Semiotics and Television

Semiotics is how meanings are created from language, images, and other forms. Like signs which can be broken down in two parts, the signifier plus the signified, or the symbol plus the meaning. This is how our brains connect pictures with words making signs. When we use the bathroom for example we can look either at the words that say men or women, or by simply looking at the symbol of a stick figure man or the symbol of a women, which is a stick figure with a triangle for a dress. I feel like often times we do and understand these signs subconsciously, because often times we have grown up with these indications. Either way both the picture and the words mean the same thing. According to Charles Peirce there are three types of signs, symbol, icon, and index. Much of the television shows we view would be classified under, icon. Another aspect is denotation and connotation. To me I feel it easier to pick out connotation rather than denotation because I feel we don’t think about those things like lighting, color, shot, sound, and text when watching something, but we know the connotation of it. Scary movies are a perfect example of denotation and connotation. In scary movie they have denotations of short, fast clips with very contrasting lighting, the connotation is to be suspenseful and keep you wondering what is actually happening. They do this to get your heart beating. Like the example in class of the cooking show it was much easier for me to pick up on connotations of the show because it is something I more think about, rather than how the show was made up.