Semiotics II (Discussion)

Note from Dr. Butler: I have italicized the better answers.

1. 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:
       1. All shots of the master with a high vantage point (above the eyeline)
       2. All shots of Buffy during the scene where the guy tries to ask her to the dance from Camera position A
       3. All shots below the eyeline of Buffy
     • Group 2 Abigail:
       1. 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).
       2. We also thought that Buffy could be a paradigmatic set because she was a 16 year old school girl and a vampire slayer.'
       3. 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:
       1. Living/Dead
       2. Toughness/beauty
       3. Reality/abnormality
     • Group 4 Hannah:
       1. Making women predators instead of prey
       2. Triumph of good over evil
       3. Vampire named Angel / A form of evil holds a name of purity and good
       4. Zander is needy/emotional vs. Buffy who is unemotional and detached
2. List two strength(s) of semiotic/structuralist analysis. List two weaknesses of this approach (no, a difficult vocabulary does not count).
   • • Group 1:
       • 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.
         2. 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:
       • 1. 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.
         2. 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-
         1. How the meaning is created rather then what the meaning is
         2. Helps understand relationships
       • Weaknesses –
         1. There is no gray area
         2. Not structured well, can be very broad
     • Group 4:
       • 1. Strength: Raise new theoretical issues
         2. Strength: Make us aware of what we take for granted that is represented in the world
         3. Weakness: Not everyone will have the same interpretation of signs
         4. Weakness: Too Broad in analysis; not concise or structured

Bibliography

1. Butler, Jeremy G. Television: Critical Methods and Applications. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.
2. Robert C. Allen, Channels of Discourse, Reassembled, second edition (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992).

See also

• Semiotics (Discussion)

External links

• The Wonder Years (1991) illustrations
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) illustrations
• Fangface (1980) illustrations
• Chapter 13 illustrations