Social Semiotics: Application of Rules for Visual Images

 According to a paper titled Social Semiotics in 2009, social semiotics is the attempted understanding of how people communicate through different channels in an attempt to understand and comprehend the world around them. Michale Halliday introduced the theory of social semiotics in 1978 in his book Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. Since this initial introduction of the theory, there have been many different versions proposed by numerous scholars such as Gunther Kress and Robert Hodge. This is a really important theory because it suggests that everything people do to interact with one another is a sign and every sign is simultaneously stating something, relating people to each other, and connecting to other signs to create a comprehensive message (Bezemer et. al., 2009).

There are many types of “meaning makers” and “modes” of which signs can be conveyed. Images, the elements of writing, dictation, gestures, posture, and the gaze of a person are all ways that signs can be conveyed. Translations are the way these meanings are interpreted and woven together to give a connection between signs. The placement of certain aspects in relation to others is also important. There is no one very specific set of rules. Instead, the social semiotics is governed by the cultural context from which the meanings are trying to be taken from according to both Hodge and Kress in their proposed versions. There are still some rules, however, that are universal such as for visual images. For example, the placement of images and the way the images themselves are framed. The top is the most important “ideal” information while the bottom is the true information. The left of images and those placed on the left are information that is known to the interpreter while the right contains new information. All of this is tied together by any central imagery that is the main idea of the sign and the main thing intended to be interpreted as a whole. 

In this picture, the bottom of the frame shows a football field so the reality is this image is taking place in a sports complex. The middle of the image shows numerous marching band members with the focus drawn to the central 3 in the image. They are the “actors” as they are where the eye is immediately drawn. The top portion has bright lights and an enormous screen wrapping around the field of view. This is the ideal part of the image. The band is performing for a large audience which is a wonderful feeling where they are the center of attention for tens of thousands of people. The left side shows what we are given. A large stadium with marching band members. The new information, in this case, is the solid line of black suggesting how many people there are in the group and the words SoFi Stadium telling us the band is performing in Los Angeles at a football game. 

This image here is the view out a window on the coast. The bottom of the image shows reality, a small plane. The camera is inside, looking out. The middle of the image shows the central focus, the runway that the plane is approaching. The top part of the image shows the wide-open skies with mountains in the background giving the idealized feeling of freedom and endless possibilities. The left side of the image shows what is known, a beach with blue waters. This is the general direction the camera is facing, but not where it is focused. The camera is focused on the middle and right side where there are trees and the open field telling us the plane is coming in for a landing on the coast. 

*All photos are mine or used with permission from the OSUMB as a current member*

Bezemer, Jeff & Jewitt, Carey. (2009). Social Semiotics. 10.1075/hop.13.soc5.