Semiotics & Ideologies

Narrative Reflection
Task 1
 Reflect on Todorov’s theory for
Psycho
 What binary opposites can we find
in Psycho?
Aims & Objectives
Overview of semiotics and Ideology and ways
in which to apply it to film
Introduction to Task 4
 The study of these signs, codes and
conventions in film is called semiotics,
or semiotic analysis.
Semiotic analysis is a way to explain how
an audience makes meaning from codes.
Semiotics
No object or word is without meaning –
one cannot read or see something without
associating it to a certain idea, the
meaning.
  Growing up, everyone has been
taught how to decode what they
see, read and hear. We have all
learned to decode meaning: it’s
Culture and how we make sense of our
surroundings, essentially, of the
Semiotics world.
 99% percent of the time, the
meaning comes from some pre-
established (cultural) notion.
 The literal meaning.
What colour do you see?

The sign: the

denotation
 Suggesting a meaning
What do YOU associate red with?

The code: the

connotation
Red in China Red is a popular colour in Chinese culture,
symbolizing luck, joy, and happiness. It also
Dominant represents celebration, vitality, and fertility in
Idelologies traditional Chinese colour symbolism.

Red is the traditional colour worn

by Chinese brides, as it is believed to ward off
evil.
Dominant What other dominant ideologies
can you think of?
Ideologies
 These are the most basic of signs in
film. Indexical signs indirectly point to
a certain meaning – they act as cues to
Indexical existing knowledge.
Signs Smoke means fire, panting means
exercise, a ringing bell means end of
class.
 Symbolic codes often denote something
they have nothing to do with at first
glance, but only because the code exists
and because we use them society-wide.
Symbolic For instance, the red heart symbolises
Code love, the white dove symbolises peace,
the colour green symbolises jealousy.
 These are the literal signs and codes: a cop
means a cop.
They are meant to appear like the thing itself.
However, they always represent more than
just the thing itself.
Iconic Signs When we see a police officer, we also associate
and Code this with our cultural ideas of “justice” or “the
law”, or even masculinity or toughness.
These codes also reinforce the ideas we have
about these concepts in our culture, it
reinforces the ideological meaning of those
concepts.
  This is an important type of code used in film: it
creates a question which the film “text” will
then go on to answer.
 This is often used in trailers of movies as well as
posters.
Enigma Code  They make people wonder.
 For example, “who murdered the protagonist”,
or “how will they survive the apocalypse”.
 They create curiosity and intrigue the viewers,
with the intention of making them go see the
movie.
In class tasks

 Download the worksheet from the Weebly

page and work through the questions

 Watch these videos to give some ideas for

Task 4
 https://youtu.be/pOXw8j8VGO8
 https://youtu.be/67NGUSgD8Ps
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.
  Individually you will need to produce a talking head style recorded
critique of Psycho (1960) for a YouTube channel called ‘Gen Z
Film Critics’ aimed at young cinephiles, (duration 20 mins).
 Alternatively (if you prefer)– A written report
Task 4  Within this film critique you will need to address the following:
 Genre
Developing  Representation
Responses to  Narrative

Media  Semiotics
 Auteur theory
Products  Ideologies

 Hand in date Thursday 7th January 2021 1.30 pm

 A presenter in a television programme
who speaks directly to the audience and
Talking head who is usually shown only from the
shoulders
  Identify codes and conventions of the horror genre and how or if
these relate to Psycho
 How are these codes and conventions used when representing
characters?
 Use examples from other horror films for comparison and
Genre discussion
 Think about how the horror genre has changed and progressed
over the years (slasher, spoofs, parodies, blood etc.)
 What does the audience expect to see and what will they
experience, consider how/where would they typically view it?
  Explore the messages and values of the film by analysing who or
what is being represented (consider issues of Gender, Race,
Location, stereotypes etc...).
Representation  Think about how representation has changed over the years (this
film was made in 1960!), for example: representation of women in
the context of the roles of women in 1950s society and also Laura
Mulvey’s Male gaze theory.
  Has society and the audience changed since this film was made?
Ideologies  Are we more or less sensitive to the content? Why?
  Consider how the film constructs its story
 How does the narrative engage the viewer?
 Use narrative theories and examples of other films to support your
claims
Narrative
 Explore the techniques used (single or multi-strand narrative?
Linear or non-linear narrative? Use of flashbacks, cut-scenes,
voice-over etc...)
  Consider what symbolic codes have been used throughout and
what message they may convey to the audience.
 Use these symbolic codes to support your discussion of narrative
Semiotics and representation, how do they help the film progress and
engage the audience
 How can the use of semiotics help us understand the characters?
 Consider also Iconic codes, Indexal signs, enigma codes
  Discuss the relationship of the auteur (director) and psycho
Auteur theory  Compare this film to other Hitchcock films, are there any
similarities or major differences?
  Give examples to support your arguments and be critical!
 Justify your points using supporting arguments and examples,
explain precisely what it is about it that exemplifies the point it
illustrates. Be very clear about your points, explain in
detail! Points Examples Explanations
Tips  Use technical vocabulary correctly and confidently at all times.
 Use Movie stills or clips to illustrate your points so that the
viewer can understand easily your points.
 This is a film critique NOT just a film review and must include all of
the elements discussed previously.
 Add the following to your website under the title:
Task 4 Developing Responses to Media Products
Submission 1. A link to your YouTube recording (if recording)
2. A copy of your script (if recording) or your written report
  Some examples of Horror critiques:
 https://youtu.be/ubNKSgdT1FQ Get Out (2017)
Additional  https://youtu.be/xm-9E275D9c Psycho (1960)

resources  https://youtu.be/ghcXhfnJf6w Midsommar (2019)