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.