Assignment 2 : Semiotic Analysis

Malaysia is one of the federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It was part of British territories in the olden days which were known as Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak before there were unite. It was ‘Him’, who led the people for the road to independence. Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah or better known as the Father of Independence is the one who form Malaysia. Since then, Malaysian celebrating our independence day on 31^st August every year to remind and respect the joyful and historical moment.

He is the Father of Independence as well as the Father of Malaysia. The intended message of this picture is very obvious towards every Malaysian as nostalgia when Malaysia was first celebrating our Independence Day during 1957. The word ‘Merdeka’ (Independence) had bring a lot of messages to every Malaysian; rather than independent, Malaysian do felt the freedom as we are not being rule by British colonial since 1957. ‘Merdeka’ meant a lot to every Malaysian as the moment we get our freedom and independence country. The government and politicians do have their point of view of what ‘Merdeka’ mean to them. They could felt the power or authority in the government that being claimed by the community, which are the people. Sovereignty means a lot as the status, dominion and power of the leadership as well as royalty.

According to this picture of Tunku abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, we can see the dress code of Him wearing a local military uniform with a sarong around His waist with a pair of Kris and a Malay tengkolok on His head. It is representing a leadership and royalty with that appearance. The denotation, which is the basic and literal meaning of this dress code, signifies as a leader, the one who lead our country Malaysia. It has already being recognized by every Malaysian until now. Besides that, the connotation which is the cultural meaning of the dress code resembling Malay traditional costume as well as royalty.

He showing his hand with open palms in which the palms is pointing outwards to the audience and his hand raise up high. Then He is shouting to the crowd announcing ‘Merdeka’ (Independence). It is this photograph of Him raising his hand with His emotional but determined voice that leading the crowds have become a familiar and recognize icon of independence in Malaysia.

Metonymy is a term for the connotation in which one sign is substituted for another meaning in which it is closely associated. In the picture, we can see the hand gesture of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj resembles ‘Merdeka’ in Malaysia by the political leader during Independence Day. The Prime Minister of Malaysia follows the hand gesture every year during Independence Days to lead the cheers and celebrating the day. According to our research, the hand gesture means the person are confident and swearing to the audience the importance of the messages he is delivering. It shows that during the time, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj is confident and tells everyone that participating, that they are going to gain their freedom and independence. Moreover, we have been thought that to raise our hand when we know how to answer a question or when we got something to speak out loud. Therefore, the gesture of a person is important to tell everyone what He is going to do with instead of just to speak out the words loud.

Moreover, we can recognize different kind of signs in the picture of Tunku Abdul Rahamn Putra Al-Haj. Every sign have two aspects mainly signifier and signified. The signifier is the thing that signifies while signified is the concept that the signifier is referring to. The relation between them both is purely culturally specific and conventional. Hence, the word ‘Merdeka’ in the scene is a symbolic signs to every Malaysian. It is because the meaning is conventional and people never doubt that the meaning to be that way.

The whole figure of Tunku Abdul Rahman Al-Haj in this picture resembling ‘Merdeka’(independence). It is an iconic signs towards Malaysian and throughout the world, who use to study and understand about Malaysia history before. Icons defines that the signifier is not totally based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system but resembles the signified in a way. Since the photograph of Him being so famous not just in Malaysia but to anyone, who get to known Him, He has become an icon for our Malaysia Independence.

Index sign refers to the signified that affect the signifier. A simple example would be dirt signifies dust in which the dust causing dirt. Refer back to the image of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, His hand gesture and his voice that shouting the words ‘Merdeka’ signifies himself. It means that whenever Malaysian saw a person or more likely to be our political leader, especially doing the same hand gesture and shouting ‘Merdeka’ during our Independence Day would remind us of how Malaysia was first being independence leading by our First Prime Minister, the Father of Independence.

In our own point of view, the denotation of the image is cleared and simple to be understood by every Malaysian as the moments of joyful and historical being so nostalgia to every new generation. The message is clear showing how we achieve our independence during the day.

Besides that, our opinion of the connotation meaning of the whole image do resembles a lot of signified about its cultural meaning. Rather than its meaning of independence, it also shows that our own nations are being unite as a multiracial country with our own cultural different from other countries. It is because every political leader representing different races took part and negotiates with the British colonial with Tunku Abdul Rahman during 1957. It also shows out the meaning of our own Malay royalty and sovereignty in our politics that brings up the whole Malaysia and the nations.

Hence, the picutre of Tunku Abdul Rahman raised up His hand and shouted out the ‘Merdeka” words three times with His emotional voice and follow by the cheers of the crowd have become a familiar icon for every Malaysian. This picture had been use for most of the history text book when it came to the topic of Malaysia Independent day. Moreover, children are being educated from young by this picture to know more deeply about the Independent day of Malaysia. Thus, the meaning of the photographs will not change over time, it has been use as a teaching material to let student to remember this moment and study about Tunku Abdul Rahaman as the Father of Independence as well as the Father of Malaysia and more over the picture will still be the same and remain a strong meaning towards independent to every Malaysian. In fact, it had become an important part of the history of Malaysia and from that moment on, Tunku Abdul Rahman had become an icon of Malaysia Independence to every Malaysian. It is a memorable moment to every Malaysian. More over the meaning of ‘Merdeka’ will not change over time for every Malaysian, it has become an iconic signs and even throughout the world.

Assignment 1 : Semiotic Analysis

During World War II (WWII) around the time in 1942, mostly Americans’ men joined military forces to defend their own country against war. The country is having issues of lacking man power helping out behind the war. ‘Rosie the Riveter’ song first appeared in the government propaganda simultaneously with the poster “We Can Do It” by J. Howard Millar to encourage women to work for the industrial factories to help provide war supplies.

Since the “We Can Do It!” poster is targeted against American housewives during the WWII to support and help providing war supplies, it is indirectly influence women in the other non-factory sector supporting the economy. As the males were calls to enroll themselves in the battlefield, the government campaigns that recruiting women power in the war supplies industries had built a strong patriotism perception towards women as well as men. Women were called into manufacturing jobs to support the war effort overseas and the government propaganda was successfully delivered to the audience and many female responded enthusiastically to this poster, the number of working American women which is 20 million by 1944, then a tremendously increase of 63% by 1942. 

According to the article in skwirk.com, ‘cultural assumption is not stereotype; it is based on age, gender, lifestyle and ethnicity.’ The poster of ‘We Can Do it!’ has clearly clarified that it was printed to deliver a message which is American housewives should enroll in manufacture area to contribute themselves to aid their country. It has comprehended by the targeted audience because the elements in the poster included the assumptions. The poster were not merely printed to raise patriotism of American housewives, it also signified the downhill of their country’s economic as well. The elements in the poster included the slogan, “Rosie the Riveter” image and a yellow background. The woman was drawn with a rolled out sleeve and shows her muscular arm depicted that actually women are strong and capable in doing things that men can do.

The first glance toward the “We Can Do It!” poster, we will look at a woman with a beautiful make up and wearing a bandanna, which will lead audience to think about a typical middle class housewife looks. In this poster, the woman was wearing man attire which came with a logo of Westinghouse Company and showing her masculine arm. The size of the arm is representing the men’s arm and the way of rolling up her sleeves signifying that she is prepared to work hard. This icon is significantly targeted on the audience and easily delivered the message.

The government of United State was not hoping that the woman power will be as strong as man power after all, so they choose to target on normal middle class housewife who were not as smart as those woman who already working in other industry area. The intended audiences, who been targeted are actually being recruited to help out behind the war, to produce ammunition and war supplies.

The codes that applied in the poster consist of connotation and denotation meaning. Connotation is often contrasted with denotation. Denotation define the precise meaning of the object and connotation present the connote content of the object. In the term of denotation, women in “We Can Do It” poster that showing muscular arm is representing strong. From the ancient era, the color of blue has stereotyped as males’ colour and combines with the term of connotation, it is implying that women are not only define as productive, they are also capable to work as what men can do. The woman that drawn with polka dot red bandanna is the denotation of showing they are American housewives. The women has dolled up with red lipstick connote the sign of middle class American housewives, as they are able to afford cosmetics. Thus the message of poster is aiming to deliver to middle class American housewives.

Besides the pop art elements, the background color was not painted as will. As what can be seen from the poster, yellow color is brightly added to emphasize the pop art elements, because of the high visibility of bright yellow, it is often used for hazard signs. The common view of the yellow color is warm and perky but according to desktoppub.com, the connote message of yellow color defined as hope and happiness. Showing the bright background, it wants to resemble the situation of inclining economic can be save by the involvement of women.

“Rosie the Riverter” which was considered as a feminist icon in the US has emerged as a cultural icon in gaining greater significance over years and changed her original purpose as a recruitment aid to attract female workers during WWII.  Although later adopted by women's groups and proudly embraced as a symbol of strong independent women, “Rosie the Riveter” image was never intended to empower women of all ages, backgrounds and economic levels. She captured the imaginations of white middle class women who yearned to follow in the footsteps of this heroic, patriotic, and glamorous female figure doing a man's job. She enhances the way for gender right and spread to let the women to work in society in the decades ahead. As time change, somehow in 1970-1980 where supposedly the poster is being forgotten, it had been rediscovered and became famous. The image had become an iconic symbol after all in women’s right struggles and it had been adapted in other political campaigns as well.

The text “We can do it!” that stated on this poster have bring a strong impact during World War II, it has been use as propaganda to convinced woman to believe that they can do it and contributed to the country. As we read the text “We can do it!” we will automatically think it positively, and convinced ourselves that we will make it. Somehow the meanings of this text are not directly but depending on the audiences themselves to define and understand the meaning out of it. People will get the same meanings, when they have experiencing the same things before. When the times changes, the meanings might change too. People will interpret it with a different way according to the environment or new experiences they could achieved. Even though the text “We can do it!” is mainly read as a positive statement, but there will be small part of negative issues. This is because different people will have different point of view and it’s hard to have the exactly same meaning for everyone. However in the reality, during the WWII, it is in fact affecting women to recruit their power to aid their own country.

Our own values about the understanding of the text are woman should have their own personality and stay strong in many ways just like the characteristic of men. It motivates woman to aid the country and build up the spirit of patriotic onto them. It changed the perception of woman. In the other ways, the values are often relating to our own cultural values. Hence, it is vary depending on how people think about the poster itself and the meaning hidden behind the whole iconic symbol of “Rosie the Riverter”.

Commercial Photography, Mass Communication : Lamborghini

The media is the one to be blame for all sorts of changes, beliefs and thoughts that happen to be affecting our life every day. It is the way people communicate throughout the world in different media.

As the picture being shown above, a Lamborghini’s car, an Italian automaker company with their latest car called Aventador. Lamborghini begin its time since 1963 with a main objective of producing a grand touring car to compete with other Automobile’s company like Ferrari. It do its best by continue to create a car that could satisfy the audience and still stick to the identity of Lamborghini. Lamborghini itself is the identity of the brand after all. Impressed by the majestic Miura animals, Taurus, the automaker relate the car’s name according to bull breeder and bullfighting which is a famous Spanish sports. This Aventador as well, is a name of a trophy-winning bull in the world of Spanish bullfighting.

Rather than selling just a car, Lamborghini tend to sell the ideas, brands and their concepts and inspirations.  A European luxury, sport and trendy car concept based in Italy manage to communicate with people worldwide. Through mass media, everything seems believable. This happens throughout a long journey and it takes time. We understand the definition of mass communication which delivering information and ideas to the audience through a medium that fulfill its purpose. Hence, in this case Lamborghini tends to specific its target market for upper class middle age man with an interest in automobiles.  Particularly, wealthy man with extra money to spares.

We could see how they create their events and showcase to publish their new cars in a high social class together with other automobile company in the same class and level. Lamborghini tend to appear in entertainment industry with high cost, detailed computer graphics advertisement to fulfill the demand of today’s audiences. It fits into entertainment theory as the function of mass communication. With the extremely strong international brand recognition and brand appeal, Lamborghini manage to being acknowledged as high performance super sports car and highly aspirational luxury acquisitions.

There are a lot of non-verbal message that could be understand easily, not just by its own target audiences but to everyone worldwide. With just a simple high quality photo of the Aventador car itself, it successful delivered a single message to the entire world of a ‘classy’ super car. Adding a background view of a deserted place with nothing but Aventador manage to tell audience that nothing could go so far but the car itself. The power of a super sports car is the non-verbal message that successfully delivered to the audience and it’s impressed everyone.

Conclusion, the understanding of mass communication and its effect towards target audiences are important for a company to analyse their needs throughout the time. Lamborghini design their car with their own beliefs and concept, combine with the newest technology and trends, needs a deep understanding of what they would affects the market through mass communication. Hence, they are truly concern about their products and makes metal and wheels a new way to approach their target audiences.


*Author of this post : Leong Chee Kai

Film Appreciation : The Thin Red Line

THIN RED LINE by TERRENCE MALIK (DIRECTOR)

Storyline :

The movie is base on James Jones novel. During World War 2, the battle of Guadalcanal had bring an impact that will strongly influence the Japanese's advance into the pacific. The start of the film is by a narrative voice over by Witt who  is an AOWL (absence without leaving) US Army Private who living with Melanesian natives in the South Pacific. A private boat were searches for Witt and another private AOWL which is understood at the end of the scene. The war itself is horror, it forms the soldiers into a tight-knit group, their emotions develop into bonds of love and even family. They are fighting with a war that they know nothing much on it and they even have to face with fear of death.

Two different Scenes that we are going to discuss :

Scene 1 : The crocodile scene 

This scene is under the opening of the movie, a crocodile is crawling into the water. Looking the crocodile slowly get inside the water, the camera start to focus on it’s eye. The lighting is low key, therefore the crocodile is almost in dark colour tone and the water in the scene is dark green tone. A foreboding music is play.

Interpretation :

This scene is quite a successful play, the director cleverly used a crocodile as an icon to symbolizes as the instinct of nature to survive, if necessarily, by killing. Same goes to the war, the moment you get involved into the war, you will have to fight for victory and for an army, he will definitely fight for survive, if necessarily, by killing too. The metaphor for this scene is death, danger and hunter, it will lead reader to make a mental comparisons between crocodile and war. A foreboding music is play to prompt the reader to understand the crocodile foreshadows death. Follow by the next scene is another peaceful and harmony jungle scene. I definitely will like the director showing another comparisons by using the jungle scene, to show out the difference between danger and peaceful.

Scene 2 : The Canopy Scene ( Jungle )
This scene show of canopy of trees shooting with the light occasionally over exposing in the film. Playing with an soft and beautiful music. Later on follow by a voice over, the music turn to be the background music of the voice over.

"What is this war in the heart of nature?
Why does nature vie with itself?
This land contends with the sea.
Is there an avenging power in nature?
Not one power, but two."
- The first voice over is a poem about war.


Interpretation :
Nature always giving us a feel of peaceful and harmony. The poem is like asking a questions about humanity, why does we have to fight with each other since we are in the same motherland and why is there to have two avenging power in nature. For me, I feel like the power that state in the poem, is about the avenging power that bring by the war itself. Two different country are trying hard to fight for their victory.


*Author of this post : Chan Wei Kee

Titanic

Storyline: 84 years later a 100-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story to her granddaughter Lizzy Calvert, Brock Lovett, Lewis Bodine, Bobby Buell, and Anatoly Mikailavich on the Keldysh about her life set in April 10th 1912, on a ship called Titanic when young Rose boards the departing ship with the upper-class passengers and her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, and her fiancé, Caledon 'Cal' Hockley. Meanwhile, a drifter and artist named Jack Dawson and his best friend Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets to the ship in a game.

_____________________________________________

Who is Jack Dawson and Rose Bukater?
Jack Dawson: a lower class artist. With his best friend Fabrizio De Rossi, they won third-class tickets and on his way to America after winning his ticket aboard Titanic in a poker game.

Rose DeWitt Bukater: Rose DeWitt Bukater was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1895 and is 17 years old during her first class passage on the RMS Titanic. Rose boards with her fiancé, Caledon Hockley, and her mother, Ruth. Although Rose does not love Cal, she is being forced into an arranged marriage to him by her mother. Since her father's death, according to Ruth, she and her daughter were left with nothing, except a "legacy of bad debts hidden by a good name", so she expects Rose to marry into money (Cal) in order to maintain the family's high social status and luxurious way of life.

What stereotypes does Jack and Rose represent?
For Jack Dawson, he represents a kind person.

- When Ruth (Rose's mother)stresses the importance of Rose's engagement, pressure her mother is putting on her, Rose considers suicide by jumping off the stern of the ship. Before she leaps, Jack Dawson intervenes and persuades her not to jump.

- Jack helps Rose onto a nearby wall panel that will only support one person’s weight when they returned to the top deck. As he hangs onto the panel, he assures her that she will not die there and will instead die an old woman, warm in her bed. Meanwhile, Fifth Officer Harold Lowe has commandeered a lifeboat to return and search for survivors. When he arrives, he manages to save Rose, but Jack has died.

For Rose DeWitt Bukater, she represents a person who appreciate her friendship
- Jack and Rose have developed a tentative friendship, though Cal and Ruth remain wary of the young third-class boy. Following the first-class dinner that night, Rose secretly joins Jack at a third-class party.

- She realizes that she cannot leave Jack, and jumps back on board the Titanic to reunite with him.

Is he and she good or bad?
Jack and Rose characters are good.

What complexities does he and she have, if any?
As Jack and Rose return to the top deck, the lifeboats have all departed and passengers are falling to their deaths as the stern rises out of the water. The ship breaks in half, and the stern side rises a full 90-degrees into the air. As it sinks slowly and completely, Jack and Rose ride the stern down into the ocean. Jack helps Rose onto a nearby wall panel that will only support one person’s weight. As he hangs onto the panel, he assures her that she will not die there and will instead die an old woman, warm in her bed. Meanwhile, Fifth Officer Harold Lowe has commandeered a lifeboat to return and search for survivors. When he arrives, he manages to save Rose, but Jack has died.

___________________________________________

*Author of this post: Khoo Seng Fui

references: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_%281997_film%29
: http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0002339/bio

History of semiotics : Denotation, Connotation and myths

Introduction:

A long time ago human has already discover the science of semiotics and after further studying on it has create massive influences to our daily life. We cannot run away from it because its was form in a way that connecting all the thing around us so that we could understand more. Many people think that semiotic study is a hard job because there consist of many theory and sometimes found it hard to understand but actually semiotic system happen everyday and we apply it most of the time on our behavior.

Sign vehicles is an sensible thing consist inside a semiotic system. Language consider as one of the rare kind of semiotic system while in the mean time it has greatly effect on human behavior.

Any of the two human being in this world can found a way to communicate with each other in a way of using any sign, language or symbol. This can link their mind together and so to understand what are the things the other person trying to say but this only could happen when these two share the same language.

Next, If there is two human being who speak totally different kind of language can also learn each other speaking from time to time and eventually understand the thought of another person but this need to have patience and also time to do so.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the other hand, there is another thing that also had greatly effect on our behavior which are the human gestural signs that is consider understood worldwide. The good advantages about the gestural is even any of the two person do not speak the common language but yet they can use gestural sign to communicate.Here are some of the common gestural that we usually could see or apply on our daily life.

Waving hand - It consist of two meaning which the 1st is a sign to say bye bye to a person while the second meaning is reject something or idea and thoughts that provide by someone.

shake hand - This is the normal manner way to do whenever wanted to greet someone. Second this could also be done when some deal or condition has agree among two of the person.

OK sign - the hand gesture mean to agree with something

V sign - This is greatly use as a sign to show victory while taking photo and it can also represent the peace sign

These are the common hand gesture sign that we use almost in everyday but in different country it could signified a different kind of meaning which could contain insult, hatred and others. So we must be careful and try to know the meaning of it.

Connotation and Myths:

When this two element combine it can tell us a lot more meaning rather than the primary meaning that get when 1st look at it. For any teenager that grow within that culture will eventually found them self to learn some of the characteristic or code sign that been present from any image, movie video from the media.

The picture below can show some of the example:

The kid dressed himself as his favorite hero because he try to learn the way of being a superman as he was show in a figure that is strong, cool and heroic. This has make the child to think that this is the exact way of being a male.

At last, the conclusion is semiotic system definitely has effect on human behavior and it has play an important role in our daily life. Just imagine if we were exposed to different kind of signs, our life would not be the same anymore. It is a great knowledge to practice it because it contain many useful knowledge within it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Every comment represent our own opinion, no plagiarism.
*Author of this post: Kue Tek Chee

Sign : Icon, Index and Symbol

Sign is a stimulus pattern that has a meaning. The difference between the various kinds of sign has to do with how the meaning happens to be attached to (or associated with) the pattern. There are three types of signs: Symbol, Index and Icon.

Icon

An Icon sign is a sign that resembles something, it also be illustrative or diagrammatic. An icon is directly related to what it represents, the meaning is immediately evident and it can be a smaller part that represents a whole.

The little icon appear on your computer screen is an icon for your to function it. Take an example, a ‘B’ alphabet icon is an icon for the BlogSpot.

A picture of a smoking cigarette with a diagonal bar across the picture is an icon that directly represents `Smoking? Don't do it'

A picture of Avril Lavigne portrait is an icon of Avril Lavigne.

Index

An `index' is defined by some sensory feature, A, (something directly visible, audible, smellable, etc) that correlates with and thus implies or `points to' B, something of interest to an animal. Another way to explain this is an Index sign is a sign where there is a direct link between the sign and the object.

This is and index sign that finger pointing up, which means a giving direction to someone.

This is an index sign, giving direction and information.

Dark cloud scenes, first sign what message u get? Going to raining? 

Symbol

A symbol does not have direct connection to what it represents. The meaning usually needs to be learned through association.

This image of an anchor is a symbol of hope in most cultures. Hope is the main theme behind the image. Without cultural knowledge, someone might just see this image as an anchor.

This is a symbol created by Disney. It is a symbol because this picture can be any dog character. But to who watch Disney, they able to know that this is a Goofy create by Disney. 

Conclusion by http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~port/teach/103/sign.symbol.html

The term sign is often used for all three of these: icons, indices and symbols. All have a signal aspect, some physical pattern (eg, a sound or visible shape) and a meaning (some semantic content that is implied or `brought to mind') by the signal. But they differ in that icons have a physical resemblance between the signal and the meaning and an index has a correlation in space and time with its meaning. But a symbol is an arbitrary pattern (usually a sound pattern in a language) that gets its meaning primarily from its mental association with other symbols and only secondarily from its correlation with environmentally relevant properties.


Mini exercises :
These 3 picture under which categories ?

*Every comment represent our own opinion, no plagiarism.
*Author of this post: Lee Mun Ket