This document provides an overview of semiotics and rhetorical analysis from a critical media studies perspective. It begins by defining rhetoric as the use of symbols to influence others and discusses how rhetorical scholars analyze texts to understand how they encourage certain attitudes and actions in audiences. It then contrasts the classical rhetorical approach focused on persuasion with the critical media studies version, which views any text as rhetorical and analyzes the explicit and implicit ways texts influence behavior and thinking. The document proceeds to discuss key concepts in semiotics analysis including signs, signifiers, signifieds, denotation, connotation, and interpreting texts as webs of signs. It emphasizes that meaning is constructed through language and media and reveals underlying power structures.

1. RHETORICAL ANALYSIS:
SEMIOTICS EDITION
5.23.16

2. RHETORIC
“The use of symbols by humans to influence and
move other humans.” p.110
“Rhetorical scholars analyze texts for the ways
they encourage audiences to inhabit certain
moods, adopt certain attitudes, and undertake
certain action” p.110
RHETORICAL
ANALYSIS

3. You may have discussed RHETORIC in earlier COM classes.
Perhaps you’ve studied what I think of as old school rhetoric:
how an orator, or speaker, uses ethos, pathos, and logos to
persuade.
Our usage of rhetoric, or rhetorical criticism, differs from the
classical (the old school) approaches to rhetoric.
(… and this is somewhat because our textbook authors lumped
different theoretical approaches together … specifically:
semiotics and different forms of narrative criticism)

4. oration / speechs
RHETORIC
any text - ANYTHING.
use of signs, organization of
those signs
still about persuasion
… but can be understood much
more broadly in terms of
explicit and implicit influences
on how we behave/think, such
as how media are part of the
socialization process
classic version critical media studies version
object of study:
what you’re
analyzing: persuasion

5. SEMIOTICS CLUSTER
ANALYSIS
to further break down the Critical Media Studies version of Rhetorical Analysis,
this set of lecture slides focuses on ….
INTERPRETING SIGNS:

6. I’M GOING TO START OFF WITH A SERIES OF
IMAGES TO ILLUSTRATE SOME OF THE
UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS IN …
…SEMIOTICS - THE STUDY OF SIGNS
….WHY DO WE CRITIQUE TEXTS

7. HOW DO YOU KNOW THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN …

9. DOG
CAT

10. this is
not a
cat
this is
not a
dog

11. this is
not a
cat
this is
not a
dog
ok. you’re thinking:
This is dumb. Of course I know what a dog is and
what a cat is because I have SEEN and TOUCHED
these animals; And well, duh. Dogs and cats are
everywhere, they’re a part of our society: they’re a
part of our stories, our media, our experiences, etc.

12. this is
not a
cat
this is
not a
dog
But in the theory world …
think about the word, DOG, and the word, CAT,
and the meanings we’ve associated with each word.
We have a language system (the very letters and words I’m
using now to write this and you are using to read this) and a
categorizing system (think back to science classes …)
that distinguish one four-legged furry creature from
another four-legged furry creature.

13. this is
not a
cat
this is
not a
dog
So one furry creature is a DOG, it is NOT a cat.
And another furry creature is a CAT, it is not a dog.
And neither of these two creatures are humans, or mice, or geese, or other animals.
And neither of these two creatures are paper, or concrete, or cereal, or other material.
This is a bit of a philosophical argument (specifically - linguistics): that the word, DOG, is
just that - it’s an abstract sign that over time, we have come to associate with a
particular type of four-legged creature and not another type of four-legged creature.
All language - as argued by Saussure - is arbitrary. “There is no natural
correspondence” (p.112) between the sign, ‘dog’ and the actual four-legged creature.
If we want to get more philosophical … (but I promise - this syncs back up with semiotics and tomorrow’s cultural analysis) …
then these are not even a dog or a cat. These are PICTURES of a dog and a cat; these are digital REPRESENTATIONS of one moment
when I took a picture of a dog named Casey and a cat named Kitty Treasure.

14. HOW DO YOU KNOW THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN …

15. WHICH BOX DID THESE
COME FROM?

16. IF BOTH PRODUCTS ARE THE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME
… SAME SHAPE, SAME TASTE, SAME PURPOSE AS CEREAL
THEN WHY ARE THERE DIFFERENCES IN THE PACKAGING?

17. You’re thinking , duh, again. These are different brands.
Yes, yes. I know.
(This is not Soviet Russia, a Yakov Smirnoff reference…).

18. But to set up our critical media studies frameworks,
specifically semiotics and cluster analysis, think about how
these two boxes are SIMILAR and how they are DIFFERENT.
brand, words used, colors, shapes, images

19. What’s the point to this set of
the exercise, “how do you know
the difference between …”?
Rhetorical Analysis,
Semiotics Edition,
Assumption1

20. point:
we identify things by what they
are not… and “read into”
things by what is not there.
Rhetorical Analysis,
Semiotics Edition,
Assumption1

21. … AND WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN …
next set:

22. Beyoncé in Destiny’s Child Beyoncé now

23. what’s similar?
what’s different?

24. Both are images of Beyoncé, selected to represent two ‘eras’ in her career.
I selected these images because of the sets of clothing.

25. Both can sets of clothing have a military-ness to them.
But these are read differently. Why? Put aside your knowledge of Beyoncé for a
minute. ‘Read’ the clothing differences.

26. Now, bring back your knowledge of Beyoncé. ‘Read’ the context.
One context was playful and not really political in any sense and the military garb
was not really military … it was camouflage for the sake of the costume (see
the Destiny’s Child video for I’m a Surviver).
The other context was well, a lot more complicated for many reasons.
I created this example in the Spring semester, right after the Superbowl. I won’t
rehash that here, but you can just think of how different people interpreted
Beyoncé’s halftime performance. For example, was it a tribute to Michael
Jackson or a tribute to the Black Panther Party or nothing. (Hint - it’s definitely
not nothing … clothes are texts).

27. point?
context matters
Rhetorical Analysis,
Semiotics Edition,
Assumption 2

28. one more set,
this time,
what’s the similarity?

29. http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/080320
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2008/03/monkey_business.html
2008
1933
circa
1917

30. point?
meaning transfers
(as in - ads, tv, music, etc, tend to
be designed to transfer meaning
from one context to another,
whether intentional or not)
Rhetorical Analysis,
Semiotics Edition,
Assumption 3

31. Assumptions of Semiotics, or,
How We Make Meaning from Signs, Recap:
We identify things by what they are not… and “read into” things by what is not there.
Context of interpretation matters.
And relatedly, meaning transfers from one context to another; this can be intentional
or unintentional

32. One more assumption.
This one underlies the whole SO WHAT - so what about texts?
so what about meaning?

33. remember that base/superstructure thing?
if ….
the economic base determines the
superstructure
then …. .
analyzing texts for rhetoric, how signs are
used, and meaning reveal structures of
power (economic and social, as in
dominant /common sense values)

34. IN OTHER WORDS:
IF LANGUAGE IS CONSTRUCTED
AND OUR MEDIA ARE CONSTRUCTED,
THEN…
THERE IS NOTHING THAT ‘NATURAL.’
if this is doesn’t really make sense, it’s ok;
this is our subject for the week

35. KEY TERMS:
TEXT
SIGN = SIGNIFIED + SIGNIFIER
DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION
CLUSTER

36. TEXTS ARE
“COMPLEX WEBS OF INTERRELATED
PARTS THAT WORK TOGETHER TO
INFLUENCE [CONSUMERS/VIEWERS/
ANYONE] IN PARTICULAR WAYS” p110

37. SIGNS.
TWO VERSIONS.To get aquatinted, watch the link below.
Semiotics: the study of signs
This is a student assignment! Note that the guy who made it 8 years ago
made a comment below the movie, such as their mispronunciation of
Charles Perice’s name (it’s pronounced like purse) and he gives more
detail about semiotics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEgxTKUP_WI
WATCH these clips:
I present this now to issue a challenge for the next assignment and/or the
final: CAN YOU MAKE A BETTER VIDEO???
And an explanation of semiotics using a clip from The Big Bang Theory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeefWS8YrDw

38. SIGN
SIGNIFIER
SIGNIFIED
the Saussure version
this is also outlined in the semiotics website that’s part of your reading for today:
http://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/semiotics_and_ads/the_sign.html

39. SIGNIFIER
SIGNIFIED
image, drawing,
graphics, picture,
letters, sounds, etc.
concepts, things, etc.

40. SIGNIFIER
SIGNIFIED “tree”
“life”
“environment”
“knowledge”
“forest”

41. the Peirce version
SIGNcan be one or more of
these kinds of signs:
ICONIC
INDEXICAL
SYMBOLIC

42. ICONIC
INDEXICAL
SYMBOLIC
shares a likeness with a natural
or physical object it represents
indicators .. the meaning of the
signifier, or the image/picture/
whatever, is not arbitrary but
directly connected to the signified,
or the concept, thing, etc.
abstract .... the signifier
does not resemble the
signified

43. ICONIC
INDEXICAL
SYMBOLIC TREE
LANGUAGE is symbolic; it’s
arbitrary; like the DOG and
CAT example.

44. ICONIC
INDEXICAL
SYMBOLIC $

45. ‣ which app icons (see how
we can use a term
everyday and not really
think about what it is?)
best exemplify:
‣ iconic
‣ indexical
‣ symbolic

46. Let’s switch to ROLAND BARTHES
(my favorite)
All this talk of signs …
How do they work?
Let’s refer back to this example:
One reason why some people
critiqued this magazine cover was
because of the signs — black man,
open mouth (maybe angry?),
white woman — could on one
level, be associated with the old
posters, and thus meanings.
This is a signifying system.

47. SIGNIFIED SYSTEM
http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem06.htmlRead even more
about it here:
this is also outlined in the semiotics website that’s part of your reading for today:
http://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/semiotics_and_ads/the_sign.html

48. Denotation
The literal or dictionary
meaning; surface reading
Connotation
The implied meaning;. . . the
associations, overtones, and
feel which a concept has . . .;
deeper readings + subtext;
the FIRST ORDER of signification
the SECOND ORDER of signification
**and these meanings can be derived from MYTH + IDEOLOGY — tomorrow’s lecture. **

49. Denotation =Two different TV-family living rooms
Connotations=
on the next slide, you’ll see …
???
Can you get a sense of who these two families are?
If we see the same signifiers of a ‘COUCH’, a ‘CHAIR’ , etc.,
do these have the same signified meanings?

51. What’s similar?
Taking a cue from Barthes, both TV set living
rooms are signifying systems.
We have a naturalized idea of what a LIVING
ROOM looks like (or if it’s called a family room /
tv room / whatever, still all signifying systems).
First of all, the idea of the living room in an
American family home is already a
NATURALIZED cultural practice.
( … and one source for naturalizing what a living room
is, how it is set up, and what’s in the room? …
TELEVISION! And especially the domestic family
sitcom like Leave it to Beaver, Dick Van Dyke Show,
etc. … anyways … that’s a tv historian tangent …)

52. But these aren’t the same living rooms;
these do not suggest that the similar families
live in these houses.
Why?
The signifying system naturalizes, and it also
signifies different levels of meaning.
CONNOTATIONS.
The connotations of one living room is different
than the other;
And in that, we’ve naturalized ideas about class,
taste, and ‘family-ness’ (cozy, warm,
comfortable, etc.).
Much like this ad for Italian food (p. 116), the above tv
sets are constructed with a set of signs with code
connotations that when put all together, creates the
mental image of “family-ness.”
next slide has Barthes’
original analysis …. not
the summary in the book.

53. The image immediately yields a first message, whose substance is linguistic; its supports are the caption,
which is marginal, and the labels, these being inserted into the natural disposition of the scene, 'en
abyme'. The code from which this message has been taken is none other than that of the French language;
the only knowledge required to decipher it is a knowledge of writing and of French. In fact, this message
can itself be further broken down, for the sign Panzani gives not simply the name of the firm but also, by
its assonance, a additional signified, that of 'Italianicity'. The linguistic message is therefore twofold (at
least in this particular image): denotational and connotational. Since, however, we have here only a single
typical sign, namely that of articulated (written) language, it will be counted as one message.
Putting aside the linguistic message, we are left with the pure image (even if the labels are part of it,
anecdotally). This image straightaway provides a series of discontinuous signs. First (the order is
unimportant as these signs are not linear), the idea that what we have in the scene represented is a return
from the market. A signified which itself implies two euphoric values: that of the freshness of the
products and that of the essentially domestic preparation for which they are destined. Its signifier is the
half-open bag which lets the provisions spill out over the table, 'unpacked'. To read this first sign requires
only a knowledge which is in some sort implanted as part of the habits of a very widespread culture where
'shopping around for oneself' is opposed to the hasty stocking up (preserves, refrigerators) of a more
'mechanical' civilization. A second sign is more or less equally evident; its signifier is the bringing together
of the tomato, the pepper and the tricoloured hues (yellow, green, red) of the poster; its signified is Italy,
or rather Italianicity. This sign stands in a relation of redundancy with the connoted sign of the linguistic
message (the Italian assonance of the name Panzani) and the knowledge it draws upon is already more
particular; it is a specifically 'French' knowledge (an Italian would barely perceive the connotation of the
name, no more probably than he would the Italianicity of tomato and pepper), based on a familiarity with
certain tourist stereotypes. Continuing to explore the image (which is not to say that it is not entirely
clear at the first glance), there is no difficulty in discovering at least two other signs: in the first, the
serried collection of different objects transmits the idea of a total culinary service, on the one hand as
though Panzani furnished everything necessary for a carefully balanced dish and on the other as though
the concentrate in the tin were equivalent to the natural produce surrounding it; in the other sign, the
composition of the image, evoking the memory of innumerable alimentary paintings, sends us to an
aesthetic signified: the 'nature morte' or, as it is better expressed in other languages, the 'still life'; the
knowledge on which this sign depends is heavily cultural.
(Barthes 1977, 33)
Here we have a Panzani advertisement: some packets of pasta, a tin, a sachet, some tomatoes, onions, peppers, a mushroom, all emerging from a half-open
string bag, in yellows and greens on a red background. Let us try to 'skim off' the different messages it contains.
http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem06.html
“
”

54. We have lots of examples of these signifying systems pertaining to the living room and “family-ness”
How did Barthes (and soon - you!) do his analysis of Italians-ness in the ad?
By looking at SIGNS.
By looking at the RELATIONS between the SIGNS and how these form SIGNIFYING SYSTEMS.
And by noticing what is ABSENT, what signs are not there,
(this is not explicitly stated in the text book, but I’m bringing it up now … because this idea is
not going away. So … when you get to the analysis stage, I’m looking for you in your
analyses to include observations about what is not there and what that might suggest.
http://magazinesadsandbooks.com/Magazine-Ad-for-Bassett-Living-
Room-Furniture-Traditional-Modern-Mediterranean-1968-
P2625216.aspx
1927 1968
http://www.terapeak.com/worth/1927-kroehler-furniture-antique-
davenport-bed-living-room-suite-home-d-eacute-cor-ad/151843947479/
2010s

55. Here’s the part of the semiotics website specifically
about connotation / denotation:
http://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/semiotics_and_ads/
connotation.html

56. Lastly …
THE CLUSTER.
For our purposes, it’s no different than Barthes’
signifying system and requires observing signs and
interpreting those signs.
It’s just a different guy - Kenneth Burke (who, unlike
the other three guys so far, IS a rhetorician. He’s the
big name in Rhetoric).
(either Saussure or Peirce .. or a version of both - if you mix it up, doesn’t matter to me; what matters
is that you’re paying attention to signs in some way as defined by the textbook and readings).

57. Whoa. That’s a lot of slides!
But - this is in place of my explaining the terms in a face-to-face
classroom. Or recording a video / audio with explanations.
I’ve posted a few videos at the end of the Reggienet Lesson page if you
need more resources.
As recommended on Reggienet, next move on to the 2 online
essays that connect to this segment. The 2 additional articles
are linked on Reggienet and linked below:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/
annehelenpetersen/we-are-all-classists
http://the-toast.net/2014/02/24/lean-
in-stock-photos/