Semiotic Analysis Paper - Essay Example

Thus by making use of print media, the recruiter is also attempting to make use of this power to enforce new thoughts and replace stereotypes. The depth of semiotics can be determined by the impact they have “at the point of consumption” (Eagleton, 1983), so we need to evaluate the explicit cues in light of the context in which they appear. When we look at the purpose of the message we can infer that the it was meant to be delivered to a mass audience at the same time, for this purpose print media or out-of-home media can be very effective (Machin, 2004). The message uses visuals as well as text to attract the attention of a large audience towards the noble profession of nursing. As we perform the semiotic analysis of the image, we infer that the visuals in the image are just the tip of the iceberg; this image delivers a great deal of implicit meaning. Since the advertisement is designed to attract younger audience towards the nursing profession, it effectively makes use of semiotic elements in a very aesthetically pleasing manner to deliver the message. According to Nava, young people today are very perceptual towards advertising, so aside from differentiating the marketing element of an advertisement, treat advertisements as aesthetically pleasing objects (1992, pp 15-21). Signifiers There are a number of signifiers present in this image. The first signifier here is a man wearing green scrubs with a stethoscope around his shoulder. The nurse appears to be a middle-aged man of African origin who has a confident smile on their face. The back ground is blurred so more emphasis can be made on this signifier. The second signifier is a group of four smaller images on the bottom-right side. The images show nurses performing very critical and life-saving duties in healthcare. The nurses in these images are also male. The third signifier is the headline on the top right corner that says “My nurse is a Hero, he saved my life”. The text is written in all-caps in a large font and is in white colour so that it stands out from the image in the back ground. It is also written within inverted commas which show that it is a statement by a person. The fourth signifier is the sub-heading which says “Are you man enough to save a life?” this text is in smaller font and appears at the bottom of the four smaller images. This text too is in white but not in all-caps. It also appears between inverted commas which show that it is a stated question for the audience of the advertisement. The fifth signifier is the logo of the recruiter which appears at the bottom right corner of the image. It is placed in a footer which is blue so that the logo stands out. The Sign The sign in this image is a little complex. To start with when one thinks of the term nurse, almost inevitably the image of a woman appears. On the contrary the term “nurse” is not gender-specific; a nurse could be a man. Another sign in this picture is that although the man is wearing stethoscope around his shoulders and wearing scrubs, we infer from the heading that he is a nurse and not a doctor. Most people relate stethoscopes to doctors and it becomes confusing when nurses are not wearing uniforms to distinguish them. Signified Presently women outnumber men a great deal in the nursing profession. This has little to do with their capabilities or lifestyles and more to do with the stereotypes of the profession. The term “male nurses” is as inappropriate as “ ...Show more