Monday, October 26, 2009

Semiotics - Rob Stone

"When analyzing any popular cultural phenomenon, always ask yourself questions like these: Why does this thing look the way it does? Why are they saying this? Why am I doing this? What are they really saying? What am I really doing? In short, take nothing for granted when analyzing any image or activity."

This passage from the first text on semiotics summed up my thought process whenever viewing something that has been created for consumption, be it a television show, a billboard, or just the shape of a shampoo bottle. This act of constantly questioning is simply part of being a critical, analytic thinker. If we aren't looking at why things are the way they are (even though this can lead to false conclusions by way of assumption), then we are doing nothing more than accepting what is presented to us at face value.

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