This document discusses key terms in media studies, including semiotics, signs, signifiers, and signifieds. It provides the definition of semiotics as the science of signs and sign systems in society. It explains that a sign has two components: the signifier, which is the physical object like a word, and the signified, which is the meaning or concept conveyed. Genres rely on these signs and signifying practices to define them. For example, horror film conventions include scary settings and villains.

1. 03/11/2011
Media Studies Key Terms
Semiotics
Key theorist
Ferdinand Saussure
The science of the life of signs and sign systems in society
Derived from the Greek- Semeion- Sign
Focused on the text itself and the signs and codes contained within it.
A comparison between symbols between Poland and England.
The symbols for toilets in Poland and England are completely different. The
triangle is supposed to represent male toilet and the circle is supposed to
represent the female toilet.
Genre relies on signs, signifiers and signifying practives.
Signifying practices are what define a genre, for example horror films and
some conventions of these are a scary setting, a villain and a female victim.
The sign
Two components
Signifier- (denotation) the physical object for example a sound, printed word or
advertisement
In the example of the horror films it would e a combination of the visual and
sound elements of the text.
Signified (connotation) Meaning or mental concept conveyed by the signifier
for example a horror film.

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The denotations for this poster are five people, which are the main characters for
the film. In the background there is an image of a scared woman and the title is in
a bold white font. There are some credits above the title written in the same font.
The person at the background is about to scream.
Connotations= The title of the film is supposed to tell the audience that this is a
horror film. The face at the back is white and the background is black, and this is
a reference to one of the first slasher films- Psycho. The two most important
characters are at the front of the arrow, which points backwards to the least
important person.