to
spread the teaching of Jesus in order to gain control of the people. The transmission does well in
helping us understand the efficiency, convenience, and influence/ control of communication in
everyday life. The limitations if the transmission model is that the transmission model doesn't let us
understand the importance of context – that information takes on its meaning in particular times, in
particular situations, with particular people. Another one of its limitations is that the medium is
neutralized and the transmission model doesn't differentiate between different medium such as,
newspapers, social media, and amber alert on a highway reader board. Lastly, the information is
homogenized. For example, all the information

Analysis Of ' The Drinking Man 's Scotch ', By The Liquor...
My aim within this essay is to discuss, in detail, the underlining semiotics and ideological messages
of a specific piece of work relatable to my professional field, photography. This being said within
this essay I have chosen to focus on an image generated for the advertising campaign; 'The drinking
man's scotch', by the liquor company Dewar's. Throughout my essay I hope to apply relevant
information gathered from surrounding fundamental theories, to support and emphasise my own
personal view of the subject matter, and aid the interpretation of the meanings, and connotations,
behind the work that I have chosen to focus on. The main theme of my essay will focus heavily on
the significations presented within the image, to create meaning and persuasion in association with
advertisement photography, my argument taking influence from the works of Roland Barthes,
Ferdinand de Saussure, and David Crow. However I will also address the use of ideology within
advertisement, applying theories presented within the works of Karl Marx, Ron Beasley and Marcel
Danes, to my argument.
The theory of semiotics, is a study that focuses on the "relationship between the components of the
sign that enables us to turn signals, in whatever form they appear, into a message which can we can
understand" (Crow, 2003). It is the theory, which can be applied in practice, that all imagery can be
decoded to reveal an underlining signification, which can be interpreted to create symptomatic and
linguistic

Development Of Media And Communications Study
In this essay I shall analyze the development of media and communications study and the themes
that have helped it to improve during the last century. A persistent concept in this field is equality
because theories like Marxism, Cultural Studies, Feminism, Structuralism and Post–structuralism,
Subcultural Theory and Postmodernism examined this notion and gave it a meaning in that period of
time. Against this background, a central question that motives this paper is: 'How is equality
developed by each ideology and how media manipulate it through the popular culture?' By
definition, equality means that all people have their own opportunity to express themselves because
we conceive the world differently. But we still create ourselves in ... Show more content on
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Marxism is a political, economical and social system founded by Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) and
Frederick Engels (1820 – 1895) who tried to reorganize the world through their revolutionary
ideologies and theories. Thus its intention is to dismiss the evolution of the Bourgeoisie society,
because, in the 18th century, one of the essential concepts was the notion of class struggle. As John
Storey points out, 'each significant period in history is constructed around a particular mode of
production; that is, the way in which a society is organized' (2006: 47) . This quote suggests that
Marx, through the analyze of global production, asserts that people have to live and work in equal
conditions, without differences between the class of wage–earners and the ruling class. Even if it is
said that the Marxism is out–of–date, it still exists, nowadays, because of the media factors that
sustain its manifestations. For instance, mass media promotes obscenity and presents degeneration
as a normal subject.
What we usually have in mind when we talk about Cultural Studies is the fact that it is like an
amalgam composed by traditions, arts, values, thoughts, faith, which is transmitted from generations
to generations. Theorists as Richard Hoggart, Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall and also the Centre for
Contemporany Cultural Studies brought a new vision on culture. "Lived culture is culture as

Prejudice In The Lion King
My process of semiosis is one of peaceful tranquility. In Dustin Kaufman's creative, semiotic
process, there is no cacophonous storm that immediately follows the relaxing calm nature in which I
strive to work. There is just that: calm. Ironically, my work is almost entirely made up of calamitous
actions. Guns, death, and blood. Bullets tear through flesh in an orgy of stylish gore; a rape of the
senses. The kind of stuff that sends shivers speeding up the spines of the decent and politically
correct whilst bringing a gleeful yet euphoric sense of joy to both the audience and creator. Like
most boys growing up in the suburbs, I had a very violent upbringing. I hit the streets daily,
performing various seedy tasks for equally ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
I crafted an absurd tale of a student, fed up and bored with the monotony of school work, who takes
a drug trip where he meets a very intense yet motivational Jesus Christ, who helps guide him. To
me, the media creator, this film was a fun, completely senseless, for lack of a better word, retarded
romp of action and comedy which was warmly received by faculty and peers, and the online
audience as well, coming in with several thousand views on YouTube. I was immensely pleased
with the outcome, but left both puzzled and humbled by the feedback of one of my professors, who
saw not just a goofy short, but a riveting social commentary detailing the creative oppression young
people face. Obviously, I did not craft the film with such ideas in mind, but if there is one thing
Columbia has instilled in my brain it is that human beings will attach meaning to everything. If there
were ever a catalyst that inspired Dangerous Lack of Cheese, it is without a doubt the feedback of
my one professor. It comforts me to know that my immensely sarcastic, absurdist creative identity is
largely a scarcity here at Columbia. It helps keep me focused and unique, as well as complimenting
my relaxing process of

The Socially Charged Life Of Language
In the chapter, "The Socially Charged life of Language" in Living Language: An Introduction to
Linguistic Anthropology, Laura Ahearn (2012) discusses language in relation to social interactions.
According to Ahearn, "language is not a neutral medium for communication but rather a set of
socially embedded practices." Ahearn references Ferdinand de Saussure and his understanding of
language as a system of rules as well as Chomsky and his interest in discovering Universal
Grammar. De Saussure used langue and parole as an explanation of how language works. Langue
refers to language, as a specific set of rules while parole is the performance aspect of language in
which language functions as "speech arts." Similarly to de Saussure, Chomsky believes that there is
a "competence" or an abstract knowledge that one has about language, and a "performance", which
involves putting those rules into practice (Ahearn 2012).
Chomsky and de Saussure are interested in the abstract area of language, or the langue and the
"competence". They were more interested in the system through which meaning is created rather
than how the system is used in individual instances. Ahearn criticized this way viewing language
and saw it as a narrow way of viewing language. There are various components to language and
understanding how people communicate. Context is an important component that influences how
something that is expressed is understood. Ahearn believes that the various components of language
are

Negative Long term Effects of Advertising
Advertisements are a way to promote sales of a product or service through visual communication.
Magazine covers, advertisements or any publication embed a set of ideologies. O'Shaughnessy and
Standler describe ideologies as "sets of social values, ideas, beliefs, feelings and representations by
which people collectively make sense of the world they live in" (2012; 174). Ideologies try to
"manipulate people into buying a way of life as well as goods" (Dyer, 1982:5). Adverts such as the
Pravda vodka example above, which appeared in the January 2014 issue of GLAMOUR magazine
add relevance to a product whether it's a certain trend, desire or mutual value in order for the
product to become a highly favoured commodity. Glamour magazine is popular amoungst young
women of all races who are middle class citizens. This specific advert was used to introduce
Pravda's new vodka range aimed at women. It communicates ideologies of feminism, class, leisure,
night life and enjoyment. The purpose of this essay is to use semiology to analyse the attached
article. The Advertiser, "should do more than just label or identify the product; it should also bring
flattering associations to mind, associations which will help to sell it."(Dyer, 1982:141) and that is
where semiology comes into play.
Semiology is the study of signs and sign systems (O'Shaughnessy & Standler, 2012). The history of
semiology is further explained and the main cause of intercession: Semiology originated at the end
of the

Roland Barthes's Theory Of Semiotics Through Digital...
1. INTRODUCTION
Semiotics is the study of sign systems. It explores how words and other signs convey meaning. In
semiotics, a sign is anything that stands in for something other than itself. This lesson focuses
primarily on linguistic signs. Roland Barthes is a theorist that is particularly interested in " how
things mean" rather than what things mean. Through Barthes and Saussure's theories, the
understanding of semiotics through digital advertising will be represented through an argument of
comparing these two unique key thinkers. The comparison between these two theorists share its
importance when understanding advertising through visual examples. Once analyzing an example of
digital advertising, these separate theories will serve as an ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
According to certain mythologies, Barthes main interest was in semiology. He is highly skilled at
finding, manipulating and exploiting theories and concepts of how things come to mean before
anyone else does so. The basics of semiotics and how it is applied to many forms of imagery and
context is applied through Barthes theory. This theory consists of three orders of specification,
denotation, connotation and myth (Chandler 2006,18).
Within semiotics, denotation and connotation are terms describing the relationship between the
signifier and its signified, and an analytic distinction is made between two types of signifiers:
denotative signified and a connotative signified (Panofsky 1970a,51–3). This meaning includes both
denotation and connotation through the action and reaction of the representation of signs.
Denotation is described as the definitional, 'literal' or 'obvious' meaning of a sign according to the art
historian Erwin Panofsky (Hasenmueller 1978). The denotation of a representational visual image is
what all viewers from any culture and at any time would recognise the image as depicting
(Hasenmueller 1978). As Roland Barthes noted, De Saussure created a model of signs that focused
on denotation at the expense of connotation and it was left to subsequent theorists to offer an
account of this important dimension of meaning (Barthes

Panama Canal Essay
The Panama Canal Assuredly the Panama Canal, If you didn't know already, was one of the most
economic and socialized marvels of its time. It was, at first, attempted by the French in the late
1800s, but they were unable to carry out the canal because of financial problems. Not only that, but
yellow fever and malaria flooded the campgrounds with the aid of mosquitoes, which made the
workforce unbalanced (Avery). Then in 1904, the Americans were to take over under the leadership
and guidance of President Theodore Roosevelt. Even then Americans had a difficult time with
construction. Moreover, with the canal built, it's more sufficient then sailing around the tip of South
America. Even today, the canal is used several times a day to bring ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
The kidneys would become infected as well and cause the person to bleed from the nose, mouth and
stomach (Easmon). What was interesting, though, was that the West Indian Negroes, which worked
on the canal, were somehow immune to yellow fever, but they severely suffered from malaria
(Avery). Malaria, on the other hand, was far off more deadly then Yellow fever for it consisted of
parasites (Malaria). An engineer once quoted "If we could control malaria, I would be less anxious
about other diseases. If we cannot control malaria, our mortality is going to very heavy" (American
Canal Construction). Consequently, these infections developed in mosquito salivary glands as well
and reproduce in the liver (Malaria). Above all, this incubation period could last for months to a year
at a time (Malaria). When the parasites leave the liver they reenter the bloodstream where they are
able to infect red blood cells to reproduce once again until the cell bursts (Malaria). As a result, it
caused anemia and jaundice from the lack of blood cells (Malaria). Other symptoms include
seizures, confusion, coma and death (Malaria).
Thus, the French were not able to keep up with the rapid growth of infected patients. They had only
a few nurses in the infirmary that where nuns and it didn't benefit them at all since they were
untrained, which lost even more lives (Avery). For example, the nurses would leave in the evening
without giving any other care

Taking a Look at Literary Deconstructionism
What is literary deconstructionism? According to the Merriam–Webster dictionary
deconstructionism is the "literary analysis that questions the fundamental conceptual distinctions, or
"oppositions", in Western philosophy through a close examination of the language and logic of
philosophical and literary texts". In other words it means that the reader makes the text what they
want it to be, they cannot assume that the writer is implying anything by the words he has written;
the text can have a different meaning to each person that reads it. Deconstructionism has been
closely related to the postmodernism era as they both tend to resist definition or classification.
According to Clark Morrow in the July 2007 The Vocabula Review, most people consider the theory
that "words are very indistinct tokens of meaning; and can yield any number of meanings" as
deconstructionism, while others call it postmodernism; as stated previously these two literary eras'
are closely linked. Deconstructionism theory states that can be no misinterpretation of what you
read, the writer may intend to have one meaning of the text but each person that reads it can all take
away different meanings from it. Deconstructionism began in the mid 1960's, and peaked during the
1970's; by a man name Jacques Derrida. Derrida was born in July 1930 in El Bian, Algeria and died
October 8, 2004 in Paris, France; he graduated with his baccaulaureat' in 1948 from the Jewish
lycee`. After graduation he went on to the

Marx Vs Saussure
Throughout history, we are continuously fighting to interpret our reality and the things which
comprise one and other. This is not a simple task for one to take on, but multiple historical thinkers
have taken it upon themselves to question the components of interpretation and find the meaning
that it is grounded upon. Specifically, Ferdinand de Saussure and Karl Marx propose fundamental
critics that are embedded within modern day thinking – shaping our ideals and the functionality we
see within language and reality. Saussure and Marx take two different approaches to understanding
history, language and culture, they provide this through both scientific and critical methods for
interpreting reality and the things which it is trying to represent. ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
The relationship that the signifier and signified elements share though is arbitrary, which is a key
property. Due to the fact that these two share an arbitrary bond, it puts in question the reliability of
their interpretation of things, such as the words and the nature which stands behind them. The
arbitrary attributes both the signifier and signified share show that there is a type of break that
occurs between the sound image and the idea itself – this pushes Saussure to state that language
itself is unmotivated; what is trying to be represented is not a natural occurrence. Saussure directs
the audience into realizing that even though one believes that there is a natural link between the
meaning of a thing, like a dog, and what is trying to be represented, the actual dog, this is a forced
thing which we have to learn and not a natural occurrence. In order to provide clarity of language
and distinguish this ___ from other ___ Saussure comprises a summarization of four characteristics
within language. First and foremost, language is a well–defined object in the heterogeneous mass of
speech facts. This means ______. Next, Language, unlike speaking, is something that we can study
separately. Thirdly, Whereas speech is heterogeneous, language as defined, is homogenous. The last
component of language discusses is Language is concrete no less so than speaking; and this is a help
in our study of

Structuralism And Semiotics In The Book Of Huckleberry Finn
Structuralism and Semiotics
When you become a certain age level reading just comes naturally. Almost as if it becomes second
nature to us which it should be. Our parents, then our teachers have been grinding and turning the
wheels in our little, vulnerable, expanding minds ever since the beginning. So reading isn't the
hardest thing for most of us. Its the comprehending, and the understanding the work of literature is
where the struggle begins. Even a few adults do not fully comprehend a vast majority of literature
today, and being able to analyze and tear apart. Such as knowing where the rhetoric is in the paper.
Are ethos, logos, and pathos being executed in the proper manner? Which literary elements are
being used? For instance is there metaphor,
personification, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
(Structuralism). The meaning of semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or
interpretation. (Structuralism). Therefore structuralism focuses more on the pattern and the
framework while semiotics focuses on the symbolization in the book The Adventures
Arzola 2 of Huckleberry Finn. One of the struggles with this criticism is that the framework is based
on a few philosophers ideas on how the structure should fulfill the base line or genre of all literary
work. Structuralist prefer the focal point to be on the formal features that allow the meaning to come
about, not so much the meaning or content itself as much. The way Ferdinand De Saussure likes the
framework to be is that there is no necessary connection between words and the thing.(Structuralism
and Semiotics). For example in the book The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn we use the name Jim for the black run away slave but he is also referred to as nigger many
times within the book, so it does not really matter what word is used because they both

Difference Between Semiotic Analysis And Ethnography
This literature review examines the dynamics of two qualitative methods of research: semiotic
analysis and ethnography. The interdependence of these two methods, or as David Silverman (2011,
p. 4) calls them 'models', of research will be further spoken about in this essay which shall also go
in–depth on how the two methods have an important role in shaping media and culture research and
how they contribute to the existing cultural production. Qualitative research is one of the kinds of
research conducted to analyse content such as media texts and industries. The other is quantitative
research, which is more concerned with statistical and numerical data. The former type of research
mentioned above is the kind of research which provides the ... Show more content on
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Semiotics, plays an important part even in the conduction of ethnographic methods. Its significance
in the mainstream media is proof that even though the relationship between the signifier and
signified is arbitrary, in the whole process of socialisation, the meaning of the text has ample
weightage for it to be a whole subject to talk about as well as use the meaning to conduct other
researchers (Branston and Stafford, 2010, p.

Saussure 's And Diachronic Perspectives
SAUSSURE'S
SYNCHRONIC AND DIACHRONIC PERSPECTIVES
ASSIGNMENT BY: MANASWITA CHAKRABORTY DEPT. OF LINGUISTICS MA 1st
SEMESTER ROLL NO: 34
INTRODUCTION
One of the major consequences of the arbitrary nature of sign, is the distinction made between the
synchronic and diachronic study of language by the Swiss linguist and semiotician Ferdinand De
Saussure. Regarding the debate surrounding the perspective, it has been suggested by Saussure's
critics that in trying to distinguish between these two, and in granting priority on the synchronic
nature of study over the diachronic one, he was to a great extent ignoring the historical entity of
language. Inspite of the distinction made by Saussure, he believed that both kind of facts are
intertwined. Hence it raised a paradoxical situation.
SYNCHRONIC AND DIACHRONIC STUDY OF LANGUAGES
Synchronic study of language refers to the study of the linguistic system in a particular state without
taking the time period through which it has evolved into consideration. Here the languages are
treated as self contained systems of communication at any specific time without taking it's history
into account.
In contrast to the synchronic study of languages, is the diachronic study which studies the evolution
of a linguistic system over a period of time and are treated

Roland Barthes developed a range of semiotic tools to...
3. Roland Barthes developed a range of semiotic tools to analyse the cultural meanings that are
conveyed in advertising images, in a particular context. Using these semiotic tools, select and
analyse four magazine adverts.
This essay will discuss Roland Barthes' ideas and his semiotic tools, and will also look at how
Barthes uses these tools to analyse images and how they make us think.
Roland Barthes was a French philosopher who wrote many books about the literary theory and
semiotics. His writing has influenced and helped shape many postmodern theories. His most famous
book "Death of the author" explains his theory on visual analysis. Barthes says that when we see an
image, the author or creator of the image does not matter. Each individual person will find a
meaning from that image. We all analyse images on our own.
The meaning of an image lies with the audience. The author is not the authority on the meaning of
the image. Although we are all quite similar in what we get from an image, different people will get
different meanings. This is due to the experiences we have had throughout life. Barthes says "no
object has a natural meaning." (Barthes, 1967 p.25) Meanings are defined by culture, so for
example, if in the UK someone does the 'thumbs up', we take this to mean that everything is okay,
but if someone does it whilst standing at the side of the road, it means they want a lift, and in scuba
diving it means you want to go up to the surface.
In his essay, "Rhetoric of

Structure, Sign And Play On The Discourse Of Human Sciences
Derrida: Structure, sign and play in the discourse of human sciences.
While understanding Derrida, many scholars consider early life of Derrida as a marginalized
European and being a Jew has special significance1. He later theorized that marginalization in terms
of 'absence ', a loaded term in Derrida 's works which we will visit later in this chapter. It was a
high–time for existentialism, phenomenology and structuralism represented many renowned
thinkers like Husserl, Sartre, Strauss, and others. While the concern of structural linguistics was to
formulate scientific understanding of language as structured expression/entity, others were skeptic
about fundamental presuppositions of neutral binaries, the virtuality of the 'center ' and who rejected
subjective humanism of existentialists.
'Deconstruction ' is literary technique derived by Derrida to show that there are many unquestioned
metaphysical notions that we use in structured language, and arbitrary hierarchy is maintained
between various binaries. Speaking in terms of linguistics, relation between signified and signifier is
anything but neutral, as it privileges one constituent of binary over other. For example, privilege of
speaking voice over written text, privilege of presence over absence, privilege of masculine over
feminine and so on. Thus for Derrida logocentrism is invariably present in the history of western
metaphysics which somewhere privileges author over his text.
Derrida 's method is to look for

Structuralism : Structuralism And Structuralism
2.2. STRUCTURALISM
As well as functionalism, structuralism has been influenced by the work of Durkheim, although the
basic thrust for its development comes from linguistics. The work of the linguist Swiss Ferdinand de
Saussure (1857–1913) was the first and more important source of ideas structuralist. Although
Saussure only wrote about the language, the ideas that developed were later incorporated into
numerous disciplines, both the social sciences and humanities.
Prior to the work of Saussure, the study of language basically consisted of a track changes in the
mode of using words. According to Saussure, this procedure ignores the central feature of the
language.
In any case we can identify the basic features or structures of the language by looking only at the
words that people use when they talk about (de Saussure, 1974). The language consists of a set of
rules of grammar and meaning than"back" of the words, but that is not explicit in them. By put an
example simple: in English is added normally the ending "ed" to a verb when is want to indicate that
something has happened in the last. This is one of the thousands of grammar rules every speaker of a
language known and used to build what he says. For Saussure, analyze the structures of the language
means attend to the rules that underlie to the speaks. The majority of them them know of a way
implicit: not could explain easily in what consist. In fact, the work of Linguistics is make evident
what we know implicitly, but in

Discuss How Semiotics/Semiology Informs Our Reading of a...

Looking at Decadence using Saussure's theory we can understand a lot of it, even though its un–
convential. On the other hand using the same theory to try and 'read' Across the Universe gets very
complicated, and we probably lose a lot of the information. Even from using the first few words of
the performance of Decadence using signifier and signified we can start to add up whats occuricing
in the scene in front of us. "what would monsieur and madame like" (reference from steven berkoffs
book) is our signifier, what is signified is that there is a conversation occuring between two
individuals either he's asking the question or being asked himself, in addition they are sitting in a
suit and a dress. so its probably a good guess that they are at some type of restaurant/cafe, and they
are talking to there waiter. Also, as the performance progresses they start using language like
"salmon fume... hor's d'oeuvres" (reference) this backs up the point of the restaurant. We could also
get this from using Peirces theory but it would in a different way. For instance the suit and dress in
question would be an icon, but could also be an index to them being upper class. the same quote
from above signifing that they are at a restaurant would be an symbol, because culturally it is what
we are asked when we are waiting at a table in a restaurant. They ask for champagne with there
meal, this signify's that they are rich, and can afford luxurys with there meal such as champagne.
This same

The Nivea ' Stress Protect ' Antiperspirant Deodorant...
The Nivea 'stress protect' antiperspirant deodorant advertisement, televised in 2014 by Beiersdorf
Australia Ltd, is a text which constructs an evident manipulation of gender roles and their function
in consumerism. In this advertisement a man appears stressed from work and collapses lethargically
on the couch while the woman arrives home from work looking energetic with a young child, bags
of shopping and speaking on the phone. Through Semiotics, the study of signs and their meanings, I
will analyse the text using Charles Pierce's triadic model and Ferdinand Saussure 's semiology and
his dyadic model of the signifier and the signified. I argue that the advertisement conveys particular
meanings through identifiable signs that convey myths about gender roles in society. The
advertisement works to convey how women are powerful and independent, but does so in a way that
degrades men through the construction of stereotypes. In this analysis I will discuss the function of
advertisements in society in relation to semiotics, multiple readings advertisements can have and the
myths constructed about gender revealed in the advertisement through critical semiotic analysis and
how these myths influence social reality.
Advertisements function to convey particular meanings about society whilst positioning audiences
as consumers of a product or service. The ideologies presented support the product in some way and
interpellate or hail the audience in order for them to be persuaded to

The Origins Of Structural Anthropology
Ari Lotter
Ms. Kasurak
HSB4U1
26 September 2015
Claude Levi Strauss
THE ORIGINS OF STRUCTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Structural analysis, at its core, is an attempt to comprehend things beyond the system of human
understanding. It's meant to be an objective, purely scientific approach untarnished by human
cultural and social systems. Claude Lévi–Strauss saw this pure science being applied in linguistics,
among the social sciences, and applied its objective principles and methods to anthropology.
Structural linguistics is a method of analyzing languages, broken down into signs, both syntactically
and lexically. Signs, in a structural context, are associations between concepts and means of
expressing those concepts. Comparing opposed syntagma and signs in this exploded arrangement
permits understanding of linguistic associations (syntax, etc.). By examining the paradigmatic
relations between signs, and diachronic syntagmatic configurations (something Lévi–Strauss applied
heavily in his theories about structural mythology), a basic objective understanding of the langue in
question can be gleaned from examples of its verbiage.
Ferdinand de Saussure, the linguist who explained language as a structure of signs, developed his
ideal method of a purely analytical science of linguistics in part because he was aware of the
impossibility of understanding exactly how the human mind creates and understands language. By
approaching language from a structuralist point of view, he was attempting to

Structuralism and Reality in Wrestling Essay
When discussing structuralism, I find that it takes a realistic viewpoint of how the world is
represented, as we essentially are awash in concepts and signs via the structures of communication
and language. In this week's readings I found more depth to the ideas behind structuralism that my
previous exposures, especially when looking to Roland Barthes' "The World of Wrestling" from his
collection Mythologies. "The World of Wrestling" provided ample insight into how the structuralist
idea of difference plays into deriving meaning (or meanings) from literature in innumerable ways,
especially in how the reception of specific mythemes and signifiers evoke structurally conditioned
responses from the public.
One of the most important concepts ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Livre, or book, cannot represent the actual physical existence of the book, rather it acts as a pointer
toward the idea of the "real" object or concept out in the world. So thus, each utterance in a language
points to a concrete concept, and how that concept is understood through language reflects on how a
speaker (or writer, artist, comedian, dancer, so on; all are forms of expression and/or language)
views and interprets the world based on their given "structural" understanding of the world. Each
"reader" assumes, due to prior exposure to the structure of their given communication (be it French,
English, American Sign Language), that when the signifier appears, the built–in, tag–along concept
will follow.
Extending this to literature each text is a "speech act" in its own right. Looking at an individual text,
as the New Critics would, would equate evaluating his pitch and equating it to meaning. In this case
an individual text is an utterance within the system, an example of parole (Bressler 99). However,
looking at the text for how it expresses meaning, how it works on its audiences preconceptions (or
lack thereof) exposes the underlying structures at play, not only in the world of literature, but in how
the world

The Path Between the Seas Book Report Essay
Lulu Stevens HST 143 Dr. Quirk 10/26/14 The Path Between the Seas By: David Mccullough David
McCullough's The Path Between Seas was printed in New York City, New York in the year 1977.
The events regarding the Panama Canal as discussed in David McCullough's The Path Between Seas
allowed an impressive assertion of American power––the likes of which had never before been
displayed. In it's rich history, this novel offers recollections of failure on France's part, American
strength overcoming Columbian resistance, and triumphant success of medical care and engineering.
During the late 1800s, France was an undeniable force in the engineering world. It would turn out,
however, that America was the country which would ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
As it would turn out, the French didn't exactly accomplish what they had hoped. A major loss in
funds due to gross misuse and bribery and large casualties rendered the project a total bust. Many of
the early deaths were of the brightest engineering graduates of the time. Exaggerated claims of false
progress kept the money flowing into the project, but before long the fraud was exposed. Only two–
fifths of the canal had been dug after the French spent 2 years longer than they'd intended digging.
De Lesseps's reputation was destroyed; all assets the French had gathered were sold to the
Americans for a measly $40 million. America––unlike their predecessors in the task––would learn
from prior mistakes and have much better luck with this undertaking, eventually accomplishing the
task. America would even defeat Columbian resistance and assist in developing a new country. After
settling the close debate as to where the American's wished to build their canal and purchasing the
area under the 1903 Hay–Herran treaty, the U.S. needed only permission to unearth the ground.
Colombia wasn't too fond of the idea and thus rejected all of America's efforts. Negotiations with the
country went quite poorly as well. Arthur Beaupré was chose to communicate with Colombia but
negotiations continued to go poorly as, "he was frequently blunt, even dictatorial, in his

Example Of Intertextuality
What is intertextuality? How does intertextuality challenge E.D. Hirsch's idea that a text has a single
meaning created by its author? Explain with reference to examples drawn from any media format.
According to American literary critic, E.D. Hirsch, in order to interpret a body of text, one must ask
one's self the only question that can be answered objectively – "what, in all probability, did the
author mean to convey?" He believed that the author's intended meaning equates the meaning of a
text and it is in fact, the reader's duty to uncover the the author's intentions.
"The meaning of a text and its author's intentions are one and the same."
Hirsch's concept revolves around the assumption that a body of text is original, and is ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
someone watching a satirical television show such as The Simpsons).
The best example of this sort of intertextuality would be the process of a reader (or surfer) browsing
the world wide web. Here, an author cannot control the way in which a reader approaches his or her
body of text. There is seldom a linear fashion in which a reader consumes information while surfing
the internet. It is common for him or her to absorb only small chunks of texts on one page of a
website before being led to an entirely different webpage via links. Through surfing and following
links of their choice, readers effectively thus begin to construct their own text of sorts as they make
their way through various sites on the internet.
Unlike newspapers or most other forms of printed media, intertextuality on the internet is often one
of a blatant and conscious nature. Here, almost more so than anywhere else, it is clear that content is
not entirely original, nor is it based on an author's sole ideas and concepts. It is common for a great
many websites to host a multitude of links, and consist of short articles that link to other sources of
information that the work was based on, or that provide further elaboration.
Even on

Little Bee By Jacques Lacan And Chris Cleave's Little Bee
Language can be seen throughout all cultures and intertwined in every part of people's daily lives. It
can be argued as the building blocks of society, as there are virtually no means of communication
without some form of language. For the nigerian refugee Little Bee, language has to do with life or
death, trying to survive in her new world when she has been detained in England. She struggles with
learning the "Queen's English", all the while trying to stay safe without the protection of her friends
from home and the language that she is accustomed to. Two men: post–structuralist psychoanalyst,
Jacques Lacan and nineteenth century linguist and semiologist, Ferdinand de Saussure, both have
famous theories about language that can be related to the book Little Bee, by Chris Cleave. The
ability for Little Bee to learn a new variation of her own language can be outlined in the works of
both Jacques Lacan and Ferdinand de Saussure.
Both men devoted their lives to the study of language and how it related people to the world around
them. Jacques Lacan's theory, described by author Fredric Jameson as "The Prison House of
Language", means that once we have learned a language, we can not see outside of it; there is no
other way to communicate or represent the world. Saussure goes more in depth into language and
has more points about the role that language plays. His main model, "structuralism," can be defined
as the methodology that parts of culture are understood by their

The Literary Theory Of Structuralism
The literary theory of Structuralism attempts to explain the connections between concepts, images,
and people. Particularly, the French Structuralists utilize the concept of binary comparisons in order
to explain how everything relates to each other. This theory argues that people comprehend the
world around them by the understanding the differences between objects or ideas and other objects
or ideas, e.g. understanding the dark because it is not light. Children learn the concept of opposites
so that they can describe things; they discover the difference between big and small before they
understand the notions themselves. Therefore, by using the literary theory of French Structuralism,
readers can establish the binary differences between the two sets of lovers in Much Ado about
Nothing, explaining how the use of contrasting characters reveals the complexity of love, and
comments on society's conventions in Shakespeare's day.
A leading Structuralist Ferdinand de Saussure ascertains in "Course in General Linguistics" that "in
language there are only differences" (70). These differences make up the world, and comparing
them allows readers to have a deeper understanding of life. However, binaries must play off each
other within a context in order to have meaning. Gregory Castle offers the goal of Structuralism:
"Functional Structuralism is primarily concerned with language as it is manifested in social
contexts" (186). The social context is the construct that illuminates

The 's Impact On Society
Deconstructionism has impacted society today due to the effects of reading and the difficulty of
defining the word from the sole creator, Jacques Derrida, and how other philosophers have
influenced it. Although there is a definition for the school of thought Deconstructionism, it has been
confused with different definitions due to the influences of other philosophers on the definition
given by Derrida. One philosopher that influenced Deconstructionism was Friedrich Nietzsche,
whom we usually associate to Nihilism. The other philosopher that influenced this school of thought
was Ferdinand de Saussure, who was one of the two founders of semiology. "It must be noted that
Derrida 's style of writing contributed not only to his great popularity but also to the great animosity
some felt towards him. His style is frequently more literary than philosophical and therefore more
evocative than argumentative" (Lawlor). According to Derrida, in essence, the definition of
Deconstructionism is the way of reading and understanding the difference between "text" and
"meaning". The school of thought itself is notoriously difficult to define, and attempts to explain it
in a straight–forward way, understandable way have been academically criticized for being too
removed from the original texts, and even contradictory to the concepts of Deconstructionism. In an
article for Postmodernism, it states, "Because at its functional level all language is a system of
differences, says Derrida, all

Augustine Of Hippo And Wolfgang Iser
Meaning is not created in one single time frame, it develops and evolves over time. Representation
refers to the "essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between
members in a culture" (Hall 15). Theorists such as Augustine of Hippo, Jaques Lacan, Northrop
Frye, Roland Barthes, and Wolfgang Iser all have diverging opinions on the topic of representation
due to the evidently contrasting themes that they presented in each of their works. From the time of
the third century up until the more recent twentieth century, each of the listed theorists came to
differrnt conclusions about the representation due to the culture by which they were surrounded, and
the meaning that they were attempting to present. Despite differing ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Inspiration for his analysis came from his "formative years by phenomenological and
psychoanalytic reformulations of psychiatric practice that began to criticize the constitutional model
of the causation of mental disorders dominant during that period" (Groden 573). Michael Groden
also states that inspiration for Lacan's works came from the hysteria and paranoia of society on the
issue of delirious subjects (573). While Lacan was heavily inspired by the psychoanalytic theories of
Sigmund Freud, Lacan also greatly contributed to the field of literary theory and criticism
specifically in his "speculations on language, the subject, sexual difference, ethics, and the
unconscious" (Groden 573). In his text, Lacan's focus is on "the connection between the structure of
language of the unconscious with the formula that defines the sign" (Baggett lecture). Ferdinand
Saussure, the originator of Structuralism, theorizes that the signifier is just the sound–image or a
"mental image" that comes to mind, while

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