Exercise 2: Join the Navy
Semiotic theory can seem quite daunting but it’s a lot easier to understand what’s
going on with reference to an actual example, so this exercise asks you to try a spot
of semiotic analysis for yourself.
First, look carefully at the image below and describe its literal elements (i.e. denotation). What
can you see?
Now think about its implied meaning (i.e. connotation). What else could the elements you’ve identified mean? Try and decide whether these connotations are intentional or accidental. How do they support or undermine the overall message? To modern eyes, for example, the torpedo might look like a phallic symbol, but is it likely that this was Babcock’s intention in 1917? On the other hand, such a reading might suggest manliness, a quality that might attract potential
recruits.
- Noted the above, but what I first noticed when I looked at the picture, is a young man trying to tame a torpedo the same way he would try to tame a bull or a horse. He looks excited and seems from his body posture that he knows what he is doing: looks like he have done it before. Probably the navy recruitment forces are aiming through the poster for eager and capable American country boys to join the navy and live the thrill and the excitement of the experience as a whole. Yes, the torpedo looks like a giant phallic symbol: a phallus is the ultimate symbol of manhood. I think it was deliberately designed that way, just to encourage the young boys and make them become men through the American navy.
Now choose a different image to analyse. Reflect on the process in your learning log. To what
extent do the implied meanings you’ve identified reflect your own values? How might other
people see them? If you can, ask someone else to take a look at the image you’ve chosen. How
does the meaning they take from it differ from yours? Why do you think this might be?
Browsing on the internet I have found these interesting posters below:
This particular poster has captured my attention. It appears to me as a very strong and very emotional one. A football player in the tense of a match is about to kick the ball. His co-players are either encouraging him or following his moves while the numerous spectators waiting to glorify and apotheosize him.
By turning the player into a statue, NIKE suggests that you can make history in football just with one strike, just with one shot. The footballer becomes a legend, he looks like a statue like the ones many football teams have in front of their stadiums representing their legends, their players who made a difference and stood out from the crowd. So according to NIKE writing the future is down to your effort, drive and eagerness to succeed.
Alexander's blog 