Roland Barthes Semiology work - Media essay.

Roland Barthes’s Semiology theory – Media work.

Roland Barthes was one of the earliest structuralists theorists of culture. His work helped develop ideas of structure and signification which have come to underpin cultural studies and critical theory today. Semiology is the study of signs. Signs can consist of a signifier which is mainly referred to a word, sound or an image, mainly things we can read. Signs can also consist of the signified which is the signs meaning. However, the Denotation of the sign is its literal meaning. An example of this is the ‘cool’ because the word can refer to different meaning. For example, the word ‘cool’ can refer to the temperature being ‘cool’ or it can also refer to the style of someone or something. Like a connotation of the specific word. There are also 3 different types of signs – Iconic signs ( where the meaning is based on similarity or appearance). Indexical signs ( have a cause and effect relationship between the sign – there is a direct link between the two). Symbolic signs (these sigs have a arbitrary or conventional link). A sign, in this context, refers to something which conveys meaning – for example, a written or spoken word, a symbol or a Myth. A Myth is the organisation o meanings into commonly repeated forms that express ideology. As with many semioticists, one of Barthes’s main themes was the importance of avoiding the confusion of culture with nature, or the naturalisation of social phenomena. Another important theme is the importance in being careful how we use words and other signs. An example of this is traffic lights because automatically whenever someone sees the red light they stop their vehicle and if people see the green light, they automatically go. It’s an action people do without thinking about it. This is known as a sign of cultural convention because this sign has been passed down through generations. Everyone learns this at the very early ages of their childhood.

Massive attack/Ya Mama

Naturalistic - Derived from or closely imitating real life or nature / Based on the theory of naturalism in art or literature.
Linear - linear narratives follow a straight line — starting at the beginning, moving to the middle and proceeding to the end of the story.

1) In the video 'Unfinished Sympathy' by Massive Attack, why would you describe the Mise-En-Scene as Naturalistic? Why would you the describe the Mise-En-Scene in Fatboy Slim's 'Ya Mama' as Less Naturalistic.

 'Unfinished sympathy' by Massive attack is described as Naturalistic because the whole videos seems to not be planned and to be just people going on with their lives. However, the video was staged and people had specific roles in the video like when to appear in the video, where to go, where to look and when to disappear from the video. Everyone in the 'Unfinished Sympathy' video seems to be wearing 1980's clothing which indicates that the video was planned because the video was made in the early 1990s, highlighting that the directors had to get clothing that was fashionable 10 years before the video was made in order to make the video work. this makes the video seem more realistic and to seem like people are just going on with their day like there is not a camera even there. 
On the other hand, 'Ya Mama' is considered to be less Naturalistic because it seems more staged and seems to be more planned than 'Unfinished Sympathy'. The main Protagonists in the 'Ya Mama' video are obviously Hillbillys. this is obvious because of how they are dressed in their western sort of hats, boots and from how dirty they seem. This is obviously planned because the video was made in the early 2000s, and Hillbillys aren't very common in the modern world. People can argue that the 'Ya Mama' video was based in the 1980's because of how the Hillbillies are dressed and of how one of them uses a cassette player. If the video is based in the 1980's then Hillbillys are very appropriate for the whole they are playing in the video by living in a hut sort of home covered in dirt. Also, there is Tom and Jerry Cartoon on the TV which was a popular cartoon during the 1980's and 1990's. Although, this would just mean that the Hillbillys are just backwards people because the video may not be based in the 1980's. Overall, the video does seem realistic, it mainly seems staged for the audience whereas 'Unfinished Sympathy' seems to not be staged because of how 'normal it seems. 

2) In the video 'Ya Mama' by Fatboy Slim why would you describe the narrative as Linear? Would you not describe the Narrative in 'Unfinished Sympathy' by Massive Attack as Linear?

In the video 'Ya Mama' the narrative is described as Linear because all the protagonists in the video seem to have a beginning, middle and end. At the beginning of the video one of the Hillbillys are painting ornaments while looking at a picture of a sunny seaside. Arguably, this could mean that the Hillbilly has a dream to go to that place in the future if he gets enough money. This could mean he plans to sell the ornaments for money to get to that place. However, the video sort of escalates to chaos as soon as the Hillbillys receive the music tape in the mail. The video quickly changes from the characters relaxing to trying to get money off the tape. This ends in one of the main protagonists getting arrested and put in prison. In the 'Ya Mama' video there seems to be a kind of story for the characters through how they change as the video progresses. 
However, in the 'Unfinished Sympathy' from Massive Attack video, there is no sign of the narrative being shown as Linear. Throughout the video there are no scenes. All there is, is the camera tracking in front of an African American woman while she lip sinks the song. There does not seem to be any organisation in the video either as people just seem to carrying on with their day as women walks does the long street. This shows that there is no story to the video, making it a non-Linear video because there is no beginning, middle or end. There is just one constant scene that last the vast majority of the video. 

3)At what point in 'Ya Mama' is there a Narrative Disruption? Explain the event and how this disrupts the initial equilibrium of the scene.  

The Narrative Disruption in 'Ya Mama' occurs when the Hillbillys receive the music tape in the mail. Before they receive the tape, the protagonists are calm and normal going on with their day, but when they receive the tape the mood changes from calm to more chaotic. This is shown through how the Hillbillys go from doing their own thing in their hut, to running from the police for causing chaos in a market. This is shown as a narrative disruption because of how quickly the scenes escalated from calmness to becoming more and more crazy. This is perhaps done to make the video more and more weird, which is usually how Fatboy Slim's videos are portrayed. This is most likely done to make the video more interesting and unique for the viewers of the video.