Semiotics II (Discussion)
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Note from Dr. Butler: I have italicized the better answers.
- Ellen Seiter, in Channels of Discourse, writes, "The picture [of Fangface] itself is a syntagm. ... In the paradigmatic dimension the options are a pair of categories nature/culture (or animal/human...), which is the source of the image's meaning." She continues, "...Hodge and Trip have introduced the binary opposition (nature/culture) and proceeded to organize the elements of the television image into paradigmatic sets."
- List three or four "paradigmatic sets" in the "Prophecy Girl" episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
- Group 1 Bryan:
- All shots of the master with a high vantage point (above the eyeline)
- All shots of Buffy during the scene where the guy tries to ask her to the dance from Camera position A
- All shots below the eyeline of Buffy
- Group 2 Abigail:
- We thought that a few examples from the episode of Buffy that we watched in class would be the character Angel, because he is both a vampire (evil), and a human (good).
- We also thought that Buffy could be a paradigmatic set because she was a 16 year old school girl and a vampire slayer.'
- We also thought the backdrop of the show itself could be a paradigmatic set because it comes across as a teen romance but it also is about the apocalypse.
- Group 3 Carvel:
- Living/Dead
- Toughness/beauty
- Reality/abnormality
- Group 4 Hannah:
- Making women predators instead of prey
- Triumph of good over evil
- Vampire named Angel / A form of evil holds a name of purity and good
- Zander is needy/emotional vs. Buffy who is unemotional and detached
- Group 1 Bryan:
- List three or four "paradigmatic sets" in the "Prophecy Girl" episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
- List two strength(s) of semiotic/structuralist analysis. List two weaknesses of this approach (no, a difficult vocabulary does not count).
- Group 1:
- Strengths: The semiotic approach focuses heavily on studying language. Structuralists give an accurate account of a culture because of their heavy studying of the rules and taboos.
- Weaknesses: Semiotics often categorize causing them to generalize something which can downplay importance or some other aspect. Structuralists "often leads to to a description of the worldview of a culture" which can have negative effects.
- Group 2:
- We thought some strengths of structuralist analysis are that it is very thorough and it sees how things fit together in the text and also reflects the world view of a culture.
- We thought some weaknesses would be that it is very complicated and can ten to overcomplicate some things and there is so much to analyze that it can become too much.
- Group 3:
- Strengths-
- How the meaning is created rather then what the meaning is
- Helps understand relationships
- Weaknesses –
- There is no gray area
- Not structured well, can be very broad
- Strengths-
- Group 4:
- Strength: Raise new theoretical issues
- Strength: Make us aware of what we take for granted that is represented in the world
- Weakness: Not everyone will have the same interpretation of signs
- Weakness: Too Broad in analysis; not concise or structured
- Group 1:
Bibliography
- Butler, Jeremy G. Television: Critical Methods and Applications. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.
- Robert C. Allen, Channels of Discourse, Reassembled, second edition (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992).