Session 1: Dressed to Kill
Session notes:
Denim Jeans:
- What kind of dresser are you?
- Semiotics - study of signs.
- What words, images, gestures, clothes convey meaning?
- Clothes have specific functions: disguise, social status, symbolic encoding, personal expression, expressing allegiance, cultural markers.
- Disguise:
- Modesty - to conceal and/or obscure body signals.
- Costume - to assume identity, play with personality.
- Social Status:
- Controlling devices - clothing reflects a system of correspondences between external appearance and social order.
- Societal role - outward display that denotes a person’s age, social or gender role, career, religion etc.
- Status - helps define power relations.
- Symbolic encoding - deploying colour.
- Black dress - symbolises authority and experience (kuro in Japan), associated with mourning, death, doom, fear, sorrow, misfortune, associations with night, sub-cultural appropriation: beats, rockers, goths etc.
- Personal expression - identity and engagement, the way in which a person is in and of the world (second skin), expressive qualities, dressing as pleasure, relationships.
- Expressing allegiance - demonstrates and reflects bias, allegiances, viewpoints and political learnings, empowerment.
- Cultural markers - context is important, indication of particular timeframe/cultural reference point, consumer and contemporary culture.
Denim Jeans:
- Why are jeans popular dress - transcending gender, class etc?
- What connotations or historical ideas/people/places/events do we associate with denim jeans?
- Haptic qualities, practical, security in anonymity, personal narrative, key qualities.
- Clothes are NOT neutral, they are conveyors of meaning and value.
- Open to multiple readings, innumerable and complex identities
Clothing can serve a wide variety of purposes for consumers, however it mostly stems from the vision of those who first created the pieces of clothing and the brand which is hails from respectively. The founders of the Fruit of the Loom brand, founded in 1851, envisioned its vast popularity, associating itself with the promise of providing quality, value and style to each and every single piece of clothing for their customers.
The basis of the item of clothing in general are primarily cotton shirts with large prints. As simple as it may sound, the clothing can offer an individual to express what they like through their favourite bands or television shows. However the items can do much more than that one purpose. It has the power to express your own individuality and show who you are as a person. The image above is a piece of clothing from the brand, associated with manga artist Junji Ito. The shirt consists entirely of black with a provided image and the name of said artist. Culturally many can say it perfectly suits a fan of the artist, however, to the individual it functions much more than what the eye can see. Despite the association black has with clothing, linking the colour with death, doom and sorrow, it speaks other volumes. It helps define the person as a unique individual in the world of society. Perhaps one who is afraid to speak of who they are and what it is they like but would rather show it to their peers. They describe their own identity through the use of both the colour and what is incorporated on the shirt, without having to utter a single word to anyone. The shirt puts you on display and gives others the opportunity to see you and how you fit into society.
Clothing can serve a wide variety of purposes for consumers, however it mostly stems from the vision of those who first created the pieces of clothing and the brand which is hails from respectively. The founders of the Fruit of the Loom brand, founded in 1851, envisioned its vast popularity, associating itself with the promise of providing quality, value and style to each and every single piece of clothing for their customers.
The basis of the item of clothing in general are primarily cotton shirts with large prints. As simple as it may sound, the clothing can offer an individual to express what they like through their favourite bands or television shows. However the items can do much more than that one purpose. It has the power to express your own individuality and show who you are as a person. The image above is a piece of clothing from the brand, associated with manga artist Junji Ito. The shirt consists entirely of black with a provided image and the name of said artist. Culturally many can say it perfectly suits a fan of the artist, however, to the individual it functions much more than what the eye can see. Despite the association black has with clothing, linking the colour with death, doom and sorrow, it speaks other volumes. It helps define the person as a unique individual in the world of society. Perhaps one who is afraid to speak of who they are and what it is they like but would rather show it to their peers. They describe their own identity through the use of both the colour and what is incorporated on the shirt, without having to utter a single word to anyone. The shirt puts you on display and gives others the opportunity to see you and how you fit into society.
Session 2: Semiotics - The Image of Passion Blog
Session notes:
Wrestling Analysis:
A1. Each wrestler has a different outfit and a different mantle, portraying a unique outlook, personality and more eye catching appearance.
A2. To keep the entertainment going, to hype up the crowd.
A3. To get a close up of the “action”, to possibly get battered around.
A4. Yes as the ring is clearly visible from all angles.
A5. No, it fits more to a theatrical performance.
- Media Semiotics An Introduction - Johnathan Bignall
- Essentialism v structuralism.
- ANYTHING can be a sign, if it can convey meaning (can be more powerful if the target audience can understand that meaning).
- Deconstruct ‘visual’ texts, look beyond the surface and see the underlying messages.
- Semiotics is used but is usually used subconsciously.
- Diachronic - history of language that has developed over time.
- Synchronic - what language was at a point in time.
- Our perception of reality can be constructed by words or signs, accessing our subconscious.
- Language is Ideological.
- Communication using language is the exchange of minds.
- Communicating and understanding signs depends on mutual cooperation
- ALL words can be identified as signs
- Signs can be arbitrary.
- Signs work because of its difference.
- Signifier + Signified = Sign
- ^ Physical representation (stimulus) - Mental concept (response)
- Comics are an example for use of signs through language.
- Langue - whole language system
- Sign - single word
- Parole - partial example of speech/writing
- Syntagm -
- Paradigm - point of substitution in a sentence
- Shepherd Fairey - VERY cool artist.
- Myth - structured to send messages or propagate underlying cultural stereotypes.
- Marx on Ideology - powerful people in our culture have more say, access to media is NOT the same for all classes.
Wrestling Analysis:
- How is the role/character of each wrestler defined and communicated to the audience?
- What is the role played by the commentator?
- What about the role of the referee?
- Crowd response - is the action in the ring clear to follow? If so, how is this made possible?
- Based on observation - would you classify wrestling as a sport?
A1. Each wrestler has a different outfit and a different mantle, portraying a unique outlook, personality and more eye catching appearance.
A2. To keep the entertainment going, to hype up the crowd.
A3. To get a close up of the “action”, to possibly get battered around.
A4. Yes as the ring is clearly visible from all angles.
A5. No, it fits more to a theatrical performance.
- Wrestling is a semiotic code; the signs are encoded (exaggerated repeatedly)
Roland Barthes explores the greatness of wrestling and what the true meaning of the event really is. He first clarifies that wrestling is not a sport, however, he continues to explain that just because it is not a sport doesn’t mean it isn’t enjoyable. He begins by associating wrestling with theatrical performances, such as Greek drama or bullfights. This implies that wrestling is specifically for the audience to behold, reinforced by his statement, “what matters is not what it thinks but what it sees”. Roland continues to explain that wrestling holds more interest than boxing, as the former states that “the spectator…he expects the transient image of certain passions”. What this means is that the pure passion in making such a theatrical performance is not for themselves but rather for the audience. From the appearance of each wrestler to the excessive gestures, it presents the story to the audience; these wrestlers function as a unique individual in their own right, but they play a massive role in the story they are trying to tell, thus the passion of the images. Roland explains that wrestling gives the audience a story, however, the sheer volume of passion behind the spectacle invites enthusiasm. It makes the audience want to the know what will happen next.
As the event is performed in an open area, it provides the opportunity for the audience to spectate every single action in the ring. However, the spectacle portrays a lot more than what we can see. Wrestling provides a story as stated before, but there are more implications at play. The story portrays moral situations and an ideal understanding of things. This means that the story can imply more than just two people fighting, it can suggest a fight between the forces of good and evil, whom each wrestler represents and why they do what they do. Roland even goes as far as to say that the roles of the wrestlers are inspired by the roles politics play in life, giving more of a interest to the audience as to who to root for and to see evil be defeated. The passion of images in wrestling isn’t limited to appearance alone however, but rather it is taken further with actions. Wrestling provides not only the characters in the story, but also portrays the image of defeat, justice and torture. The aim of the fight is to provide justice, to defeat and triumph over evil. So the gestures performed are excessive and exaggerated, but that is the whole point of the performance. Roland sees it as a constant portrayal of battling emotions and gestures tell a great story, and wrestling is no exception. The story is balanced, one side is not completely dominated than the other, not giving the audience an abrupt ending but rather an exciting, constructed fight for the audience to follow.
Roland compares this style of wrestling, in America, to the style France portrays. He goes on to explain that whilst America tells the story of the forces of good and evil, being based on politics, France bases their stories on ethics. The public look for the “perfect bastard”, however, the character does not belong to a nation or party, they are simply an unpredictable character who doesn’t object to breaking rules and venturing beyond the law. Although, this provides wrestling with an even more interesting and unique individual, especially for the audience. This character can choose to disobey the natural rules and go beyond, breaking them as they see fit, from leaving the ring to ‘attacking’ anyone who isn’t involved. The bastard is a variation, implying that this is a dirty and unstable foe, taking advantage of every opportunity, even if it would be frowned upon. This attracts the audience as it is something different but also new and exciting, providing more action and entertainment for them.
Roland’s views on wrestling are exceptionally well described and delve into each aspect of the event as if it was a philosophy of his own. The moral message he tries to send in this extract is that wrestling should be what the public wants. Provide a story and its characters. Show a great battle between the forces of good and evil and enjoy the process as if you are part of the story yourself.
As the event is performed in an open area, it provides the opportunity for the audience to spectate every single action in the ring. However, the spectacle portrays a lot more than what we can see. Wrestling provides a story as stated before, but there are more implications at play. The story portrays moral situations and an ideal understanding of things. This means that the story can imply more than just two people fighting, it can suggest a fight between the forces of good and evil, whom each wrestler represents and why they do what they do. Roland even goes as far as to say that the roles of the wrestlers are inspired by the roles politics play in life, giving more of a interest to the audience as to who to root for and to see evil be defeated. The passion of images in wrestling isn’t limited to appearance alone however, but rather it is taken further with actions. Wrestling provides not only the characters in the story, but also portrays the image of defeat, justice and torture. The aim of the fight is to provide justice, to defeat and triumph over evil. So the gestures performed are excessive and exaggerated, but that is the whole point of the performance. Roland sees it as a constant portrayal of battling emotions and gestures tell a great story, and wrestling is no exception. The story is balanced, one side is not completely dominated than the other, not giving the audience an abrupt ending but rather an exciting, constructed fight for the audience to follow.
Roland compares this style of wrestling, in America, to the style France portrays. He goes on to explain that whilst America tells the story of the forces of good and evil, being based on politics, France bases their stories on ethics. The public look for the “perfect bastard”, however, the character does not belong to a nation or party, they are simply an unpredictable character who doesn’t object to breaking rules and venturing beyond the law. Although, this provides wrestling with an even more interesting and unique individual, especially for the audience. This character can choose to disobey the natural rules and go beyond, breaking them as they see fit, from leaving the ring to ‘attacking’ anyone who isn’t involved. The bastard is a variation, implying that this is a dirty and unstable foe, taking advantage of every opportunity, even if it would be frowned upon. This attracts the audience as it is something different but also new and exciting, providing more action and entertainment for them.
Roland’s views on wrestling are exceptionally well described and delve into each aspect of the event as if it was a philosophy of his own. The moral message he tries to send in this extract is that wrestling should be what the public wants. Provide a story and its characters. Show a great battle between the forces of good and evil and enjoy the process as if you are part of the story yourself.
Session 3: Reading Words and Images
Session notes:
Presentation - live event
Representation - mediation
Re-representation - reframing
Re-re-representation - reframing without context
Anchorage - used to describe the ‘relay’ between words and visuals, ‘where text and image stand in a complementary relationship’.
Word Specific -
Image Specific - providing all or most of the information needed to decode the message
Dual Message - words and images communicating the same message, either in tone or content
Convergent - words and images working together whilst also contributing independently, to convey an idea that neither could do alone
Divergent - words and images appear to follow different paths and/or communicate ideas that do not seem to intersect?
Barthes and connotation - signifier + signified = denotative sign (+connotative signifier)
Barthes and connotation ctd
Presentation - live event
Representation - mediation
Re-representation - reframing
Re-re-representation - reframing without context
- Words are arbitrary signs (do not resemble what they describe)
- Plane of expression - how something is said, written down, designed or drawn (VERY important)
- Iconic signifiers (resemble what they describe), are usually viewed/assimilated/learned before words
- Plane of abstraction - how an image. is captured and rendered visually - affects the ‘reading of meaning’
- The more abstract an image is, the more we can get (e.g. manga)
Anchorage - used to describe the ‘relay’ between words and visuals, ‘where text and image stand in a complementary relationship’.
- Words of commentator: adds authenticity, helps fix meaning to viewer
- It is rare for words and images to not be placed together
Word Specific -
Image Specific - providing all or most of the information needed to decode the message
Dual Message - words and images communicating the same message, either in tone or content
Convergent - words and images working together whilst also contributing independently, to convey an idea that neither could do alone
Divergent - words and images appear to follow different paths and/or communicate ideas that do not seem to intersect?
Barthes and connotation - signifier + signified = denotative sign (+connotative signifier)
- Denotation - primary meaning, non-coded: most immediate reading of a sign, literal deduction: reflects broad opinion or consensus
- Connotation - secondary reading, reader may pick up on:
- style, mode of production, medium and materials, plane of expression, abstraction
- objects as ‘inducers of ideas’ - words and images may trigger off associated readings or link to other concepts.
- Intertextuality - the link between one text and another, coded interpretation - myth - is relayed at the level of connotation.
Barthes and connotation ctd
- signifier + signified = denotative sign and connotative signifier
Anchorage - used to describe the ‘relay’ between words and visuals, ‘where text and image stand in a complementary relationship’.
Denotation - primary meaning, non-coded: most immediate reading of a sign, literal deduction: reflects broad opinion or consensus
Connotation - secondary reading, reader may pick up on:
style, mode of production, medium and materials, plane of expression, abstraction
objects as ‘inducers of ideas’ - words and images may trigger off associated readings or link to other concepts.
Intertextuality - the link between one text and another, coded interpretation - myth - is relayed at the level of connotation.
Denotation - primary meaning, non-coded: most immediate reading of a sign, literal deduction: reflects broad opinion or consensus
Connotation - secondary reading, reader may pick up on:
style, mode of production, medium and materials, plane of expression, abstraction
objects as ‘inducers of ideas’ - words and images may trigger off associated readings or link to other concepts.
Intertextuality - the link between one text and another, coded interpretation - myth - is relayed at the level of connotation.
Treachery of Images Drawing
Session 4: Decoding Advertising
Session notes:
Aspirational selling - will reflect a target customer, plant the ‘seed of need’, upwardly mobile associations, link status to consumerism
Concealment - hide/do not show production or economic structure
- Ads are a currency, particular to time and place, reflect political ideas, social ideals and cultural trends
- Represent a cultural norm or dominant ideology
- Representation of gender, class, ethnicity
Aspirational selling - will reflect a target customer, plant the ‘seed of need’, upwardly mobile associations, link status to consumerism
Concealment - hide/do not show production or economic structure
- Appeals to people in a personal way; the netted bag has a feeling of association with specific fruit shoppers usually used.
- Use of Italian colours, despite the product is from France.
- Food most associated with Italy, supports the use of colour.
- Red background used to entice hunger.
- Wants people to enjoy the luxuriousness of Italy.
- Subject is a woman, used to symbolise beauty.
- Flowers are the only subject in colour, the focus of the viewer, perhaps to refill the lost colour on main subject.
- Kristen Stewart is the poster girl, American actress, particularly attracts women to become as beautiful as her.
- Title is in colour associated with its name, but doesn’t distract from image.
Session 5: Graphic Code of Comic Books
Session notes:
Paul Gravett Comics Art
Scott McCloud Understanding Comics
Nick Dodds AOI Varoom
Graphic signs used to tell a story
Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday (19th Century British Comic)
Panels and Gutters
Speech and Thought Bubbles
Speech and Thought Bubbles
Encoding
The page as a multiframe…
Panel Coordinates
Potency of Negative Space
Transition Types
Paul Gravett Comics Art
Scott McCloud Understanding Comics
Nick Dodds AOI Varoom
Graphic signs used to tell a story
- Unique to comic strips - evolved over time
- Easily accepted and understood by most readers
Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday (19th Century British Comic)
Panels and Gutters
- Image and word containers/frames
- Arranged in sequence
- Relationship between one panel and another is fundamental
- Internal rhythm - panel as heartbeat
- Negative space is ‘active’
Speech and Thought Bubbles
- If bubble is connected to character by sharp point - words spoken by
- If connected by series of bubbles - words thought by
- Plane of expression -text and balloon contour - convey emotion and/or volume
- Bubbles do not usually obstruct characters
Speech and Thought Bubbles
- A balloon is not: an object within picture or a hole in picture (but not transparent)
- We read words in speech balloon, but characters in strip are meant to hear them
- A balloon must be attached to something capable of thinking
- David Carrier argues a balloon conveys a person’s thoughts truthfully
Encoding
- The creation of the page by the comic artist involves cognitive reasoning in the selection, between the linguistic and visual information at hand
- Navigate spatial relationships - to follow the ‘action’ between one panel and the next
The page as a multiframe…
- encourages an appreciation of the complexity of the creative process
Panel Coordinates
- A panel has relation to not only abutting panels, but to other panels in the mulitframe
- Significant coordinates on the pages
Potency of Negative Space
- The drawn surface represents only a portion of the story content
- The undrawn space is the margin and gutters - functions as surrogate for omitted/hidden parts
- Closure - reader must enter negative space, in imagination, to make coherent whole of story
Transition Types
- Moment to moment - Small lapses in time, little closure needed.
- Action to action - Different actions/same scene, some closure needed.
- Subject to subject - Different subjects/same scene or idea, needs more reader involvement to work.
- Scene to scene - Geographic location - significant movement of time and/or space, deductive reasoning needed.
- Aspect to aspect - Scene setting - no apparent shift in time, shows different aspect of the same scene.
- Non-Sequitur - No logical relationship between panels, closure?
Session 6: Subculture and Style
Session notes:
A subculture is a minority group that stands apart from the…
Breakdown or consensus
Punk - inferior, rotten or worthless person or thing, short for punk rock
Subcultural Rituals
Cultural Capital
Punk lexicon/semiotic code
Detournement
- Subculture goes back to 1800’s - early studies referred to deviant or urban underclass
- Sub suggests lower rank, i.e. subordinate
- Associated with post 1945 youth, rise of the teenager
- Defined as group who rebel against parent or mainstream culture
A subculture is a minority group that stands apart from the…
Breakdown or consensus
- refusal to participate in mainstream culture
- desire to subvert, parody or disrupt elements of mainstream culture
Punk - inferior, rotten or worthless person or thing, short for punk rock
- Anti-taste: reflecting social dislocation
- Use of collage and bricolage
- Provocative: adoption of fetish wear and sexualised shock imagery
- subversion and co-opting of loaded cultural signs
- cross-gender dress
Subcultural Rituals
- Nihilism
- sarcastic patois
- speed logic
- the pogo
- participation in spectacle
- gobbing and etiquette
Cultural Capital
- Participation and creation of cultural capital
- amateurism as virtue
- DIY culture
- anti-corporate/anti-elitism
Punk lexicon/semiotic code
- energetic/urgnt
- crudely produced
- cheaply printed - restricted use of colour
- mix of photomontage/collaged elements
- no rock star posturing
- lettering; ransom note style/stencilled/use of Letraset
Detournement
- aping the parent culture
- appropriation and alteration of existing mainstream artefact
Session 7: Gender, Identity and Representation
Session notes:
Defining gender
Sex - biological differences between men and women, official documents - legal requirements etc.
Gender - cultural roles of masculinity and femininity, not natural properties but social constructs
Non-binary and genderqueer - spectrum of identities that don’t correspond to being masculine or feminine, outside the gender binary
Transgender - not correspondent with an individual’s birth sex
Gender as performance - Judith Butler
The Male Gaze - Laura Mulvey
Men presented as assertive: decision makers
Women in supportive roles: as instructed
Men survey: men look at women
Women being surveyed: women being looked by themselves and men
Women more tactile
Analysing style magazines
What do styles tell us about modern gender roles?
Are they progressive, regressive or neither?
Do they reflect real men or women or do they propagate myths about men and women?
Themes:
Defining gender
Sex - biological differences between men and women, official documents - legal requirements etc.
Gender - cultural roles of masculinity and femininity, not natural properties but social constructs
Non-binary and genderqueer - spectrum of identities that don’t correspond to being masculine or feminine, outside the gender binary
Transgender - not correspondent with an individual’s birth sex
Gender as performance - Judith Butler
The Male Gaze - Laura Mulvey
Men presented as assertive: decision makers
Women in supportive roles: as instructed
Men survey: men look at women
Women being surveyed: women being looked by themselves and men
- Men inhabit world of paid work
- Women inhabit world of home
- Mens bodies shown as active and forceful
- Women’s bodies shown as passive and yielding
- Men seen as reserved/alert/attached
- Women seen as emotionally outgoing
Women more tactile
Analysing style magazines
What do styles tell us about modern gender roles?
Are they progressive, regressive or neither?
Do they reflect real men or women or do they propagate myths about men and women?
Themes:
- status: focus on selling future happier self
- consumerism: content links gender identity with consumption
- sexuality: ‘normalise’ heterosexual relationships - attitudes to sex constantly being redefined
Session 8: Global Culture and Ethical Design
Session notes:
Global Village:
• Shared common destiny: health, environmental and sustainability issues.
• Cultural imperialism: the disproportionate effect of one culture over another.
• Cultural exchange and hybridity: mix of the local/indigenous culture with global influences.
• The post-traditional community: economic and technological impact on community relations
Traditional Community:
• Being rooted: sense of belonging & allegiance, fixed local work patterns.
• Historical ties: Linked to length of family residence.
• Fixed spatial environment: of private/public spaces.
• Shared rituals: collective celebration, community events.
• Moral certainty: respect for community hierarchy
Post-Traditional Community
• Transient connections: people move more frequently for work & leisure, generational shifting.
• Changing spatial environment: Town planning reflecting socio-economic change
• Digital integration: the growth of online virtual communities, Individual and global narratives via new-media technologies
Trade without Borders:
• Since 1980’s: growth and emphasis on global economics.
• Movement in the west from manufacturing to service- based economies.
• National borders/ideologies less relevant: collapse of institutional barriers (protectionism) to trade?
• GlobalBrands: rise of transnational corporations.
Global Village:
• Shared common destiny: health, environmental and sustainability issues.
• Cultural imperialism: the disproportionate effect of one culture over another.
• Cultural exchange and hybridity: mix of the local/indigenous culture with global influences.
• The post-traditional community: economic and technological impact on community relations
Traditional Community:
• Being rooted: sense of belonging & allegiance, fixed local work patterns.
• Historical ties: Linked to length of family residence.
• Fixed spatial environment: of private/public spaces.
• Shared rituals: collective celebration, community events.
• Moral certainty: respect for community hierarchy
Post-Traditional Community
• Transient connections: people move more frequently for work & leisure, generational shifting.
• Changing spatial environment: Town planning reflecting socio-economic change
• Digital integration: the growth of online virtual communities, Individual and global narratives via new-media technologies
Trade without Borders:
• Since 1980’s: growth and emphasis on global economics.
• Movement in the west from manufacturing to service- based economies.
• National borders/ideologies less relevant: collapse of institutional barriers (protectionism) to trade?
• GlobalBrands: rise of transnational corporations.