Blog #3

The biggest change for me is I’m noticing just how dense everything seems to be with semiotics. After having to scan the first episode of Once Upon a Time, I’m unable to watch anything now without seeing different signs and symbols. 

One of the first ways I’ve noticed it this week was while surfing YouTube. The thumbnail photos for most YouTube videos are action shots of what happens in the video. The choice to portray the most climactic part of the video in a single image drew my attention, and often times I’d watch a video just to see that once moment that was shown in the thumbnail image.

I realized that thumbnails for YouTube clips (or any other for that matter) are essentially the same as a movie trailer. They give you the best part to hook you, and sometimes what’s in the thumbnail isn’t even in the video! Which also happens in movie trailers more often than you’d think.

I’ve also noticed it in the TV shows I love so much. In fact, I’ve noticed a lot of foreshadowing semiotics, which I’m only noticing because I’ve seen the shows so many times I know what happens in all the episodes. I never even began to think that there could be semiotics that we don’t even consciously recognize at first, but later everything seems to fit so perfectly and we don’t realize how the writers did it.

Honestly it’s more frustrating than helpful. Looking behind the curtain is ruining the magic.

Blog Post #2

The first episode of Sherlock is dense. It faces a number of challenges, not only as a pilot, but also to meet (and hopefully exceed) expectations that are bound to come with recreating something as heavy as “Sherlock”. Its plot has to hook the audience enough to keep them coming back episode after episode, as well as introduce a new version of something already created and make us fall in love with it.

Personally, I think one of the strongest pulls of interest the show has is the beauty and intricacy of Holmes’ mind and life. The show does an excellent job in helping us understanding how it works despite our inability to relate to it. It uses Holmes’ flat as a perfect metaphor for this. The flat is a disaster. Everything is so scattered that there appears to be no room to fit anything else, even if you wanted to. Yet Holmes is as able function perfectly within it. He knows where everything is, and is able to recognize immediately if even one thing is missing, like the skull. In the same way, his mind is seemingly just as scattered. It is so full of knowledge and observations, yet he is able to string together everything he needs to in order to come to his ingenious conclusions. However it is too full, just like his flat. This parallels his absent social life. He has allowed his work to consume his life to the point that it can’t “fit” friends.

            The second pull is that against all odds, Watson somehow fits. At first he seems too “black and white” to fit into the inherent grey life Holmes lives. His gun, clean-cut look, and more quiet nature are all signifiers to his military background. With that comes the expectation that he is rule follower. Yet is whenever he is indulging with Holmes in his schemes that he doesn’t need his cane. It is clear then that his cane actually symbolizes the emotional crutch he needed to endure the mundane life outside of what he truly craves: danger.

Blog Post #1

This ad is multifaceted even within the symbols it uses. The purpose is for viewers to consider every aspect that comes into play with reckless driving. It is broken up into 3 sections: the man about to get hit, the child in the rear-view mirror, and the couple within the car.

The man.

The first thing the eye is drawn to is the most common thought of issue when people think of reckless driving: whatever the car hits. It is placed in the center of the image, which draws focus straight to it. His mouth is obviously exclaiming in fear and possibly pain as the car is approaching.

The child.

Next the eye is drawn to the child in the backseat, pointing to the thought that you also put the lives of the people within the car at risk when driving recklessly. Here the image employs pathos by using a young child to draw out a much more emotional reaction. A child losing his or her life is a much harsher consequence in our society.

The couple.

The first thing you notice about the couple is that they seem completely at peace. In fact, the woman has a smile on her face. This indicates they are completely ignorant to what is happening in front of them. The ignorance highlights the issue that reckless driving is a choice. It is within our control whether or not we choose to pay attention when we drive. Also, here is where the double meaning falls within the bolded words “Both Sides”. The first meaning is the much more obvious: that reckless driving affects both the thing it collides with, as well as the people within the car. However the “both” also refers to both sides within the car. Not only is the man on the phone, but also his full attention is directed towards the woman. Personally I think the message is that both seats, driver and passenger, are responsible for the safety of the car. Not only should the driver pay attention, but also the person in the passenger seat shouldn’t be a distraction.