Lecture 3 'Reading The Signs'

This lecture and following seminar was an introduction to Semiotics which turned out to be far more complicated than i thought. I went away from the lecture thinking 'yer I've got this' but after the seminar i was totally confused again but whatever. I looked at it again and its a bit clearer now.

For this entry i thought I'd have a go at analysing an model/character because this is what i have to do if i choose semiotics as my essay subject. I have chosen Gollum from' Lord of the Rings'.


Gollum, 'Lord of the Rings', http://www.wallpaperweb.org/wallpaper/movies/the-lord-of-the-rings_gollum_1024x768_11512.htm

 Denotation - What is it?
Humanoid male
Distorted facial and body proportions - large eyes and ears, small stature, hunched back
Thin
Semi-naked
Dirty

Connotation - What it suggests
He's wild, lives outdoors
Not part of society
Evil or mad
Malnourished
Good hunter - large eyes and ears

Myth - Its ideological/political meaning
A feral creature that would do anything to survive, more animal that human: it would act on instinct and would not understand human emotion or be able to empathise with people.
An outcast from society.
Appears to have once been human but has adapted to its new situation and so its body has changed/evolved to be more suited to a more animal-like lifestyle.


This whole thing is slightly skewed because i have seen the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy and know what Gollum is like. I find it hard to distinguish between connotation and myth because one leads to another. I think for the myth you look at all of the connotations you have drawn and deduce the myth from them as a whole.

Once i got my head around the concept of semiotics i started seeing signs in everything, down how people dress and how they walk. they want to send you a message using their clothes and body language which may be subconscious or purposeful. There are signs in what people choose to express and what they want to hide. For example someone might where a t-shirt with the name of a band they like on it, they where it to show other people that they like this band, because they think that band is good. Other people see the t-shirt and draw connotation from this; they deduce their musical preferences and start to deduce their personality.

 For model making semiotics becomes slightly more complex as there are two sets of paradigms; one for the model itself and one for what the model is of. E.g. the materials and workmanship of a model building and the style and design of the building that is being modelled.



Scale model of 'The St Francis Towers', http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=323215

E.g. A model of 'The St Francis Towers'

Model Paradigm                                                            'Real' Paradigm

Accurate proportions                                                     Modern building style

Well made                                                                     Skyscraper

Good use of materials                                                   An office/place of work not

Realistic render and finish                                             a residential building