Semiotics - What Can Signs Mean - Research Paper Example

College Semiotics Signs do appear in a variety of ways; signs may be oral or communicated through words, written or visual images. Semeiotic analysis of an image refers to the mass communication of such an image through visual means (Parsa, 847). Semeiotic analysis targets to deconstruct images to achieve a better understanding of any hidden meaning carried by visual images. Deconstructing the hidden message leads to an understanding of the message communicated and the significance of the message to the targeted audience. Visual semiotics stress on the various ways in which visual elements will communicate and the entire system that caters for their usage. Unlike the tradition criticism of visual images, semiotics take a different route in investigating messages and the manner in which they are conveyed, but not understanding what the message is. Human beings have an unending urge to understand in a better way the world in which they live. This is achieved through reading nature, understanding and reading other human beings and culture, which makes it possible for humans to perceive and construct meanings created by these elements. Meaning of many elements as perceived is not obvious, but “waits to be disclosed, analysed and read” (Parsa & Parsa, 79). This article uses semiotics to deconstruct the meaning of two images and their meaning to people in understanding the messages that they convey. A sign is a representation of something else for which it stands in some capacity; signs will create in mind a picture of an item of equivalent or more developed sign (Parsa 848). About the images below, this definition is clear as these images speak loud of what they signify or the message they send to the audience. First, the two images communicate the message of liberal educated women, different from the ordinary women. Wearing of white robes communicates the message that women are educated and in a certain profession. The white clothing might indicate cleanliness and hygiene, which suggests the women might be in a field that requires high levels of hygiene. The fields that deal with high levels of hygiene are mostly food processing facilities and the healthcare facilities, which require high levels of cleanliness. Moreover, the presence of a stethoscope on each of the women makes it clear that these women are doctors or nurses and hence work in a health facility. The meaning of these is that the women, similar to their male counterparts have managed to get high quality education to enable them join the medical fraternity as professions. From this perspective, the women are from a generation that benefited from the efforts of feminist groups that advocated for the education of the girl child considering that several decades ago; women education especially in high education levels was ignored in the society in favor of the boy child. Moreover, the two images communicate the message that the doctors are in a discussion about a certain aspect. In other words, the meaning is that doctors have embraced the culture of collaboration in the medical field; a doctor makes a decision not based on individual perceptions, but seeks a second opinion to ensure she makes reliable decisions. Therefore, images portray practising doctors or nurses aware of the need and importance of collaboration in making the right decision in treating clients considering they are perusing some files, which may be taken to stand for a client or patient records. The two images also communicate cultural messages that relay different meanings about the two different cultures as illustrated. In indexical signs, there has to be inherent relationships between the illustrated signifier and the signified, based on causality or contiguity (Parsa 848). In image 1, the two women are from a culture that keeps body distance and whom too close contact between people is not a polite way to communicate. The two women have left a considerable gap between them when communicating, which suggests the effects of culture. The meaning is that the two women are in a culture where respect, distance and communication without any body contact is a norm and value in the culture. For instance, in most conservative cultures especially in Asian countries, people do not encourage close body contact, but require keeping their distance when communicating. Body contact is perceived as rude and intruding into people’s space. On the other hand, in image, 2, the opposite is true; the women are from a culture that values body contact and closeness as a means to communicate affection and friendship in a formal or informal set up. Therefore, the two women in image 2 may thus be construed to be from a liberal society. Most liberal societies are in Europe and America. Therefore, the space left between the two doctors in each image communicates the culture orientation of the four doctors. In image one, the doctors might have come from an Asian culture which advocates for non-body contact, on the contrary, image two doctors seem to portray a liberal society to whom body contact communicates affection. The mode of dressing is also suggestive of culture and to some extent, the race of the women in the images. In image 1, the two female parties are clothed to the entirety; the face is the only exposed body part. On the other hand, in image 2 the women have dressed simply in official clothing with more of their body parts exposed, including their hair. The two types of clothing are suggestive and convey several meanings to the audience. In image 1, the clothing conveys the meaning that the two female doctors are from the Muslim religion considering that Muslim women have to cover their heads and do not expose their bodies. The meaning of this is that the women in image 1 are from a conservative religion that still clings to fixed norms and values of requiring women not to expose their bodies to the public. To a large extent, the clothing portray that though the women are highly educated and in a profession, they still hold to cultural and religious norms to which they confess, which they have to respect in their profession. This explains the nature of religion and culture in influencing the lives of people despite their status in the society. In image 2, the women have dressed simply and do communicate the perception of being professionals freed from any culture. Moreover, the women seem to be from a higher social class than those in image 1 based on their mode of official dressing. This affirms that the women in image 2 must be from a westernised origin, where professionals are liberal and do not hold to any culture apart from their careers as the image indicates. The two images convey the meaning of workforce demographics between the two cultures. In image 1, the women are relatively young, which conveys the message that workforce in the country of origin of the two women is mostly composed of young people. Moreover, the image conveys the meaning that though young, the women still hold dearly to their religion, compared to many young people who portray liberal behaviors in the society, especially in the western world. In image 2, the women are relatively older than those in image one. The message communicated in image 2 is that the population of the country is composed of people from relatively higher age compared to that of image 1. Workforce of a higher average age suggests a negative population growth as people hold on to strict family planning methods, which some countries in Europe have continued to hold increasing the average age of the workforce. In image one, the implication is that, the country of origin has a high rate of young people population, a demographic that has been illustrated by upcoming economies that have been driven by young workforce. Therefore, signs do communicate hidden meanings, which require deconstruction for people to understand the concepts and meanings. Images, as discussed, have a rich meaning in different contexts and wait for the audience to figure out the meaning communicated to understand the different dynamics communicated in the society. In the two images above, culture, race, religion, workforce demographics among other elements are clear from the sample images. This makes semiotics an important aspect to consider in constructing meanings of any visual or audio elements. Work cited Parsa , Seyide and Parsa, F. Flame. Semiotics Analysis. Izmir : Ege University Press, 2002 Parsa, F. Alev. Visual semiotics: How still images mean? Interpreting still images by using semiotic approaches, 2010 http://akademik.maltepe.edu.tr/~osmanurper/g%F6rselimajy%F6n/visual%20semiotics%20how%20still%20images%20mean.pdf 4th Dec 2013. Image 1 Image 2 Read More