Media Language - Theories

We used many symbols and subtle ways of expressing ideas in our film opening. We actually tried to focus on what each shot and its elements suggested to the audience. Ferdinand de Saussure put forward the theory of a media text including a signifier and a signified object or idea. This suggests that what we see directly can have various meanings and interpretations that are either agreed upon or different based on cultures and perspectives. For example, In “Demure” even the location it’s self has these two dimension. At first, the audience sees a dusty, abandoned room, with little furniture. However, understanding the theme of the film and placing the character in this setting, the room is seen as signifying the character’s loneliness. We suggested to the audience that he was abandoned and neglected, just as the place in which he sleeps.

Of course, we did not use actual symbols, as defined by Charles Pierce. His more rigid definition of icons, indexes and symbols does refer to each of their signified meaning, but we used the entirety of mise-en-scene to send messages about our character and the story behind it.