Symbols: Semi-what-ics?

It was on my A-Level in Media Studies in 1998-2000 that I first learnt about the wonders of semiotics and how they relate to art, film, theatre...to life, in fact. I had an excellent teacher: passionate, inspiring, funny, and we the talent for teaching that is seldom found and rarely appreciated today.

So what is semiotics? Well, in a way it is a huge area of complex and mixed learning and understanding regarding communication and how it is encoded and decoded. An audience member does not have to have an academic understanding of how it works, but in order to create the best work, most impressive in its ability to compel and audience as we want it to, us artisty people need to know what we are doing. And we need to know it no less than a violinist needs to know every nuance of their instrument and their bowing.

My basic, simplified explanation is take as verbatim to my excellent teacher as I can make it, albeit with nearly 20 years of wear and tear, and some adaptations used in my own teaching. So this is all done with a toast raised to Melanie Savage and all who know her, and all her benefited from her wonderful teaching.

Three Types of Sign

I could say "I don't mean a road sign," but actually I do. Just not yet. Firstly, however, let's consider these 3 different kinds of signs, or "ways of communicating" with your "reader" (audience, reader, listener...whichever...)

Icon Index Symbol

I was taught to understand the difference, and NOT to mix them up with these simple examples. We were firstly asked, "what is this?"

Now we swore blind (and swore in other ways) for some time that this was a cat and we were about to be treated to a quick game of Pictionary. But we were wrong. After some debate we were told, emphatically that it was not cat, but a picture of a cat. Grunts, groans, guffaws and the lot later...Melanie explained her point. It is in fact merely a few lines drawn on a flat 2D screen with a black pen. It is NOT a furry animal that could be stroked. It isn't even an attempt to look realistic. However, due to the way signs work, this collection of simple black lines arranged in that way have come to be accepted as a representation of a cat. You could argue details and debate as much as you like, but a quick sketch like that says: Cat. And because it says "Cat" and nothing else, (not "maybe it is a whale" or a "car" or a "mythological three-headed dog") it is a representation, and it is a SIGN, and it is...and "icon".

So here is another example of an Icon. This second image (representation) is of a tree. Besides any hungry people who might claim it to be broccoli, those 3 lines are simplistic and common enough to denote (be decoded as) the big brown and green leafy things outdoors. Again, not visually accurate, but that is not the point. They don't need to be. Even children recognise those lines as a tree. Nothing else. (Ok, some disturbed individuals might say "nuclear explosion"...but...well...that says more about them...).

Added to the image is the word "tree." Well, these are also merely shapes which require decoding to make us use the correct sounds that collectively make the sound (go on, say it) "tree".

Icons are not open to, nor do they require interpretation or discussion. They are agreed, socially. Just like a certain big Yellow "M" on the horizon makes use think of just one specific restaurant/food chain. Instant; recognisable; agreed. A tree is a tree. ("No it's a picture of a ..." - yes, yes, very good...).

INDEX or an "indexical signs" are lots of fun. These are signs that point to something else. A great example is smoke is a sign of fire (any smug scientist wanting to disprove that, or any theatre person wanting to say "or smoke machine" can bugger off). Similarly, slow, heavy footsteps coming down the corridor could alert you to danger. Loud banging at the door means the Police or someone very angry is at your door, rather than the gentle ratta-tat-tat of a friend. They are the stuff of great horror films, as the shadows of feet can be seen under the door, or shadows of the knife wielding murderer cast upon the wall. I pick on horror with this example because in early films of horror the could not show the most grotesque images, so indeixcal signs were how they planted the image into your head.

If you're wondering, music is an extremely powerful indexical sign in films or on stage. The right kind of music sets the tone: it "signs" it for the audience.

Personally, I still think an indexical sign can be more more profound than a gratuitous gore-fest of most modern films.

Symbols can be best demonstrated by the cross. A mere two lines on a page, if necessary, can carry with them and communicate such meaning. Notice the cross is not like the letter "x" or like the mathematical "+" sign: they must be the arrangement that clearly links to the crucifix. And this is where it is a symbol, and not an index. To some, this is a symbol of sacrifice; for others it symbolises rebirth; or "church"; religion; oppression and murder, if one goes back to the crusades, and so on. The crucifix is also, as we know, an horrific form of execution. How an individual responds to this representation relies on what they bring to it: a devout Christian will bring a different view than a stalwart atheist.

So which of them is the "best" or "most meaningful"?

Well, in short, none of them. Take the food company with a big yellow M: they also have a musical theme that has become so Iconic they were able to stop using the second half, knowing that customers would complete the tune themselves.

Symbols do carry more potential for a wider array of meaning, but they are very dependent on the way they are read and understood, and the context in which they are used. Of course, cultural differences affect symbols significantly so it is important to take that into consideration. Even colours carry different symbolic meaning, such as white, red and black. In Western culture, people wear black at funerals - the colour of mourning - and white at weddings. Whereas in Eastern cultures, such as china, Weddings are often the place for Red for the bride, and white is the colour for funerals. It isn't correct to say that Symbols are packed with MORE meaning because the meaning is not carried solely by the sign, but by the reader. A skilled writer, however, knowing their target audience, will be able to make use of cultural understandings to best use symbols that will associate with specific meanings for that story, poem, or other creation.

The same is true of indexical signs, and some icons. Meaning is always moving, changing and developing and the more rich a piece of writing is with a range of signs, the more exciting it is for the reader to decode.

This Blog was inspired by the discussion on the significance of the "safety pins" being worn by people to ... ahem ... symbolise "safety". Read the blog on the UK Immigration Solicitors site HERE.

#Symbols