MIGRAIN: Semiotics blog task

 1) What did Ferdinand de Saussure suggest are the two parts that make up a sign?

He suggests the 2 parts are the signifier and the signified

2) What does ‘polysemy’ mean?

Polysemy means multiple possible meanings and is open for interpretation

3) What does Barthes mean when he suggests signs can become ‘naturalised’?

It means that they no longer are signs they are just things that are easily recognizable and just known things

4) What are Barthes’ 5 narrative codes?

Hermeneutic,proairetic, semantic, symbolic, referential

5) How does the writer suggest Russian Doll (Netflix) uses narrative codes?

Part 3: Icons, indexes and symbols

1) Find two examples for each: icon, index and symbol. Provide images or links.

Icon:

Index:

Symbol: 

2) Why are icons and indexes so important in media texts?

3) Why might global brands try and avoid symbols in their advertising and marketing?

4) Find an example of a media text (e.g. advert) where the producer has accidentally communicated the wrong meaning using icons, indexes or symbols. Why did the media product fail? (This web feature on bad ads and marketing fails provides some compelling examples).

5) Find an example of a media text (e.g. advert) that successfully uses icons or indexes to create a message that can be easily understood across the world.