According to Em Griffin, Andrew Ledbetter and Glenn Sparks (2015), they provide us with Roland Barthes meaning of semiotics, which is described as “the study of social production of meaning from sign systems; the analysis of anything that can stand for something else” (p. 327). An example of the use of semiotics would be in advertising. Advertising uses different forms of semiotics such as images, text, and sounds. They are used to provide a message through the use of signs or symbols. Signs in semiotics are a combination of the signifier and the signified, the signifier is the physical form of the sign and the signified is the meaning associated with it (Griffin, Ledbetter, & Sparks, 2015, p. 328). An example of a sign can be the word ‘hot”. If we take the word as a signifier, then what exactly is being signified? In one situation, it can refer to the temperature. In the other, it can be referring to something as ‘sexy’ or ‘good-looking’. The relationship can change in different contexts and situations.
Barthes also suggests that neutral or inanimate signs can accomplish so much (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 329). The example the book uses is the Yellow Ribbon Transformation: From Forgiveness to Pride. There was a song, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”, that was used as a sign of acceptance and forgiveness (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 330). In 1991, the yellow ribbon started to symbolize “we want you back” and “welcome home” in regards to our U.S. troops. The symbol continued to function the same way for a while after that and it began to tell Americans to “Support Our Troops.” Griffin et al. (2015) state that “the yellow ribbon continued to signify that the soldiers’ return would be joyous, but its message held no sense of shame. What had originally signified forgiveness of a stigma now symbolized pride in victory” (p. 330). The meaning of the yellow ribbon changed over time. When you look at it, it’s just a ribbon, but then a song gave it meaning and the meaning of the ribbon changed over time. This can happen with any object we come across.
According to Griffin et al. (2015), most semiotic signs gain cultural prominence when they are used in print and/or electronic media (p. 334). Such uses can include commercials, pictures, billboards, radio commercials, etc. Each can be used in order to appeal to consumers. The example Griffin et al. (2015) use is of a Gatorade commercial that Michael Jordan is in. In the commercial there is a little boy who watches Michael play basketball and while staring in awe at the basketball player the little boy says, “Sometimes I dream that he is me” (p. 334). The sign that the commercial uses is the little boy. They use him in order to show that if you want to be like Michael, you must drink what he drinks. This is how Gatorade appealed to viewers in order to get drinks off of the shelves. The boys gaze is the signifier and his dream of being like Michael is the signified and because of this, viewers are encouraged to wish for careers and goals that are virtually unattainable (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 334). Not only does this make items easier to sell it also has a cultural impact. Griffin et al. (2015) state that even though the commercial gives a good reaction from the viewer, it also enforces our cultural myths about unlimited possibilities for success (p. 335). They further support this by mentioning how the young boys’ fixation on Michael is embedded in a history of racial injustice and economic hardship (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 335). They tie these two together in order to show that there is cultural representation that comes from signs.
Description of Theory 2
Cultivation Theory, studied by George Gerbner, has to do with television and violence. Griffin et al. (2015) mention that, “Gerbner claimed that because TV contains so much violence, people who spend the most time in front of the tube develop an exaggerated belief in a mean and scary world” (p. 363). This is because viewers start to associate what is going on in TV shows, movies, etc. to what is happening in their lives. They begin to develop the idea that the world isn’t safe. Television does have the effect of shaping society, so it is easy to understand how cultivation theory works. Television influences viewers in many ways. Griffin et al. (2015) state the following:
“According to Gerbner, violence is one of the major staples of the TV world. He wrote that violence ‘is the simplest and cheapest dramatic means to demonstrate who wins in the game of life and he rules by which the game is played.’ Those who are immersed in the world of TV drama learn these ‘facts of life’ better than occasional viewers do” (p. 363).
The use of television to influence others is also a concern for parents and adults who believe that it can affect young viewers by encouraging violence. Although this is a concern of people, Gerbner was concerned that it affected viewers’ beliefs about the world and the feelings connected to those beliefs (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 363).
There are three prongs that tell us something different about the world of television. They are each associated with an analysis that helps us understand the effects of watching television on viewers. The first one is the Institutional Process Analysis. This is focuses on why the media produces the messages it does. Griffin et al. (2015) define it as a type of research that looks at behind the scenes of media organizations in an effort to understand the processes that are used (p. 364). In order for researchers to find out what they need to know, they must get in contact with the people who work for the media. This involves producers, executives, almost anyone who works in a media organization. By contacting these people and speaking with them, the researcher is engaging in institutional process analysis (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 64). The second prong is the Message System Analysis. According to Griffin et al. (2015), Message System Analysis involves careful study of TV content which usually employs content analysis as a method for research (p. 365). The third and last prong is Cultivation Analysis. This deals with how the content shown on TV affects the viewers. Griffin et al. (2015), with the help of Gerbner and his associates Michael Morgan, James Shanahan, and Nancy Signorielli, define cultivation as:
“The concept of ‘cultivation’ thus refers to the independent contribution television viewing makes to audience members’ conceptions of social reality. Television viewing cultivates ways of seeing the world – those who spend more time ‘living’ in the world of television are more likely to see the ‘real world’ in terms of the images, values, portrayals and ideologies that emerge through the lens of television” (p. 367).
This definition given to us explains exactly how television can influence the people who watch it. This is what cultivation means in regards to watching the content television provides us with. Gerbner believed that cultivation is something that takes time. “Gerbner viewed the process as one that unfolds gradually through the steady accumulation of TV’s messages” (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 370). The more a viewer is exposed to violence on television the more they associate that with the real world that they live in.
Compare and Contrast Semiotics and Cultivation Theory
The two theories I have studied are different in many ways. They are both a part of Mass Communication, but they differ in the divisions and approaches they associate with. Griffin et al. (2015) talk about two approaches to theories. The first approach is objective. The objective approach is defined as, “the assumption that truth is singular and is accessible through unbiased sensory observation; committed to uncovering cause-and-effect relationships” (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 14). Cultivation theory leans more toward the objective approach. Griffin et al. (2015) state that it is not enough to identify a theory that may apply to a situation; they want an objective test to see if a theory is faulty (p. 14). The second approach is interpretive. It is defined as, “the linguistic work of assigning meaning or value to communicative texts; assumes that multiple meanings or truths are possible” (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 15). Semiotics is more of an interpretive approach rather than objective.
Griffin et al. (2015) describe how theories affect human nature; either the theory involves determinism or free will. Semiotics is more interpretive which means it is free will. It tends to use explanatory phrases such as in order to and so that because they match a person’s action to conscious intent (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 17). Cultivation theory is a part of determinism. Determinism is described as human conduct occurring because of forces outside the humans’ awareness (Griffin et al., 2015, p. 17). Their behavior comes from something that was evoked prior.
How have the Theories been used in the study of Communication?
Cultivation Theory
One study of Cultivation Theory is in “Considering Age and Gender: A Comparative Content Analysis of Sexualization of Teen Celebrity Website” by Susan Lewis and Jennifer Shewmaker. They used this theory to compare the sexualization of teen female and male celebrities. Lewis & Shewmaker (2011) applied Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory, “it followed that mass media influence how heavy users of media perceive reality, including gender roles, sexuality, attractiveness, desirability, and appropriate behavior.” They did their study on Miley Cyrus and the Jones Brothers; the study analyzed the photos on each of their official websites based on clothing, gender role, mimicry of pornography, poses, and headline text (Lewis & Shewmaker, 2011). Their results showed that females presented sexualized dress and submissive posture and men had demure dress and assertive posture. According to Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory, these messages are cultivating the idea that women are sexual objects (Lewis & Shewmaker, 2011).
Another study of Cultivation Theory is in “Music Video Viewing as a Maker of Driving After the Consumption of Alcohol” by Kathleen Beullens, Keith Roe and Jan Van den Bulck. They used this theory to study whether it was best used to explain the relationship between exposure to music videos and driving after drinking alcohol. They studied this by using 426 adolescents who participated in a two-wave panel survey about media use, risk taking attitudes, intentions, and behaviors (Beullens, Roe, & Bulck, 2012). They found that adolescents’ music video viewing was a small but significant indirect marker of driving after drinking alcohol (Beullens et al., 2012).
The similarity between the two articles is that they used the theory to study how something was affected or perceived by society. The difference between the two is that one studied a website while the other had adolescents take a two-wave survey in order to get their results.
Semiotics
The first article using Semiotics is “Semiotic Dimensions of Human Attitudes Towards Other Animals: A Case of Zoological Gardens” by Nelly Maekivi and Timo Maran. This paper studies the cultural and biosemiotic bases of human attitude towards other species. Maekivi and Maran (2016) mention that, “zoo visitor’s biological and cultural preferences for animals become a factor that zoos take into account when shaping their species collection.” This is because visitors’ perceptions of those species has to do with compatibility. In conclusion, people’s attitudes towards animal species depend on biosemiotic conditions and cultural connotations/ symbolic meanings (Maekivi & Maran, 2016).
The second article using Semiotics is “Semiotics and the Technique of Empathy” by Fyodor Efimovich Vasilyuk. This article gives special attention to semiotics and expressive aspects of empathy. One example using semiotics is the empathic sign which is the signifier for the client’s experiencing, which acts as the signified; the empathic sign includes four structural elements – the mode of experiencing, the designation of experiencing, the object of experiencing, and the connection of experiencing with the objects (Vasilyuk, 2016). Vasilyuk (2016) also mentions that phrases of expressive aspects set meaningful semiotic relations between experiencing and expression.
The two articles were similar in how they used semiotics to give symbolism to objects or words. They differed by how they were applied. The first article used the zoo as it’s basis for the study in which they saw which animals’ humans were more attracted to based on compatibility and the second article they used semiotics to give symbolism to a feeling.