Semiotic OR discourse analysis of a magazine advertisement OR TV advertisement - Essay Example

? Semiotic Analysis This paper semiotically analyzes a print advertisement of the movie ‘The Dark Knight’. Semiotics is the assumption and study of symbols and representations, particularly as components of language or other structures of communication, and consists of semantics, syntactic, and pragmatics. Semiotics is directly linked to the field of linguistics, which within its branch, studies the formation as well as connotation of language more explicitly. It symbolizes a tactic for the study of wordings or images not considering the modality. For these reasons, ‘wordings’ is any note maintained in a type whose existence is free of both correspondent and recipient. It can develop ergonomic design in circumstances where it is vital to make certain that individuals can work together more efficiently with their surroundings, whether it is on a big magnitude, as in structural design, or on a small extent, for instance, the arrangement of images and colours in images. Semiotic Analysis of the Dark Knight’s Advertisement This advertisement has the villain of the movie, rather than the hero. The viewers can easily recognize the Joker through his trademarks - his dark trench coat, the bright red lipstick, his mystifying and concealed face, the worn hang gloves, plus his seaweed green hair. However, the most prominent indicator that this is the Joker is that he has shown scribbling his catchphrase, “Why So Serious?” in the advertisement. By further exploring the picture, one gets the impression that he is inside or around the city. It is quite a dull day, with immense fog that makes visibility difficult. The townscape in the backdrop is hardly noticeable, and it appears to be very far away. The focus drops directly on the Joker himself. His body posture as well as the position of his fingers appears disorderly and strange. The smile that he is drawing with the red paint - or maybe blood - connotes that the Joker might not be a completely normal person. The fog in the image is an apparent indicator. It smudges and alters the vision, making it tougher to make out something or to recognize somebody (Leeuwen & Jawet, p. 94). The fog in the advertisement is a sign of the Joker’s lack of identity. Despite the fact that the fog is helpful in bringing the Joker into focus, it also helps in smudging his facial features, as well as a great deal of his coat. It makes the Joker appears as if he is a part of the fog; and as a result, the indicator draws attention to the reality that the Joker lacks identity. Advertisers use fog to highlight another point, which is gloominess. The shadowy, grumpy colours along with the fog bordering the image imply that it is a dull and murky situation (Mitry, p. 104). This is rather simple to observe. The gloominess itself is the sign of the personality of the Joker. There is a murkiness that encloses him, a sense of malevolence. Exactly similar to the time when something does not look correct on a dull day, something does not look normal with the Joker. It can be assumed that the gloominess itself is a representation for the Joker. The dull shade of blue in addition to foggy depiction is a sign of a threatening feeling of trouble (Lacey, p. 72). This is mainly because of the connotation of the “shower scene” that has publicized in various horror movies showing a barely visible hand behind the shower curtain or fogged glass surrounded by the mist. At some point, the picture of the Joker standing there connotes that he is in fact waiting outside a window, or even in your own house. He seems to be a psychopath who has been coming up for you. Another indicator in this advertisement is the utilization of the Joker’s hands. His fingers are crooked and twisted. This depicts two things. First, he is not totally in control of his personal behaviour. This is a representation that he is psychological instable. Secondly, it reveals that he is suspicious as well as unreliable. It seems that his hands as well as fingers are twisted and twitched, which connote his dubious traits. Two signified notions depict one signifier. As still studying the hands, the shabby gloves he puts on are promptly noticeable. These gloves are also a signifier. Once more, it has two signified notions. First, it refers to his unlawful personality (Dreyfus, Stenglin & Hood, p. 82). The best way to let your identity concealed from the law enforcement agencies by using gloves; and the Joker places immense significance on keeping his identity undisclosed. No one actually knows who he is. The second signified notion is that he uses his hands a lot. If observed closely, one can recognize that the gloves are shabby, which reveals that he uses his hands to a great deal. The signified notion is that he is an extremely “hands on” criminal. This is a contrast to the technology approving and gadget loving Batman. The use of other hand additionally signifies his “hands on” approach. He is painting the glass window before the viewers’ eyes. His fingers are dabbed in the red paint or blood and making a fake as well as weird smile in front of his face. This picture of him painting a smile with blood connotes a much distorted sort of imagination into his work. In addition, by the use of shabby gloves, he is depicted as a character that frightens and worries you. Yet another indicator is his grimy, seaweed hair. It is very messy as well as dirty. This connotes that his approach is not to make a pleasant impression on anyone. He is an ordinary bad character, not seeking to get acquaintances or supporters, but attempting to viciously generate as much disorder as feasible. His looks are an indication of this behaviour. This is also a contrast to the representation of the Batman. In this film, the Joker creates an iconic cliche, which is “Why So Serious?” the advertisement closely exhibit this signature; the dazzling red wordings become visible in a split second. In fact, it is the focal point of the entire print advertisement. Once more, this reveals his ‘free from care’ approach, although not in a very pessimistic style. As everyone is acquainted with, the Joker is a wicked as well as mystified character. The statement “Why So Serious?” is an indicator of the Joker’s mental illness. He makes fun of Batman’s efforts to maintain integrity and command in the town, repeatedly using his taunt to question why Batman takes his work so seriously. Finally, the connation of this advertisement is only that the Joker is mentally unwell, hands on, and panicked all at the same time. The gloominess as well as fog around him makes his character difficult to make out, but as well make him appear as if he is coming out of the dusk, and is an extremely shady, murky figure. His posture as well as the cliche he has painted with his fingers provides the signifiers that he is mentally not well. In addition, it is the shabby gloves, the rumpled hair, and finger painting all present his capacity to work “hands on,” by carrying out his entire wicked activities by his own hands, rather than depending on cronies. Works Cited Dreyfus, S. Stenglin, M. and Hood, S. Semiotic Margins: Meaning in Multimodalites. Continuum, 2011. Lacey, N. Image and Representation: Key Concepts in Media Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, 1998. Leeuwen, Theo, V. and Jawet, C. Handbook of Visual Analysis. Sage Publications Ltd, 2001. Mitry, J. Semiotics and the Analysis of Film. Indiana University Press, 2000. Read More