Reading the Image

Semiotics the brainchild of Ferdinand de Saussure is the exploration of signs and symbols, the study of making meaningful communication. “Psychologically our thought-apart from its expression in words-is only a shapeless and indistinct mass.” -Saussure(Harris , 1998) A sign is something that conveys meaning, be it verbal, written,  an image and even  a facial expression. Generally, a sign is described as something which refers to something else. Sign=Signifier+Signified Eg. The word Tree is the signifier, The actual tree is the signified.  This happens through associations we make when we're young. Our parents tell us what something is called and we associate that sound with the thing we are being shown. This is all effected by the society and culture we are living in.  Thus, most signs have multiple signifieds. In my case, I named my pet-cat "Baby" since that's what I called it for the first few weeks I had it. The denotation of the word baby is ...

For my first analysis I decided to discus the very new series 'Maniac', which can currently be viewed on Netflix. This show revolves around two characters Annie Landsberg(Emma Stone) and Owen Milgrim (Jonah Hill).  They both suffer from some mental disorders which effect their lives in detrimental ways and both of them cope in destructive manners. The show entertains the idea of an 80s style future quite reminiscent of the Vaporwave movement that has sprung in recent years, intermingling old technology from the aforementioned era with modern technologies and lifestyle. The story itself revolves around an innovative medical trial which pertains to cure any of your mental ailments within 3 days using a course of pills and an A.I. The A pill to make the subjects re-experience their pain, the B pill to make the subjects tear down their defence mechanisms and the C pill to make them confront their trauma and get over it.  The scene in the video above is an interestin...