Textual AnalysisSubject: Textual Analysis
Media Therory Textual Analysis 1,500 words Choose a media text and conduct a textual analysis drawing from theories based on semiotics, ideology or narrative analysis as discussed in Weeks 2-4. Text: a film, a TV program or ad, a poster, a photograph, a radio program a DCD, a website or a magazine cover, article or ad. Aim: to demonstrate your practical understanding in applying the different theories underlying these distinct modes of analysis. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subject: SONY full-page advertisement shown on page 15 of current On Dit (76.3) The advertisement is for a Sony Digital Notetaker. The top third of the advertisement comprises an image of three 'students' with some text; the bottom third comprises mainly textual information and some small pictures and logos. Although a full-colour image, red is used up and down the right side of the page; the other colours used are muted black, white and grey colours. Three students are presented, seated at swing-down lecture theatre desks. A smiling female, clothed in bright red has a red Digital Notetaker in front of her: highlighted with a circle that leads to a red laptop computer. Seated next to the girl are two males; their focus diminishes as the viewer scans from right to left. The girl is tightly in focus, the middle male less in focus and is writing notes; the male to the far left is hardly distinguishable. In fact, the image is so out of focus that this person could be either male or female and of any nationality, 'he' is anonymous and blends into the dark background. The slogans "like.no.other", "Your backup plan" and the logo "SONY" appear across the top of the page in white text - the word backup is in red. The white SONY logo is located above the smiling girl. "Your backup plan" is the headline anchoring this advertisement. Text underneath the main image contains: a two-sentence description of the product (in red) and in smaller text, technical information appears in smaller type in black. Under this text are four small images of the Digital Notetaker in four different colours and three logos (Five-star Dragon Certified, Hi-Speed USB and IC Recorder). The website address for Sony, www.sony.com.au is located at the lower right of the page (in black). These are the linguistic messages, constructed from the slogans, the description, the technical details and the logos. The main textual description is in red - the description ends with a stimulus to action - ". . . you can learn now and listen later". This background is subdued, off-white, cream coloured. A first reading of the subject reveals the smiling girl, her red top, the red Notetaker and the red laptop computer that the Notetaker is shown connected to. The viewer is drawn to the colour, to the red. The literal signs (according to the theories of Bathes and Saussure) are: three people; (one of them in red) lecture tables; digital notetaker; books; writing pads and pen; a red laptop computer and red digital notetaker; smaller images of the notetaker, logos and parole - textual (linguistic) information. The order of the images is important, the smiling girl has the main focus and the others are less important. The male appears to be concentrating and writing, he is not smiling. His hands are busy writing; the smiling girl has her arms folded and relaxed. Therefore we can read these signs as signifying: the girl is happy, she has a notetaker, she is smiling and relaxed; the male is writing and concentrating, he is not smiling, he does not look relaxed, he does not have a notetaker. He is in the centre of the page which draws our attention to him, but our focus is drawn to the brighter, smiling girl. This is a non-coded iconic message, it needs little interpretation - the girl with the notetaker is happy, the male without the notetaker is not happy. This is the literal message - this is denoted by the signifiers (people, faces, hands) and connoted by the mechanical composition of the advertisement (the focus, lighting, distance and overall composition). The 'naturalness' of the image is constructed; it is not 'real'. The reality of the image is denoted by signifiers (without code) that also connote the transmission and reception of meaning to the viewer (encoded signifiers). Additionally, the constructed meaning is masked by the signs that are denoted and connoted. The image gives the impression that the people are seated in a lecture theatre, The 'protagonists' are students; we can comprehend this by the signs and signifiers, by the received images and by the context of this advertisement, particularly in a student's magazine - these are visual, iconic non-coded messages. Linguistic signs identify this page as an advertisement; it is on a left hand page and our focus is drawn from the left which is dark, from the indistinguishable person, to the person in the centre, writing, and to the red smiling girl at the right (to the centre of the two page spread). The message in the headline "Your backup plan" implies technological security and peace of mind; "backup" is in the same red that draws our attention to the smiling girl with the red top and to the red Notetaker that easily connects to the red laptop. The signfiers: "your backup plan" imply the signified concepts of technological security and peace of mind. Deeper into the descriptive text the implication is made that it is easy to learn - you only need to record lectures with this product, you can listen later. A secondary reading might reveal that the main highlighted colour (red) is sensual (rather than dangerous); the girl is attractive, but not overtly so, (there is no cleavage revealed, no strong sexual suggestion), nether-the-less, the bright red focus of the advertisement, the sensualness of that colour is transferred to the technology within the red notetaker and the red laptop computer and also to the red word ("backup") in the headline. The colour red is often associated with danger; this oppositional difference, in this instance, is used to communicate safety, security and backup. This advertisement is not saying: "I want that girl" - it is saying: "I want that technology" and "I want that security". This is the coded iconic message, this is the symbolic and cultural message. The advertisement is targeted towards middle-class, technology-using students. The students have an international look about them, they do not look Anglo, or typically Australian. Students intrinsically 'know' what an mp3 player is, they 'know' how easy it is to use and connect to a USB device. These are mythic signs, reinforcing dominant, cultural and subcultural values. In a world where technology is often a male domain - in this image, it is the smiling girl who is technologically superior - a transfer of meaning is reinforced by 'competitive display' (McQuail (2000) "Concepts and Models" in McQuail's Mass Communication Theory). We now have three distinct messages: a series of linguistic messages from the text, the non-coded iconic, percieved message and the coded symbolic message that are evident in the signs presented - the graphical and symbolic elements of the composition. The linguistic text reinforces both the literal and symbolic messages, which are delivered and received at the same time; the literal, denoted message supports the symbolic, connoted one. The text anchors the meaning of this advertisement and takes away any doubt to its purpose. The text dominates the viewer in order that they can receive the coded and unencoded message, recorded by the photograph. This is transmitted literally, without the use of discontinuous signs and transformations. The denotation, reveals the connotation which is culturally generated. The linguistic text can be interpreted independently from the visual and symbolic messages, which both draw on the same iconic signs. The cultural (coded) message is embedded in the non-coded signifiers. The advertisement has been constructed and framed to highlight the smiling, red girl and the hi-tech red Notetaker. The linguistic text stablises the viewer's expectations, there is no discomforting text that takes the viewer away from their cultural reasoning. The composition of the image also anchors the viewer's aestheic gaze. The meaning of the advertisement is transmitted by discontinuous, symbolic, coded and uncoded images (signs), that are dependent on appropriate reception, reconstruction and interpretation by the viewer - in line with the dominant paradigm of communications models (McQuail) - to enable 'consumption' (Bignell). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Sony's Ultra stylish UX Digital Notetaker brings you high-end performance audio recording, together with the ease and versatility of an MP3 player. With a range of colours to suit your style and it's compact lightweight design, you can learn now and listen later." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References:
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Media Theory
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