Semiotics

Ok, so I'm finally going to tackle the topic of Semiotics in a mostly text form where I'm trying to explain to myself.

So what is Semiotics all about?

Using Will's lecture notes, Semiotics was first defined by Ferdinand de Saussure as ' a science that studies the life of signs within society' back in 1916. So what does that all mean for us.

Well the sign is broken down further into two parts, the signifier and the signified. The example we were given was a rose. The signifier (Rose) signifies the meaning of Love.

So how did a rose come to mean love? It does tie in with my earlier post about stereotyping, as this is one of the earliest symbols to pertain love. It has appeared in numerous paintings, poems and films. I must say, I do fight this symbol as my association with roses are somewhat different, thinking of pain. Is this because I was once hurt by love or more to do with the fact I fell into a rose bush and it hurt like hell? (I suppose nowadays an Apple is a sign of ones cool-ness if iPhone would have you believe.)

The rose is an Arbitrary sign as no actual link is present between a plant and an emotion, but instead built up through repetition and we are taught the link through images gone by and commercial greed which is Valentines day. (I really don't get Valentines day and a quick wiki search suggests that there is no real St.Valentine as many as 13 are disputed and it did not exist until Geoffrey Chaucer's Parliament of Foules was written about made up traditions.)

Anyway, Iconic signs are obviously different, as in they actually have that natural link such as a Crown is actually linked to Power, rule etc. Or Blackpool Tower is an iconic sign of Blackpool.

I suppose it more on the side of Arbitrary signs that most Stereotyping is rooted in. Watching QI on TV regularly debunks these common misconceptions. A quick example I can think of is that the idea of Napoleon Bonaparte being a small man is entirely false. He was 5"7 which was average height for the time a full 2 and a half inches taller than Nelson. Many images from the British press depicted him as small to lessen his power at the time. (See Below)

From one image a myth is born, which is very showing in today's age. Political Correctness is dominant with wars nearly started with disparaging depictions of religious figures, so now you have to be extremely careful in the images and words you publish.

Looking forward, I wonder if its possible in the age of Brands and Brand management to create an arbitrary symbol that has no meaning and construct in an Emperors new clothes type of way, something that everybody recognised but did not understand what it is.