Semiotics-John Curall

I feel like these were very important readings for us given our media saturated world. We can't go very long or very far without getting exposed to media images. They all have a hidden meaning. Whether that meaning is helpful or hurtful remains to be seen. Sometimes the author's of these images may not even realize the hidden message that is being conveyed. Nevertheless, the hidden meaning is there, even in things that at first glance would seem harmless. For example, one of our author's mentioned health club ads, this made me think of college brochures. I have seen many college brochures over the years, yet I can't recall seeing one that didn't have really good looking people on it. Is this by chance? Or is there a hidden message? We can all be influenced. That is why we must always make a conscious effort to think about these images and not take them a face value. In the end that is all we can really do in order to make better informed choices. Sometimes were still going to influenced, but we have to put the choice back in our own hands as much as possible.

Semiotics- Danielle Reedy

After doing this reading I find semiotics really kind of interesting. However, I feel like it’s almost common sense. For instance, when I see teenagers wearing what the newest trends are I do not have to sit around for a long time trying to figure out why they are wearing what they are wearing. It is almost alwa ys because that is what their favorite celebrities are wearing those days. I guess when you get deeper into it and start asking why the celebrities are wearing what they are wearing, then we something to really study.
I like the idea of semiotics and I like the idea that we can find the meaning behind things like TV shows and fashion trends but I don't necessarily agree that everything in popular culture can be analyzed that easily. The reading said that, "all social behavior is political in the sense that it reflects some kind of personal or group interest." That may be true but I do not think that you can always find some deep political meaning behind, "a shirt, a haircut... anything at all". I think sometimes people wear things because it is all they have, for example you might wear a shirt that you don't really like but it was given to you as a gift and you are only wearing it because everything else was dirty. A semiotician would decode that by assuming that you are interested in whatever is on the shirt, but the truth is that is not the truth at all.

Semiotics to the T

The term in itself sounds like a weapon. Symbols have become the weapon in a sense behind advertising. The Temple "T" is a smart campaign. Applying it to various words like "deTermination" goes a long way. I imagine a frustrated freshmen walking down Liacourse Walk only to look up and see inspiring words (even inspiraTion) on his/her travels. The freshmen then lights up with some type of feeling that all will be okay. Maybe on a smaller scale stuff like that happens. However, noticing positive words in association with the university you are attending is reassuring. Advertising aims to strike an emotion to a product. With so much collegiate competition in this economy, the university needs a way to strike emotions with people inside of the school as well as outside.

Semiotics as a way of talking about media

The concept of trying to analyze an image in every conceivable way through both symbols and your own constrained perception and personal set of experiential goggles is an interesting goal of semiotics. In a way, this method is the only way to really attempt to categorize and understand media as a science rather than simply an opinion.

Similarly, it is something important to consider when attempting cross-cultural studies as well. To be aware of your own biases and the way in which you've been influenced is the best a person can do in regards to trying to remain unbiased.

In truth, it's impossible to be unbiased. Every human being has their own perception. To apply the ideas of semiotics to try and interpret meaning in as complete a way as possible is a good start, though.