Sign Symbol Essay, Research Paper

A sign

system is representation through communication which in turn leads to a shared

meaning or understanding. We hold mental representations that classify and

organise the world (whether fact or fiction), people, objects and events into

meaningful categories so that we can meaningfully comprehend the world. The

media use sign systems through newspapers, magazines, television,internet, and

the radio etc. The conceptual map of meaning and language are the basis of

representation. The conceptual map of meaning, are concepts organised, arranged

and classified into complex relations to one another. The conceptual map of

meaning although allows you to distinguish your own individual interpretation of

the world, at the same time as holding similar views to that of other people in

your culture. As the meaning is produced and constructed and in turn learned by

a particular group of people. Therefore sharing conventions and codes of their

language and culture. Signs can only convey meaning if we possess codes which

allow us to translate our concepts into language. These codes are the result of

social conventions which lead to the shared maps of meaning. These shared

meanings are learnt unconsciously as we become members of a culture.If we have a

concept of something in our minds we can say we know the meaning of this

concept. However we cannot express or communicate this meaning without the

second system of representation, language. Language is the only way in which

meanings can be effectively exchanged between people, as people within the same

culture are able to interpret the sign of language in the same manner. As the

meanings become natural through the conditioning of culture. For example the

word white in Australia represents a colour of purity, however in China it is

the colour of death. Demonstrating that different cultures have not only have

different meanings in their shared conceptual maps, but a different language to

express it. As meanings change rapidly throughout cultures to really understand

another culture you must live there and speak the language for some time.

Cultural, social, political, and linguistic conventions are learned over time.

The three theories of representation, reflective, intentional and

constructionist approaches explain how representations through language work.

The reflective approach is where language functions as a ?mirror? of the

particular elements perceived meaning. The intentional approach, is where the

authors individual views of the world are expressed. Whereas the constructionist

approach is where we the audience construct the meaning through our shared

conceptual maps and language. The media use these sign symbols so that an

association can be made to the object, person, event, or idea etc. With this

information of representation and language the media can familiarise people with

many things, such as cultural knowledge. As advertising surrounds consumers,

concern is often expressed over the impact on society, particularly on values

and lifestyle. While a number of factors influence the cultural values,

lifestyles, and behaviour of a society, the overwhelming amount of advertising

and its prevalence in the mass media suggests that advertising plays a major

role in influencing and transmitting social values. In his book Advertising and

Social Change, Ronald Berman says; The Institution of the family, religion and

education have grown noticeably weaker over each of the past three generations.

The world itself seems to have grown more complex. In the absence of traditional

authority, advertising has become a kind of social guide. It depicts us in all

the myriad situations possible to a life of free choice. It provides ideas about

style, morality, and behaviour. While there is general agreement that

advertising is an important social influence agent, opinions as to the value of

its contribution are often negative. Advertising is criticised for encouraging

materialism, manipulating consumers to buy things they do not really need,

perpetuating stereotyping, and controlling the media. The media must consider

the cultural variables of each country, such as the complexity of learned

meanings, norms, language, customs, tastes, attitudes, religion, traditions,

education, lifestyle, values, and the ethical/moral standards shared by members

of each society. These variables must be learnt by the media as not to offend

the group they are portraying. Cultural norms and values offer direction and

guidance to members of a society in all aspects of there lives. Every country

exhibits cultural traits that influence not just the needs and wants of

consumers but how they go about satisfying them. The media must be aware of the

connotations of words and symbols used in their messages and understand how

advertising copy and slogans are translated. Advertisers can also encounter

problems with the connotative meaning of signs and symbols used in their

messages. However within a given culture there are found smaller groups or

segments, whose variables (as listed above) set them apart from the larger

cultural mainstream. Known as subcultures the media must also learn about their

variables as they are just as important due to their size, growth and purchasing

power. Such as the Asian or Italian communities in Australia. The study of

culture has led to generalisations that may apply to all cultures. Such

characteristics are known as cultural universals, which are manifestations of

the total way of life of any group of people. These include such elements such

as bodily adornments, court-ship, etiquette, family gestures, joking, food,

mealtimes, music, personal names, status differentiation and trade. These

activities occur across cultures, but their manifestations may be unique in a

particular society, bringing about cultural diversity. Common denominators can

be found, but how they are accomplished may vary dramatically. These elements

are both material and abstract. Primarily through the media these images are

where we find references to conjure images of other countries representations.

These signs are made common to the masses through the media, which in turn

through repetition reinforces the image as common. The media use repetition and

consistency of a few stereotypical elements to reinforce the central role of the

image, linking it to a specific culture. These stereotypes produce ?otherness?

from the dominant culture, by focusing on a few different attributes of another

culture. This often gets reduced to easy to digest differences such as food,

clothes, appearance and music. Which suggests that culture is based on material

things around us, a culture of possessions. However these representations avoid

important issues that could be very different between cultures. Advertising

perpetuates some of the myths associated with certain cultural groups such as,

African American men are good at sports, The French are arrogant and Australians

are lazy. As Chiara Giaccardi said in TV Advertising and Social

Reality;Advertisements tend to capitalise upon recurrent images and forms of

presentation; in so doing they reinforce them, not so much through the

individual texts as through the accumulation and repetition of ?ritualised?

representation during the entire advertising flow. Advertisements refer not only

to things and situations but also a way of seeing and interpreting them.

Advertisements constitute a repotoire that viewers can draw upon both for

representing and understanding themselves and for making sense of their external

reality. Advertising shapes reality to serve capitalism and the ?post modern?

position, according to which advertising offers a pleasurable synthetic

experience as a surrogate for reality.(Chiara Giaccardi,TV Advertising and

Social Reality) Advertising is therefore meaningful as it creates a sense of

familiarity with the ways of experiencing it in a represented form. However as

Gillian Dyer states in Advertising as Communication;We must recognise that the

images conveyed by the media have, over the last thirty years, become so

sophisticated and persuasive that they now organise our experiences and

understanding in a crucially significant way. Advertisements encourage

extravagant expectations because they are more dramatic and vivid than the

reality – reality cannot match up to the image. Therefore cultural knowledge is

obtained through the media?s sign system. Which is evident through my knowledge

of many countries and cultures without ever travelling overseas. Stereotypical

elements of particular cultures shown through the media allow me to have

perceived meanings and understandings of other cultures. However the stereotypes

of culture portrayed through media signs are predominately tourist stereotypes.

There are many advertisements in the print, audio and visual media that portray

cultural knowledge. Particular signs that we can link to specific cultures, due

to the familiarisation with them through the media. For example the television

commercial for Simpson washing machines which showed Indian Dhobi washer women

banging their clothes against a washing machine to clean them, instead of a

nearby rock. Using the tag line ?The hardest working appliances in the world?,

suggesting that the product is trustworthy and has stamina. The sign systems

that the media used where firstly the opening shot of the Ganges River in the

foreground with Indian temples in the background. You then see a mass of Indian

women in traditional dress washing clothes in a traditional manner. Although

hard working the commercial suggested that their product was also as strong as a

rock. The use of the washing machine as a rock for clothes washing and the

dumbfounded look on their faces when they saw the electrical plug, suggests that

India is a third world country and the people do not have electricity. Although

they did not know how to use the machine they continue to use it in place of a

rock. Throughout the entire commercial traditional Indian music was played. The

music and appearance of both the people and the structures clearly suggests to

the viewer that it is India. However these signs would not have been recognised

without prior media familiarisation. Therefore through cultural stereotypes

providing cultural knowledge. Another example is the West End Gold beer

commercial. Animation is used to view two mosquitoes talking to one another. The

setting is a barbecue with a group of stereotypical macho male friends getting

together after a hard days work to eat food and drink beer. The mosquitoes are

happy that the men are now drinking mid strength beer as they are not falling

asleep, making fools of themselves, and they are able to drink more blood.

Although referring to themselves it was clear they were actually talking about

the men involved. Suggesting that they can spend more time with their friends,

consume more beer and have more fun. The commercial was set in a middle class

backyard, which features a run of the mill Australian barbecue in which the beer

is helpful to people with subtle humour. Traditionally Australian beer

commercials have portrayed beer as a reward for hard manual labour or driving

through the desert, such as the Victorian Bitter campaigns. The Australian

cultural signs used were the image of the macho male ?okka?, drinking beer,

having a barbecue with only male mates. I believe these images are used to

promote the Australian barbecue culture. These images are also known across the

world due to the movie ?Crocodile Dundee?. Another example is the use of the

Mexican cultural stereotype to promote a new McDonald’s burger. As the burger

had an added sauce that was spicy the advertisers used the Mexican image to

portray this. As traditionally the Mexicans eat very spicy food such as Tacos.

You instantly know that the characters are Mexican due to their appearance, dark

skinned, long moustaches, wearing ponchos and sombreros, riding horses through

the desert. The music and appearance of the characters are the main signs used

to recognise Mexico. However the poor dubbing of their voices and the words ?ondelay

ondelay? are also common cultural signs portrayed in the media. Italian signs

are also often used to sell food products such as pizza and pasta. For example

the Dolmio commercials that use to be on television. They showed a large Italian

family(Italians like large families) having pasta for dinner(traditional Italian

meal), they had napkins tucked into their shirts(suggesting they were going to

eat a lot of food in a messy manner), the characters were primarily large, they

used the words mama and papa(Italian words for mum and dad) and the main

character had pasta sauce on his mouth with the tag line ?do you wear the

Dolomio grin?. All of which are signs the media use to portray Italian people.

Once again the music also played a major role in recognising the cultural

stereotypes. Even the name Dolmio sends a linguistic message of Italianicity. If

the media do not understand the cultural characteristics of a country they would

not be aware of the shared cultural values of the community and could easily

offend the country. For example the eating of beef in India is not practised,

the colour white is a symbol of death in China, and the left hand in some

countries is known as the toilet hand. This demonstrates the differences in

culture that could be very embarrassing for companies. The simplicity of colour

or a name could be very offensive and have disastrous implications, which

demonstrates the necessity for market research. However I believe that cultural

values also need to be lived to be learned, for more accurate results. The media

are a very powerful tool of communication. They are used as a tool to educate,

inform and entertain people all over the world. However the common sign sytems

in which they use to portray many groups are often sterotypical. I know that

Australian men are not all like what is portrayed in the beer commercials, due

to experience of the culture. However all I know ofd the other cultures around

the world is what the media portray, therefore providing me with my cultural

knowledge.

7dc

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