Week 3 : Semiotics Revisited

Every society has developed ideas on how signs enable us to communicate in our environment and also to deal with each other. I wonder how can i perceive the meaning of images and  signs, by learning semiotics it shows that this theory explained how we understand the meaning through images and signs. But , I began to ask my self on how can I be so certain that my understanding of the  meanings are the same to others.  Upon learning philosopher john Locke's argument on universal assent, I began to question the accuracy of semiotics in giving meanings. The purpose of writing this journal is to investigate about the different interpretation of meaning generated form semiotics that might vary greatly in different cultures and in what way does this different interpretation leads to Locke's argument on universal assent.

Semiotics involves the study of what we refer as “sign” in everyday speech, but of anything which stands for something else. In a semiotic sense, signs take the form of words, images, gesture, and objects. Umberto Eco who states that semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken on what we refer as “signs” in everyday speech ( Chanler, 2002).

                                                           The V sign Gesture

Chanler in his book semiotics: the basic stared that Denotation tends to be described as the definitional literal, obvious or common sense meaning of a sign. Meanwhile, connotation refers to the socio-cultural and personal associations (ideological, emotional of the sign). (Chanler, 2002)

This picture denotes a hand gesture formed by holding up a hand with the middle and index finger upright in a V shape by Winston Churchill. The “V” sign gesture is now understood and used worldwide which signified victory. However, Due to cultural differences, the meaning of this hand gesture might vary greatly. in the book social skills and work, stated that In Australia and Britain for example, these sign gesture is considered as an insult while in Greece, it connotes the number “2”.(Argyle, 1981).

                                                                Advertisement

 

Roland Barthes quoted that we can assume that anything which sees to carry meaning for us in the advertisement is a sign. While, Signifier according to Saussure is the form of which a sign takes while, signified means the mental concept generated from the signifier.( Bignell, 1997)

This is an advertisement of a perfume campaign by one of the international global fashion brand, Hilfiger. In order for advertising to attract target buyers, semiotics is use to study the meaning of the advertisement. 

Tommy Hilfiger campaign focused primarily on the discourse of masculinity. Meanwhile another discourse of a tuxedo is also presented. Communication between the brand and potential buyers are represented by the meaning that the advertisement tries to convey through the use of signifier. The signifier of a man in a motorcycle in a desert connotes masculinity where it promotes and signified the ideologies of strong, tough, rough, freedom, self-confidence, speed and personal satisfaction. Whereas, the signifier of the male model wearing a tuxedo and with a black sunglass shows the connotation of expensive, luxurious, privileged and stylish.

However in Chinese context, this campaign might convey different meanings. This advertisement might provoke a political view among the Chinese culture. Most of the world major brands use Chinese cheap labor for production of their luxurious cultural products. They might see the discourse of a man in a tuxedo illustrate a selfishness instead of luxury and expensive in western perspective. Most Chinese factory workers might feel victimize from the capitalist system of the brand. Chinese market has attracted foreigners due to its cheap labor, Written by The economist in the journal titled  the rising power of Chinese workers stated that "This may seem odd, given how much the rich world has come to rely on Chinese cheap labor by one estimate, trade with China has added $1,000 a year to the pockets of every American household." (the  economist, 2010).The politic of capitalism might arise when The Chinese interprets the brand's advertisement as a discrimination of their contribution. They struggle to find meaning of success upon the low payment they received as a result of a global capitalist system.

The brand name “Hilfiger” anchor the signifier together creating an advertisement to attract buyers to buy their product, in this case a perfume for men is the product. The brand name ties the images together suggesting Hilfiger as a luxurious brand that links the signifier together which signified the expensiveness of the product.

If people have different interpretation of sign and images, it seems that the study of semiotics do not offer a universal assent where everyone can agree on the same meaning generated from the same image they see. One signifier can provide plurality in its meaning, those picture above shows the  same images can provide different meaning. I begin to question the accuracy of semiotics in giving meaning, but semiotics offer a very powerful tool to dismiss this problem. Anchorage is use to reduce tension by framing the a certain text that can make people agree on the meaning of the image.

Semiotics might not offer consistency as a written text as people can have different interpretation, but a universal assent is difficult to achieve. Semioticians has indeed imprinted the use of anchorage in images and sign in to achieve coherent and to make the meaning even clearer.

                                                 

                                                                         Semiotics part 2: Tutorial

The image connotes tradition, culture and religion. The signifier above shows five Bruneian food delicacies which are pulut pangang, ardam, tapai, penyaram and bahulu. The picture of kampong Ayer with two women wearing baju kurong and a man working as a water-taxi driver act as a cultural code of Brunei that connect five Bruneian traditional foods. It signified the ideologies of a long lasted tradition still preserve. By showing two women wearing baju kurong connotes Bruneian religious believe reflecting her philosophy of MIB, a man working as a water taxi shows traditional transportation system of kampong Ayer. Image of two young boys waving promotes the ideologies of hostile, friendly and hospitality.

The text “Bruneian culture and tradition” as an anchorage to tie all the five signifiers of the food delicacies with the cultural code of Brunei. This changes the whole meaning and purpose of the image, the picture is now act as an advertisement to promote Bruneian uniqueness. The advertisement is use to attract tourists by giving the ideologies of a serenity and inviting atmosphere of Kampong Ayer as one of Bruneian’s cultural tourist destination. In addition, the five foods delicacies in Brunei show the uniqueness of Bruneian traditional foods that can only be found in Brunei.

References:

Argyle, Michael. (1981).Social skills and work. . Methuen & Co ltd. London

 Bignell, Jonathan.(1997). Media semiotics: an introduction. Manchester University press. Manchester.

 Chanler, Daniel.(2002). Semiotics: the basic. . Taylor &amp Francis. Canada

The Economist.(2010).The rising power of the Chinese worker.396(8693)9

WEEK 2: SEEING AND PERCEPTION

We use our senses everyday to help us understand the true nature of things. Without our senses we are disconnected form the external world, only by relying on our senses, we are able to live in the world filled with uncertainties. All this while, most people including myself believe that our senses is adequete enough to give us truth. The purpose of writing this journal is to know whether my senses will always give me truth or whether my senses in particular my sight is giving me lies.

James Garvey in his book titled the twenty greatest philosophy books stated Philosopher Rene Descartes defined perception as the interpertation of the sensations produced by sensory information through our senses where the eyes act as a medium for presenting sensory ideas to the mind, and the mind then perceives these sensory ideas and makes a judgment about it.(Garvey,2006).

In order to understand more about perception, we need to see a contradicting point of view from the intellegent rationalist philosophers who argue that reason is the source of knowledge instead of senses. Rationalist question the reliability of our senses. One of the famous 17th century rationalist philosopher, In the book by D.W Hamalyn called the pelican history of western philosophy, explained that Rene Descartes argue that we are sujected to illusion in our perception of external world as our senses can deceived us. (Hamalyn,1987). In the meditation of the first philosophy, he introduced the method of doubt where he doubted  everything that he can doubt including the knowledge he acquire through his senses. The only thing that he cannot doubt is his own existence, where he quoted " I think, therefore, I exist".

visual communication specialist took Rene Descartes idea from his method of doubt. They question the reliability of their senses on understanding and analyzing visual world around them. The world of visual communication leads us to doubt our own senses by accepting the possiblility that our senses can sometimes deceive us. The basic idea of philosophy that has now became an asset to visual communication speacialist and as well as media students, which separates us from normal people who view what they see as the “unquestionable truth”.

This is the duck-rabbit illusion.

One might say that it is a duck, and another might say that this is a rabbit. It confuse us whether it is a rabbit or a duck when our own sight itself creates curiosity. Doesn’t this proof that our sight can be deceiving. If our sight is already doubted about the knowledge of a certain image doesn’t this makes confusion or uncertanties to our perception?

This picture act as an optical illusion to question the reliability of our sight. The complexity of the image distort one’s perception. Even when our sight show us the same image doesn’t mean that we will have the same perception. It shows that it is our own mind that determines one’s perception not our eyes. Thus, our percetion is untrustworthy when the information from our sight is rather ambigouous. The foundation of perception is therefore came from an unstable ground of a decieving sense of sight.

 

                                                                     Nostalgia

In the journal of Nostalgia: content, Triggers, Function: Journal of personality and social psychology, stated that in 1979, Davis defined nostalgia as “a positively toned evocation of a lived past” and argue that nostalgic experience is infused with imputations of past beauty, pleasure, joy, satisfaction, goodness, happiness and love. The feeling is never infused with sentiments that we commonly think as negative. (Wildsht,Sidekides,Arnt,Routledge, 2006).

This picture fit the concept of nostalgia because the image portrayed the ideologies of serenity, peaceful and the beauty of kampong Ayer.  Nevertheless this picture can enhance everybody’s memory of an irredeemably lost past life. There is nothing in this picture that indicates any sign of negative ideologies. Where are the bad things?

The houses on fire, the water as a disposed system, the garbage floating on water. All this negative ideologies are completely vanished from the picture.

Nostalgia lies in everybody’s memory as an illusion of a perfect past lived away from negativity, but does nostalgia really shows a whole truth?

It is our own conscious mind that manipulates us to see only one side of truth. Our sight and perception tell us a record of error. Because of that, we are blinded by what we perceive through nostalgia.

                                                              Visual manipulation

This picture is taken from the website, which shows a representation of UBD classroom.

By focusing in the discourse of UBD classroom  in this picture, the ideology presented by this image are:

1)      Facilitated

2)      Comfortable

This is representation of UBD classroom on the website. Instantly when we see picture, we never question what we see. In the case of this picture, it seems like negativity and positivity of a certain subject is impossible to coexist. Only a positive ideologies are represented, Is this the portrayal of the whole truth about the classroom? Where is the negative point of views?  Why can’t we see it in the picture?

A visual image that reflect a negative ideologies are eliminated in order to brainwash us to see what they want us to see. By giving the images of positivity, it restricts viewers to seek for the truth.

Information like this are ommited

Stephen Law, creates a new version of Descartes argument from the philosophy of mind where in his book titled philosophy gym stated that:

The brain in a vat hypothesis suggested  that , "your brain is removed and plugged into a computer running a virtual earth program. The computer is so sophisticated that the experiences it generates are indistinguishable from those you would have if what you experience was real. What you see mimic the real world". (Law, 2003).

Doesn’t this shows that the brain in a vat hypothesis is indeed exist in reality, doesn’t this clearly shows that mainstream media such as photography and advertisement act like a supercomputer, creating an illusion that can alter our sight and perception. There is powerful being out there who is intelligent enough to deceive us, creating a virtual world around us. People who are in the position of dominant power are able to shape or design our perception by using mass media. We are being fooled all this time into believing the world of illusion that is created for us, the world of visual manipulation. We are made to believe on what they want us to we see through visual manipulation.

Philosophers have given visual communication professionals to view seeing and perception as a questionable truth. Rene Descartes has indeed shows us that it is very important to have doubt on what we see, because only by having doubt we eliminate false knowledge, and only when we doubted what we see, we are no longer being deceived by our own mind or by someone who is powerful enough to change our perception. By questioning our sight, we are no longer blinded by what we see and only then we shall know whether our senses give us truth.

References:

Garvey, James. (2006).The twenty Greatest Philosophy Books. . Continun International  Publishing Group. London.

Hamalyn, D.W. (1987).The pelican history of western philosophy.  Penguin group.London

Law,Stephen.(2003).Philosophy gym.  Headline book publishing. London

Wildshut, Tim. Sidekides, Constantine. Arnt, Jamie. Routledge, Clay.(2006). Nostalgia: Content, Triggers, Function: Journal of personality and social psychology. 91(5), 7.

WEEK 1: DISCOURSE, IDEOLOGY AND POLITICS

supervisor 

 

 

homosexuality

 

masculinity

Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to a political position in the United States serving as San Francisco City Supervisor. One year after his controversial election, he was murdered alongside San Francisco mayor, George Moscone. The shooter was a fellow politician, Dan White, who was an outspoken anti-gay conservative.

Why I chose Harvey Milk?

In his speech titled the speech of hope, he urges the public to fight for equality. I always supported the idea of equality in human rights. If everyone is created equal, every existence in the world is made equal, why would we treated the minorities, underachievers and homosexual differently. I think it is rather discriminating against life that are regarded as less than perfect. Harvey Milk is a inspirational as he challenge his masculinity, revealing his true self which separates himself from the public representation of a real man. Real man often dominates in public to gain social status. He shattered his own moral values which could eliminate his potential carrier in politics in  the name of fighting for equal rights until he was assassinated doing just that.

The discourses of Harvey Milk are Homosexuality, Masculinity and his career as a supervisor.


1) Homosexuality

The context of certain discourses is affected by its surroundings. During 1970s San Francisco, California. In most western culture, back in the 70s, homosexuality were considered a public disgraced. During that time the traditional Christianity prohibited homosexuality, while medical professions diagnosed homosexual as a mental disease. Homosexuals were living in isolation, making their immoral behavior hidden from the public eye. In November 1978, Californians perverted gays or lesbians from teaching in public school. Thus making the ideology of homosexual in Harvey Milk’s era to be abnormal, unnatural, immoral, disgusting, dirty, a mental disease, perverted, illegal and sinful.

2)Masculinity

As a man, masculinity plays role not just to men’s physical appearance but also to their own sexuality. Sexual orientation of men can alter their degree of masculinity. It is their sexuality that acts like a “magnet” to influence the public perception of masculinity. Often Heterosexual and metro sexual men are represented as more masculine than homosexual man. And often do the public’s perception and response to Harvey Milk as a gay man to question on “how manly he is” ”. Being homosexual has challenged his status as a man. The ideology of masculinity of a harvey Milk are strong, brave, unattractive, un cool, emotional, individualist and free-spirited.

3) Supervisor

A political supervisor as a cultural framework in relation to Harvey Milk career. The ideology of Harvey Milk as a political supervisor are hard working, educated, articulate, influential, rhetorical, intelligent and authoritative.

Counter discourse

A counter discourse is described as the opposite of discourse. It is when the ideology of the discourse changes due to external surroundings such as time and space as well as cultural differences. Nowadays in most western cultures, the public are more open to accept homosexuality as a result of gay rights movement. In fact it has been a culture now to see the rises of new generation of sexual orientation such bisexual and transsexual. If Harvey Milk would have live in the present day, where the external surrounding in most western culture has changed upon legalization of homosexuality by law. The ideology of Harvey Milk’s homosexuality could shift to an exact opposite of the first ideology of homosexuality during the course of his life. The ideology of his homosexuality if he lived in the present time of san Francisco, would be natural, normal and legal

The politics behind Harvey Milk

Politics is defined as the struggle over meaning. Those who are discriminated, prejudiced and violated are some of the group of individual who struggle to find meaning. In a case of Harvey Milk, he struggle over the meaning of being the “perfect political supervisor”. He was not privileged like any other politicians who often represent themselves with a clean or innocent man like an “empty canvas” with no scandals on the public eye. While Harvey Milk has to struggle to gain reputation to search the meaning of success in the political world when his public persona has been questioned due to his immoral behavior. His career has been criticized upon his sexual orientation. He search for the meaning of masculinity, being a real man. His level of masculinity was lowered due to his sexuality. Is being honest and fighting for human rights not a masculine characteristic of a man. He search for the meaning of equality due to his homosexuality that has labeled him as a disgusting individual, a cynical and mentally retarded man. His struggle in his carrier as a politician. Finding himself in the position of cultural disgraced, strengthen his view on politics more than people like us view the meaning of struggling over the meaning.

References:
D’Emilio, John. Sexual politics, sexual communities: The making of homosexual minorities in the United States, 1940-1970 (2nd edition). 1998. The university of Chicago press, London.