Blog Post #2

The episode of Sherlock that we watched last week demonstrated a number of elements found in Semiotic Analysis. The series itself is a great example of intertextuality. I enjoyed the fact that the original book-that was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-is now being portrayed in modern day setting. I’m assuming is done to make the general story line more relatable to a viewing audience.  This can be seen in the cars that are driven around, the use of cell phones and computers that are all new age technology. At the same time, the original story is still represented in the same characters and general story plot is kept the same as well. The number of instances when Sherlock begins his thinking/deducing process is a great example of signified and signifiers. The “jumping texts” signifies key phrases (thoughts) that pop out in Sherlock’s mind, the key thoughts that eventually allow him to come to the conclusions that he makes about people he encounters through the show. A great example of this is when he is examining the dead woman in pink. He is breaking down each aspect of her clothing and her appearance. As he is doing so key phrases pop up to show his thought process. With these key words in mind we are able to make clearer connections once he explains his findings to Inspector Lestrade. One last aspect of Sherlock that I enjoyed was the symbol and metaphor that was represented in John’s cane. Upon Watson and Sherlock meeting one another, Sherlock points out that Watson’s use of his cane was purely psychosomatic. As the story progresses we see that John finds himself eventually leaving the cane behind as he’s trying to keep up with Sherlock.  I my opinion the cane represents John’s in ability to cope with his longing for the excitement he once had. Once Sherlock reintroduces this to him, John is able to lose the cane all together.

Signifier/Signified	Jumping texts Camera angles of the pill bottles and the initial views of those were eventually murdered Messy apartment Lighting and music Watson is the side kick Use of colors to represent personalities- Watson and Sherlock are neutral while Ms. Hudson wears brighter hues Nicotine Patch- helps the mind think
Syntagmatic analysis	Murder mystery
Paradigmatic analysis	Watson- from wounded warrior to action driven soldier Watson focuses on the people murdered while Sherlock is more focused on the why/what let to their murder
Metaphor	Cane Living space- Sherlock’s mind Pill- shows how much Sherlock wants to be right
Synecdoche
Icons	London- “the battle field” for John Cane-John’s psychosomatic limp
Indexes	Missing suitcase Sherlock saw phone on Cabbie Cabby meeting Sherlock outside proposing to tell him how he did it if he came along
Symbols	The random route/ street signs to show direction as he’s thinking Cane being used vs. absence of the cane
Intertextuality	The novel vs. the BBC series Non smoker uses nicotine patch to smoker in the book
Codes

Blog Post #1

In this advertisement by Benefit Cosmetics there's a number of examples of semiotics represented here. Although the ad’s main purpose is to advertise for one their mascara products, the center of attention is aimed at a very provocatively dressed woman. Her makeup, outfit and hair is all done up to give her a very seductive look. With her at the center of the advertisement she’s clearly intended to be the focal point of the advertisement. Although the mascara product itself is included in the advertisement it’s made considerably smaller and placed off to the side. The tag line in the advertisement reads, “They’re real honest; The Mascara that’s beyond believe”. Which implies that although you’re using a makeup product to enhance your eyelashes the mascara creates results that make them look real but better. From these facts, one can determine that company utilizes the idea of branding and material culture to their advantage. By using an attractive woman in their ad and presenting the claim that any woman could have the potential to have these results, Benefit Cosmetics is able to easily push their product to an audience who wants to look like the woman pictured.