C103 - The Semiotics of Advertising
Week 3, Asynchronous Bundle 9
Written assignment due Friday 7/11 at 11:59 pm
Introduction
- Goal: explore paradigmatics further, along with its interaction with syntagmatics
- Textbook: Ch. 3, 101-28.
Asynchronous material
Q1:
Paradigmatic Analysis (with a bit of syntagmatics thrown in as well)
- Paradigmatics refers to the vertical axis of signifiers:
the sets of possible signifiers that may be substituted into a
particular context/environment
- Central question: why is this signifier used in a particular
situation, instead of a "workable alternative"
- Paradigmatic oppositions in reality must work on multiple axes
- Example: Apple vs. IBM (this logo is the first familiar version Apple used, from the early days of the company)
- Chandler's table for analysis
|
IBM |
Apple |
Structure |
repetition |
non repetition |
|
disconnected lines |
joined lines |
Colour |
monochromatic |
polychromatic |
|
cold |
warm |
Forms |
substance ('bold') |
outline |
|
straight |
curved |
- Maybe it is worth showing what more recent versions of the Apple logo look like.
- Q1. Consider the evolution of the logo past the original multi-colored version. What paradigmatic choices have been altered in the design of subsequent logos? What is the effect of the alternative paradigmatic options?
Q2-3:
- Here are three striking recent ads.
- Q2-3. Pick any two of these ads (your choice) and discuss how paradigmatic choices and syntagmatic associations combine to help create and strengthen the message of each ad.
Q4-5:
- Many of you are familiar with the Broadway musical "Rent", which deals with the lives of younger artistic people in New York City during the earlier pandemic period of HIV/AIDS before we had good treatments for it, as we do today. It was originally a play, and later was filmed as a Hollywood movie. I'd like you to view two film clips representing the same scene, the first from a filming of one of the last performances of the play on Broadway, the second from the film version.
- In this scene, an exotic dancer performs at her club (in a PG-13 sort of way), then returns to her apartment building, where most of the characters in the story live, and stops in at a friend's apartment.
- If you want to get some background information about these two projects, you can read these articles:
- Q4-5. Analyze these two clips in terms of both paradigmatics and syntagmatics. Bear in mind the limitations of a theatrical staging vs the much broader possibilities in a movie. Consider such factors as set design, camera angles vs audience perspective in a theater, how the performance of the song in this clip is conditioned by the genre, and any other factors that occur to you. Try to explain why certain paradigmatic choices (basically, any detail you see or hear in each clip) are made, and how they are influenced by syntagmatic factors.
