Denotation refers to the dictionary or literal meaning, while connotation refers to implied cultural or emotional meanings. Examples given are that snakes have a negative connotation as someone who betrays others, while flags have a positive connotation of bringing people together. A movie poster is analyzed, finding that while colorful, the dark clothing of characters implies a darker narrative than initially seems. Soundtracks are discussed, with one building suspense for a jump scare, and another having a happy, Disney-like feel.

1. Theory meaning tasks

2. Denotation and connotation
• Snake (denotation)-
any of numerous limbless, scaly, elongate reptiles of the suborder Serpents, comprising
venomous and nonvenomous species inhabiting tropical and temperate areas.
• Snake (connotation)- someone who has betrayed you in someway, or gone behind your back about
something, or someone who is just seen as evil.
• Flag (denotation)-
a piece of cloth, varying in size, shape, color, and design, usually attached at one edge to
a staff or cord, and used as the symbol of a nation, state, or organization, as a means of
signaling, etc.; ensign; standard; banner; pennant.
• Flag (connotation)- A representation of a country or community, more often than not, bringing people
together.
• Gun (denotation)- a weapon consisting of a metal tube, with mechanical attachments, from which
projectiles are shot by the force of an explosive; a piece of ordnance.
• Gun (connotation)- in some instances a gun can be used to represent a form of evil or hatred,
because of the way in which some of them are used.

3. Analyzed movie poster
• The poster is very colorful and has a lot of colors that mix well with one
another to create the image of the poster. All of the main characters are at
the center frame of the poster, however they stand out much more
because they aren’t dressed in the colors that that the rest of the poster
represents, they are dressed in all black and some white, which leaves us
with the impression that the main characters are not the good guys, but in
fact in this movie we will be following the bad guys for once. The only
props that we can see are being held by the characters and they seem to
be holding them in a way that they can clearly be seen, like they want us
to see them for some reason. All of the actors have been done with make
up or dark clothes so that they can fir the movies dark narrative properly.
• The way that they have done the colors, is at first glance the movie will
look fun and enjoyable, just like every other ‘superhero’ on another look
the movie actually looks much more sinister than originally thought, all of
that is done by the use of colors.

4. Soundtrack (yet to complete)
• The first song is building suspense, the noise is gradually getting louder
and more intense the longer it goes on. The genre the song is from will
most likely be horror because the loud clash of noise at the end is where
a jumpscare will be shown the movie. In conjunction with the image,
the person on the desk could be casually working and the boss comes in
out of nowhere and scares him, or he could just be scared of the boss
and that music comes in whenever he sees her.
• The second song is much more pleasant to listen to, it’s happy and
upbeat. It could easily be used in a kids movie since it has a very heavy
Disney vibe. In relation with the picture the guy at the desk could be
having a good day and his boss has come to him with good news, he’s
been promoted, or is getting a raise, etc. Since the music sounds happy
we are expecting it to be used in conjunction with something happy
happening on the screen.

5. Soundtrack and editing
• The genres have been almost comedicly changed so much. The original ‘shining’
trailer has been changed to look like a family friendly sit com which is nothing
like what the actual movie is like, the whole mood of the trailer is much
different, it feels incredibly light hearted and comedic, which is a complete
contradiction to the movie. So that trailer changed the movie into a funny
family sit com, by even introducing the characters and plot like the typical
introduction to a classic sitcom would.
• The Mary Poppins trailer has been cut and edited to make it look like a horror
movie trailer, which, again, is nothing like what the actual movie is. By adding
scary music and sound effects they have completely changed the tone and mood
of the entire movie. By cutting shots of the more ‘supernatural’ scenes of the
movie together they made the character of Mary Poppins look like the villain
that the over characters are scared of.

6. Stereotypes
• Gender: The stereotypes that we associate with men, are that they are meant to have muscles, they
need to be strong and they have to protect the people around them. They are supposed to be able to
defend themselves and not run away from a situation, but instead charge head first into one. The
stereotypes that we associate with women, are that they are ‘supposed’ to be rescued by the
stereotypical man. They are looked at as not being able to defend themselves and taking more of a
backseat in the story, however in the last few years that stereotype has started to be broken, which is
good.
• Social status: The stereotype that we link to the upper class is, that they are ‘always’ stuck up and full of
themselves, and they constantly look down on the lower classes for not having money like they do. They
are always seen as wearing fancy suits, and having really good paying jobs. The working class stereotype is
they wear very common clothes that can be found anywhere, they have middle class houses in cramped
streets full of other working class people. They have jobs that they hate, typically a nine to five office job
for a corporate company. And they also have low end cars.
• Age: Old people are stereotyped as not really liking the younger generation ‘below’ them since they can’t
understand any of the things they like. They typically can’t understand technology that younger people
use. They are however seen as being very wise and smart, and having a lot of interesting experiences in
life that young people like to hear stories about. The stereotype around young people is that they are
always rebellious and go against the rules already set by the older generation, that’s the main stereotype,
they smoke wear rebellious clothes etc… however that stigma has been broken a bit in the last few years
and instead a lot of the younger generation are now seen as ‘nerdy’ people and like staying inside.

7. Iconography
• The iconography that is surrounded around the western genre: Some of the typical aspects of
the genre that we always expect to see are, the setting of a large dessert, or a very western
town or city. Most westerns have a story that involves around a cowboy, so most people would
expect to see a cowboy, or someone that represents one. A gun fight will be anticipated at
some point. Horses are also linked heavily to the genre.
• The iconography around the sci-fi genre: Spaceships are always expected to be seen no matter
the context. Most people will think that the movie should be like star wars, because that movie
is so iconic and influential to the genre. So the typical storylines for the genre are ‘good guy VS
bad guy with a plot twist at the end of one movie, and a story that wraps up in the final movie’
They aren’t supposed to be realistic and are meant to stretch the bounds of reality.
• The iconography of the fantasy genre: The image that comes to most peoples minds when they
think of fantasy is, dragons, magic, and large vast landscapes with tall mountains. The bad guys
are normally expected to be orcs or something that represents them, that stereotype came
around because of lord of the rings. There is meant to be a large scale sword fight between the
armys and leaders of the two different sides. And most people will also want to see big
monsters that face as a massive threat to the main characters. The story's of this genre can be
very diverse and have multiple meanings and sub plots.

8. Linear and non linear narratives
• A linear narrative is a storyline that is presented with a plot that goes, beginning,
middle, and end, with no subplot in between any of it. There will still be
character progression but it will be done solely through the main plot, so a linear
narrative has a clear and easy to follow structure.
• A non linear narrative follows the same plot but also jumps around a lot, so we
are told the story through flashbacks or flash-forwards and also multiple sub plots
that revolve around other characters that aren’t the main characters. These kind
of plots have a more complicated structure to them and can be much harder to
follow.
• An example of a non linear TV show that I watch would be ‘Game of Thrones’
there are multiple flashbacks being used and the plot constantly jumps around
and keeps changing, every episode, meaning there is no true, start, beginning,
and end, because there are so many main plots that start and finish every other
episode, there is no true plot. This can make the show very hard to understand if
you aren’t paying attention or if you watch a new episode without seeing the one
that came before it.

9. How power is communicated
• The villain in the clip is dressed in all black and is really tall and looking down on
the other 2 good characters who are clearly weaker than he is, which is a good way
of showing that the powerful always look down on those who are weaker than them.
• The lighting is really dark on the villains side but on the side that the good guys are
on that’s where all the lights are on, which shows the contrasting colours of dark
and light.
• The music is really dramatic but it’s also not intrusive, it’s not to loud but it’s easily
noticeable as well and it adds a lot to the intensity of the scene.
• All of the shots make the good guys look like they are in the weak position, when
they are running away from the fight the camera work makes it seem like we are
looking down on them because the camera has been placed on above them, making
them look like the weaker ones.