Understanding Media: Semiotics, Narratives, and Digital Identity

Semiotics: Signs, Symbols, Icons & Branding

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. It encompasses designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication. Essentially, semiotics explores how words and other signs create meaning. In this field, a sign is anything that stands in for something other than itself.

• Signs produce meaning.
• A sign signifies something.
• Meaning is socially produced through signs, symbols, and icons.

Non-Vocal Communications

Signals, signs, and symbols represent a separate form of language.

• Signifier: The physical existence of an object (e.g., the word "tree").
• Signified: The mental concept or idea associated with the object (e.g., the image of a tree in your mind).

Types of Signs: Index, Icon, and Symbol

Indexical Signs

An indexical sign has a factual or causal connection between the sign and the object it represents. For example, smoke is an index for fire, and dark clouds are an index for rain. Traffic signs also serve as indices, directly indicating a fact or conclusion.

Icons

An icon is a sign that represents something or a person through resemblance. It is a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or worthy of veneration. Examples include photographs, paintings, images of deities, or an icon of Christ.

Symbols

Symbols are signs that have no direct, inherent link to the object they represent. Their meaning is derived from interpretation, understood through previous knowledge and experience. Examples include flags, emblems, eagles, or a bathroom sign.

Colors in Semiotics

Colors carry significant meaning:

• Red: Passion, love (e.g., Christian Louboutin soles).
• White: Purity, peace, innocence (e.g., a wedding dress).
• Black: Death, gothic themes.
• Green: Biology, ecology, jealousy (e.g., Shakespeare's "green-eyed monster").

Corporate Logos as Signs

Corporate logos are powerful symbols:

• Lacoste: Represented by a crocodile.
• Apple: Represented by an apple.
• McDonald's: Represented by the "M" arch.

Semiotics and Advertising

Advertising is a marketing communication that uses openly sponsored, non-personal messages to promote or sell a product, service, or idea. Semiotics in advertising often employs elements like goddesses, mythology, and hypersexuality to convey meaning and appeal to consumers.

Narrative and Genres

Understanding Narratives

Narrative writing is fundamentally about telling a story. Fiction involves imagined events, while nonfiction is based on real events and can also be narrative. Key characteristics of narrative writing include: characters, plot, conflict, setting, and point of view.

Defining Genres

The word "genre" originates from Latin/French, meaning "kind" or "category." A genre allows us to classify works based on shared characteristics, such as style, themes, and setting. It defines a specific style or category of art, music, or literature.

Historical Genre Classifications

• Plato's Genres:

  • Poetry (epic and lyrical)
  • Drama (tragedy, comedy)
  • Prose

• Aristotle's Genres:

  • Tragedy
  • Epic
  • Comedy
  • Parody (Satire)

• Shakespearean Genres:

  • Tragedy
  • Comedy
  • History

Codes and Conventions in Genres

A narrative within a specific genre adopts the codes and conventions of other works in that genre, thereby meeting audience expectations.

Genre Codes

Codes are symbolic schemes that produce meaning, often related to technique—the structure and patterns within the work (e.g., number of acts/chapters, artistic style, writing style).

Genre Conventions

Conventions are the established ways of presenting a narrative:

• Romantic Comedies: Often feature a happy wedding and marriage.
• Action Films: Typically include a hero and a villain, with the protagonist triumphing.
• Noir Thrillers: Characterized by low lighting and dark atmospheres.

Specific Genre Conventions

• Science Fiction:

  • Stories about science and technology.
  • Settings often in the future, outer space, or different planets/dimensions.
  • Based on partially true scientific laws or theories.

• Mystery:

  • Involves solving a puzzling event or situation, such as a crime or murder.
  • Main character investigates wrongdoing.
  • Narrative follows a complex plot of investigation.

• Horror:

  • Features a monster or incarnation of evil.
  • Often set in a dark, gothic environment with gruesome murders.
  • Aims for catharsis—purging emotions through pity and terror.
  • Often conveys moral lessons.

• Psychological Thriller:

  • A sub-genre of horror and thriller.
  • Focuses on the deranged or unhinged mental states of characters.
  • Story driven by fear and anxiety.

Hybrid Genres

• Romantic Comedy (Rom-Com):

  Common codes and conventions:

  • Boy meets girl, often a chance meeting between a well-matched couple.
  • They are kept apart by a plot complication.
  • They overcome obstacles and reunite, leading to a happy ending, often marriage.

• Western Genre:

  A genre of fiction incorporating Western lifestyle, typically set in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West. Stories often center on a nomadic cowboy or gunfighter armed with a revolver and rifle, riding a horse.

Genres Construct Audiences

Genre construction is a two-way process. Genres are built by their codes and conventions, and in turn, they "construct" an audience familiar with these elements, shaping their expectations and engagement.

Hierarchy of Genres?

The concept of a genre hierarchy can be debated, for example:

• Music: Mozart vs. Metallica.
• Film Genres: Drama vs. Action.

Media Representation and Stereotypes

Media Representation

Media does not simply present reality; it reconstructs it, hence the term "re-presentation." This involves the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way.

Stereotypes: Definition and Function

The term "stereotype" originates from Greek, meaning "solid impression." In modern usage, it refers to attributes believed to characterize a group. Stereotypes serve both a cognitive function at an interpersonal level and a social function at an inter-group level.

Functions of Stereotypes:

1. Categorization: A descriptive function.
2. Evaluation: A normative function.

Stereotypes create "us" and "others" categories, framing our awareness. For example, gender stereotypes often associate blue with men and pink with girls (e.g., "Pink glue by Pritt"). A stereotype is often a mistaken idea or belief many people have about a thing or group, based on outward appearance, which may be untrue or only partly true.

Cultural Imperialism and Beauty Standards

Cultural imperialism, often linked to media imperialism, highlights the pressure to conform to certain beauty standards. This is evident in the "beauty myth" and the influence of media, such as the fair skin industry in India.

Three Hypotheses on Beauty Ideals:

1. Local beauty ideals (e.g., pale skin).
2. Colonialism (e.g., its impact in India, Africa).
3. Global media (e.g., advertising, celebrities).

Blackface and Racism

Examples of blackface in contemporary contexts include incidents involving Gucci and Santa Claus in the Netherlands.

Blackface Case Studies:

1. Hollywood movies.
2. Fashion and brands.
3. Politics.
4. Blackface as a "coming of age" ritual.
5. Commercialization of racist iconography.

Self-Representation and Selfie Culture

Social Media Dysmorphia

Social media dysmorphia refers to a perceived deformity or abnormality in the shape or size of a specified part of the body, often influenced by idealized online images. This phenomenon highlights the concept of the curated, constructed self online.

Goffman's Presentation of Self

Erving Goffman's seminal work, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959), uses theatrical imagery to explain face-to-face social interaction. Goffman argued that human interactions are dependent upon time, place, and audience, leading individuals to present different personalities in different social contexts.

A key concept is impression management, where individuals strategically manage how others perceive them.

The "Front" and "Back" Self

• The "Front" Role: Conforms to social norms, expected duties, and manners of an attributed role (e.g., appearance, manner, signals).
• The "Back" Role: Represents the real self, where there is no "audience."

Online Identity Construction

The digital realm facilitates the self-fabrication of personal identities, empowering individuals in their identity construction. This involves the online staging of the self, blurring the lines between the private and public self. Is the public self merely a construction? Questions arise, such as "Is strong the new skinny?"

The Evolution of Selfie Culture

While modern selfie culture is pervasive, early examples include:

1. Robert Cornelius, 1839.
2. Anastasia Romanov, 1910.

Today, selfies range from extreme selfies to "after-sex" selfies and group selfies.

Kylie Jenner's Influence:

In 2018, Kylie Jenner reportedly earned $1,000,000 per sponsored post, showcasing the commercial power of self-representation.

Real vs. Constructed Self Online

The distinction between a "Finstagram" (fake Instagram, often for close friends) and a public Instagram highlights the curated nature of online identity. This raises the question: Is the curated self fake?

Online Deception:

Studies suggest that 81% of people lie about themselves online. For instance, 4 out of 5 people lie about their age, height, or weight in online dating profiles.

The Attention Economy

The "attention economy" describes economic activity driven by the need to capture public attention amidst ever-increasing competition.

Social Media Driving the Attention Economy:

• Quantitative Impact: The proliferation of social media services leads to significant "time suck."
• Qualitative Impact: Social media, based on "sharing," transforms consumers into producers and solicitors of attention from others.

Microcelebrity:

Microcelebrity refers to self-presentation practices endemic in social media, where users strategically formulate a profile, engage with followers, and reveal personal information to increase attention and improve their online status.

Three Cultural Phenomena Fueling This:

• Digital documentation.
• The proliferation of celebrity and microcelebrity culture.
• Conspicuous consumption.

Media, Celebrity & Political Activism

Celebrity Power and Diplomacy

Celebrity diplomacy leverages the influence of public figures. Celebrities, such as Angelina Jolie at the UN, often bring a "moral" dimension to political action, drawing attention to causes.

Defining Fame

Fame is defined as "the state of being widely known or recognized; renown; celebrity."

Celebrity Activism: Pros and Cons

Advantages of Celebrity Activism:

1. Star Power: Their attraction and appeal draw significant attention.
2. Access to Leaders: Celebrities often gain access to political leaders who admire them.
3. Media Skills: They possess strong media skills, enabling them to create widespread awareness.
4. Frankness: They can confront problems directly and openly.

Disadvantages of Celebrity Activism:

1. Lack of Expertise: Their understanding of complex issues can be superficial.
2. Diplomat Resentment: State diplomats may resent their fame and influence.
3. Becoming "Insiders": They risk losing credibility by becoming too integrated into political systems.
4. Western-Centric Bias: Often dominated by American stars, potentially limiting global representation.
5. Fleeting Fame: Their influence can be temporary as fame is often transient.