TOPIC: After reading Hall, Sean. This Means This, This Means That: A Userâs Guide to Semiotics, Laurence King Publishing, 2012 (Chapters 1 & 2) and reviewing the videos from the Week 3 Agenda, consider the following questions.
Try to connect the concepts presented with historical and contemporary design.
- How has political and economic power been communicated using icon, index, and/or symbol in historical media? Look at war or propaganda posters to see if you can also locate any of the non-literal forms of communication such as simile, metaphor, metonym, synecdoche, irony, lies, impossibility, depiction, and representation.
- In social media communications, how does “noise” disrupt or alter the communication process? Consider recent social or political events.
Start by adding a brief comment with a response to one of the questions. Add a link to an image, article, or video to communicate your point and to engage others. Add a second comment to address the other question. Please avoid posting a long comment or responding to multiple comments at once. This makes it harder for others to engage with your ideas. Your goal is to learn from your classmates and vice-versa.
Comment at least 5 times in the Discussion post by Friday, Sep 17th at 11:59 pm to allow time for responses. Follow-up responses should be submitted by Sunday, September 19th, 6 pm. Reminder: free sharing of ideas helps us learn and it’s also part of your participation grade. đ
How has political and economic power been communicated using icon, index, and/or symbol in historical media?
https://www.loc.gov/item/91726511/
Political power has been communicated through the “Wake up America!” James Montgomery Flagg poster using an icon. The icon is the sleeping woman dressed with stars and stripes representing America being unaware of a majorly severe situation. James uses personification for a call to action to all Americans because America had to fight in world war I.
America loves personification in its war propaganda. For example, in J. Howard Miller’s “We Can Do It!” poster, I believe the woman flexing her bicep is meant to represent the women of America. She servers to symbolize women and create a call to action for American women to take part in helping to win World War II.
Yeah American has always been such an avid user of hyperboles and personification like the use in the “Wake Up America” poster https://www.loc.gov/resource/ppmsca.40985/ where they portray her as asleep implying that we were ignoring the issue of war and that we should be more focused
When first seeing this poster, it completely felt like a personification of the country due to the way that America as a country is depicted through a “weak”, beautiful woman that is laying asleep. This thought carries into modern day politics where people often personify current events with the country as a whole.
https://www.loc.gov/item/98507935/
The icon of the “For every fighter a woman worker Y.W.C.A.” poster by Ernest Hamlin Baker is all the women marching together dressed in different uniforms for different careers. It shows political power because all American women were being represented and recognized because women were needed to do all of the men’s jobs while they were away fighting as soldiers in World War I. This helped lead to women’s rights.
Agreed. I believe this poster does an excellent job at representing the women of America and the roles they had to take on during World War II. While it doesn’t represent any women of color, I believe the women shown in the poster are meant to serve as a representation of ALL American females during World War II. It empowers women to serve their country and help their male counterparts win the war.
It’s amazing how the women has changed throughout the history. They have changed from someone who stays at home to take care of the children to someone who can impact the society and make a bigger difference. I do believe this makes a big difference in society today.
I also agree with this and also how Zi Hang Lian word theirs it is truly amazing how everyone back then just think that can only cook, do housework, and take care of the children. But with that poster, shows that women can do much more than that.
That’s a really good one. It’s so well known and used a lot in our time as well
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C102308
Economic power is shown through this poster by James Fitton because the empty plate with knife and fork is the indexical icon. The plate is the signifier being caused by signified which is the reason behind an action. The slogan “A clear plate means a clear conscience” is a metaphor that was meant to persuade people to not waste food because the food supply was limited during WWII.
This poster is a very excellent use of imagery, urging the British population to not waste their food. That paired with the slogan makes it a very good persuasion piece that encouraged British people to not waste food as their supply was running scarce due to World War II.
I like this poster, very interesting back story as well.
I like this poster, very interesting back story as well.
https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co500389/milk-the-backbone-of-young-britain-poster
Economic power is shown through this poster because it encourages young children to drink milk. The slogan is a metaphor emphasizing how important milk is for the newer generations of Britain. The icons are a young boy holding a cup and a bottle of milk in the center of him.
That’s an unique way to show economic power. To me, it looks like it’s encouraging people to buy more milk and the point that you made at the same time. It’s interesting looking at this poster. The milk is the essential idea of this poster. We already that milk is good for you and helps the development of your growth. It seems like at that time, they were trying to promote milk for future generations of Britain. I find this a very interesting approach to economic power.
Maybe you want to take a quick look at this? :
https://www.kingandmcgaw.com/prints/james-fitton/milk-the-backbone-of-young-britain-433301#433301::air:25_frame:880229_glass:770007_media:1_mount:108649_mount-width:0_size:426,620
How has political and economic power been communicated using icon, index, and/or symbol in historical media?
https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/a-radical-examination-of-queerness-in-communist-propaganda-posters/ussr_china-l-golovanov-1958/
In this political propaganda poster by L. Golovanov, we are shown two adult men, one Asian and one Caucasian. Below them, we see an Asian child and a caucasian child embracing each other and smiling. Above the two men are the symbols used to represent the Soviet Union and communist China. These two men are meant to represent the USSR and China coming together to spread their shared love of communism. The two boys could possibly be their sons and they symbolize how the men want their children to grow up with the same communist ideals as well.
I found this poster to be very interesting. Just like you mentioned, it’s almost like the USSR and China are coming together as one. This poster can show their good relations between the two country. I do like your approach to this poster. I think they’re also trying to spread this good relationship to the world. I think it’s convey a message between these two countries that we should work together and make our ideals a reality.
This is such a strong piece that depicts the banding of shared ideas shown in a visual propaganda poster. The two fathers and sons from their respective representations of the Soviet Union and China share the ideals of communism. The way that the grown men have their arms hooked on the shoulders of each other and their sons, to the way that both the grown men and young sons share the same facial expressions, represents the unity that is shared amongst both sides, despite their obvious differences.
In social media communications, how does ânoiseâ disrupt or alter the communication process?
When it comes to social media communications, “noise” can come in many forms such as misinformation and spam. Social media is a tool that we all use today for keeping ourselves updated with not just our friends but with the world as well. Websites like Twitter have a specific section for world events. However, within discussions of those events (especially in recent years), misinformation is easily spreadable. One such example is the information about the COVID-19 vaccines during this year. While news from the CDC insisted the vaccine was safe and effective, there was “noise” from many anti-vaxxers and even former President Donald Trump on how there are “alternative solutions” to fighting the virus including taking ivermectin, natural medicines, and even injecting bleach into your own body. This misinformation can seriously disrupt critical thinking as people who say things like this are often a very loud minority who distract from proven facts with their own version of “truth”. It slows the flow of factual information and manipulates some into ignoring the statistics that prove its effectiveness.
I could agree with that. COVID-19 is a huge topic, after all. If not taken serious, we may see a huge rate of death here in the U.S. after all. Misinformation can be a serious problem. If people take misinformation seriously, they might change sides and it can cause the world to be in chaos. Misinformation can happen as often as you think. Social media and newspaper can show all that. In the end, it’s up to us whether those information are accurate or not. We have to see with our own eyes.
I agree, even right now as we speak there are still people out there who still do not trust the vaccines. I for example I have a family member who refuse to take it because she heard that it makes women infertile, which sounds crazy, but that’s just one of the few misinformation going around when it comes to this vaccine.
Social media does shape the majority of the world without it we probably wouldn’t get as much information reached to a ton of people at once in a short amount of time. Like you mentioned COVID-19 if it wasn’t for social media most of us would probably still not know about it and about the vaccines.
In social media communications, there are many types of disruptive “noise” such as semantic noise which is when someone who is talking and a person who listens has different interpretations of the same word. There is syntactical noise which is grammar mistakes in posts on all social media platforms. “Noise” isn’t always bad like in the case of the crisis in Afghanistan. It is talked about on news media as well and some people say Joe Biden did well but the “noise” is that most people say he did an absolutely awful job.
I agree with the Joe Biden example and to add on even during the election the noise was to vote for Joe Biden so that trump can get out of office even though many also thought he wasn’t the best choice for a president either.
I agree as well because there were some instances where they would show footage and look back at Biden’s history to find ways to make him look bad but people overlooked it and chose him to be president. Same goes with Kamala Harris. As what Rahael said about this election, it was more on pushing the narrative that Trump needs to be out because he’s going out of control, but funny thing is Biden is doing the same thing.
The way that political and economic power is being communicated through the use of an icon, index, and/or symbol is shown in this poster made during World War II and that poster is the “I Want You” recruitment poster for the army and what it was. Was Uncle Sam pointing directly at the person reading the poster trying to recruit them for the war effort. But what Uncle Sam represented was the US, it depicted how the US is wise, powerful, and strong-willed, which is what is associated with Uncle Sam and the US. https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers-of-persuasion
I agree with you. The “I Want You” poster is used to recruit people into the military. Especially men. I like the comparison you made between Uncle and the U.S. This poster has been a big influence back in WWII. This poster is also a form of propaganda. It raises awareness of WWII and tries to persuade more people into joining the military.
Hey Bryan,
That is a great example because it shows how a poster like this has made an impact on Americans, and it is still remembered after all these years. It’s something that you can immediately recognize.
yeah it also shows how America is kinda in love with its own history that we are able to remember things because we were taught them to be remembered and these posters are still being showed in schools today
Very well known poster, I wonder how many people it convinced to join army during it’s time
In social media communications “noise” can disrupt and alter the communication process by either being misleading or a lie in general. A general example of this is if there is an opinion that is viewed as harsh then those who either disagree with that opinion will lie or create assumptions by themselves without creditable sources. A direct example of this is the recent event in Afghanistan while the Taliban has taken over there were images showing the president of Afghanistan had left the country immediately following that but it is untrue. Many Twitter and Facebook users had posted an image of the president leaving the country because of the Taliban take over but it really was the president who left to attend a meeting way before the Taliban take over. https://www.insider.com/afghanistan-taliban-doctored-images-fake-news-viral-twitter-facebook-2021-8
In social media communications, how does ânoiseâ disrupt or alter the communication process?
In regards to social media, some content that may be intended to be helpful may unintentionally come off as ânoiseâ. For example, last year during #BlackOutTuesday, on Instagram many people posted black squares to show solidarity for BLM protests, however when people made these posts they were sometimes tagged with #BlackLivesMatter or similar tags, and some resulting criticism of this brought up the fact that activists use the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag to spread information and stay up to date, but that becomes hard to do when the hashtagâs page is filled with black squares, thus it becoming ânoiseâ. However, this was fixed with the use of the #BlackOutTuesday hashtag.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/us/blackout-tuesday-black-lives-matter-instagram-trnd/index.html
At first, I didn’t see the issue but after reviewing the article I understand what you mean. This just seems like an honest mistake and something people didn’t think through until something happened. I’m glad people realized later on and fixed it so now if BLM or any other organization choose to do something similar they can state right away how and why they need to make the hashtag proper.
How has political and economic power been communicated using icon, index, and/or symbol in historical media?
In terms of political symbols, recently in the anime community, there is an anime, called Tokyo Revengers, that has what looks to be the swastika in it, which obviously many people upon first glance many people relate to Nazis. However, some people may know that the swastika – manji symbol – originally has a different meaning especially in regards to Japanese and Buddhist culture as it is used to mark Buddhist temples. Crunchyroll (the streaming service airing the anime) has censored the manji symbol and blocked it out in scenes that itâs in to avoid potential confusion. However many fans of the series have been in opposition to Crunchyrollâs decision.
https://kotaku.com/buddhist-swastika-removed-from-anime-tokyo-revengers-1847334149
This is a very interesting point you’ve made as someone who has watched anime. I founded the article you posted to be very interesting. Now that I look it, when I watched this anime, I didn’t see the swastika – manji symbol – in this anime. I do think it can cause confusion as it’s similar to the Nazi swastika. I don’t really get why Crunchyroll censors it. They are obviously two different signs yet they still did it. Of course, it’ll cause an uproar among the anime community.
How has political and economic power been communicated using icon, index, and/or symbol in historical media?
Political and economic power can be communicated through posters and advertisement. One example of political power is from Uncle Sam “I want you” poster. In this poster, he pointing at you as if he wants you to join the army and that’s actually the whole idea of the poster. The poster is used to recruit more people into the army and can be a form of advertisement.
If you want to know more about the Uncle Sam poster and anything related to this poster, here’s the link:
One example of economic power can be used through ads. The ad can be shown in posters, newspaper, and online depending on the platform you’re using. For example, let’s say you own a soap company. You want to spread your soap brand to the consumers. One way is through ads. Ads can help attract customers and you’ll be raking in all the money if your brand works effective or your ad’s attracts the consumer.
If you want more insight on how ads impact the world, you can find some interesting things here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/11/27/does-advertising-help-or-harm-the-economy/
In social media communications, how does ânoiseâ disrupt or alter the communication process?
According to the Genshin Impact’s community, the players are suing Devs for changing a character. The character is Raiden Shogun, or some players called her Baal, which is a playable character in the game. According to the beta server, Raiden had electric abilities. She’s pairs very well with Beidou. However, upon launch, her moves didn’t have an effect on Beidou.
This caused an uproar in the Genshin Impact’s community. Her ability descriptions were changed several times after she was released. This caused the miHoyo’s English and Chinese to expressed their dissatisfactions about this. Apparently, one Chinese player who played the beta version threaten to sue the company. This problem was solved last week and this kind of incident has happened with Zhongli, another playable character back last December.
Here’s the article link:
https://kotaku.com/genshin-impact-fan-says-theyre-suing-devs-for-changing-1847690358
Wow, it just goes to show you how making enough noise can force a group (in this case its game developers) to make a change.
Yep. Sometimes, the players/audience can go a little overboard with their favorite character (We probably all do though). Whether it’s in book, movie, or games.
The gaming community sometimes always has something to complain about even though they love the game. Like Destiny players complain about the game but they still love to play it
Yeah, I see that almost all the time in Genshin Impact.
The icon in the image shows a picture of a woman flexing her arm. During the 1940s, women were encouraged to take wartime jobs. The poster not only represents patriotism but also is supposed to empower women and show that they can be strong (why the woman is flexing her arm), with the âwe can do itâ text. This was one of the most famous posters during world war 2.
Very Iconic poster to choose this Definitively had an influence with women now having to do more back in the states while the men were fighting during WW2. Your right with this poster showing much patriotism with such in-your-face art in the eye-catching tagline.
https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.4ccb798acf09dd04d87a50b4a7777b76?rik=XAZsNWQ0b%2bM1zA&pid=ImgRaw&r=0
How has political and economic power been communicated using icon, index, and/or symbol in historical media?
Uncle Sam is known as a propaganda symbol that is well known even today. He is known as a symbol of the U.S. government used in the military. This is a good way to show how much of an icon and symbol he is in historical media. He was and still is popular,
Uncle Sam is very iconic, it’s almost and a requirement to know if you are an American citizen at this point. The United States did its best to create someone that accurately represents them in a time of need, and I think they did a good job on that.
In social media communications, how does ânoiseâ disrupt or alter the communication process? I think noise disrupts the communication process since a message can always be seen differently by different people. Messages can draw attention to different things within them.
&ehk=unG6gCBK2yNEwL7JO%2fsTh66L1eOgrLMPud1tjtZZO3Q%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0
This picture shows a woman killing an animal, and the message is about fur coats and how bad it is to kill them for it. At first glance, I thought it was about eating animals since she looks like one of those 80s pins up girls, and in the kitchen knife in her hand. I’m sure some people don’t even care about the cause, or if the skin can be razored off instead of killing the animal. Or even the topic at hand is that important. The poster seems to be pretty graphic as well.
How has political and economic power been communicated using icons, indexes, and/or symbols in historical media?
https://www.google.com/search?q=asta&tbm=isch&chips=q:asta,g_1:clover:Qkoy8CmlP88%3D&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj5tqnnj4nzAhWAlHIEHVlMAAoQ4lYoAXoECAEQEw&biw=929&bih=919#imgrc=o-SvgEUzty__eM
In this anime, Black Clover shows symbols of historical media wherein many different episodes some of the characters used the pose âWe Can Do It!â like the poster that was rediscovered in the early 1980s. Where it was featuring a strong female and trying to get them to work and supply for the war. Like the main character Asta who doesnât have any magical powers in a magic world, he has to work harder than anyone to achieve his goals. Similar to the poster it portrays a strong woman trying to influence women to come and work. Not only can they start working but they can get out of the house earning money to support the family as well. Showing this in anime does set the mood and show that this character is working hard for his dream.
I like the comparison you made with Asta because it’s true he’s someone who was at a disadvantage compared to anyone with no magical power but that only his give more effort than anyone else due to him not having and magic power.
How has political and economic power been communicated using icons, indexes, and/or symbols in historical media?
https://www.google.com/search?q=asta&tbm=isch&chips=q:asta,g_1:clover:Qkoy8CmlP88%3D&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj5tqnnj4nzAhWAlHIEHVlMAAoQ4lYoAXoECAEQEw&biw=929&bih=919#imgrc=o-SvgEUzty__eM
In this anime, Black Clover shows symbols of historical media wherein many different episodes some of the characters used the pose âWe Can Do It!â like the poster that was rediscovered in the early 1980s. Where it was featuring a strong female and trying to get them to work and supply for the war. Like the main character Asta who doesnât have any magical powers in a magic world, he has to work harder than anyone to achieve his goals. Similar to the poster it portrays a strong woman trying to influence women to come and work. Not only can they start working but they can get out of the house earning money to support the family as well. Showing this in anime does set the mood and show that this character is working hard for his dream.
Oh, that anime. I love that anime. Asta definitely does have to work harder and throughout the anime, it shows that. Also, he also made a promise to Yuno, his childhood friend, that he’ll surpass him one day and become the next Wizard King. That aside, you can definitely see elements of the poster “We Can Do It!” throughout this anime.
There’s also Noelle in the anime who have to face her family too. She’s also part of the Black Bull with Asta and she got her own problems too which eventually got solved in later episodes.
In social media communications ânoiseâ disrupts or alters the communication process because some people can hear or misinterpreted things they read and proceed to tell others what they think would be right. For example when leakers dig into game files and try to find things that have yet to be released. When they post their findings people may think that the leakers would be right. When the game is finally polished and released to the public and it isnât the same thing that the leakers leaked they may be disappointed or felt like they were unreliable or even lied to.
That is relatable. There’s this game called Genshin Impact and it happens all the time in this game. Before the next patch, the leakers would post everything that is in the beta and everyone would see it. For example, if you search 2.2 leaks (Currently 2.1 right now) on Youtube, you’ll see leaks of characters, events, and even the new islands and monsters.
However, sometimes, the developers of the game may change things in the beta and it’ll be different in the next patch which might disappoint some people.
That is so true, I hate when people leak things about games and movies and so it’s not what they expected. I feel that way about the Spiderman no-way home situation. There is always something new to be leaked about it and the expectation for this movie keeps getting higher and higher and if that keeps happening there’s is something we’re all gonna hate about the movie.
How has political and economic power been communicated using icon, index, and/or symbol in historical media?
This image is called âMotherland Callsââ was made in 1941, it was one of the most popular propaganda posters. It shows a woman, who is considered to be as âMother Russiaâ and sheâs holding a paper which has the red army oath in it. Itâs a symbol of Russiaâs liberation. The color red is linked to Soviet Russia. This poster is used as a call for men to protect their homeland. (Motherland)
https://wargaming.com/en/news/world_war_propaganda_posters/
All these posters have the same thing in common: icon, symbol, and index. They use physical resemblance in this case, theyâve used children, animals, men, etc to represent their country (signified). Majority of these posters are designed to persuade the public in join the war, another poster is to promote peace between the neighbor countries. By these small details, it enforces the message the poster tries to tell the public.
How has political and economic power been communicated using icons, indexes, and/or symbols in historical media?
https://medium.com/theagency/the-ad-that-changed-advertising-18291a67488c
We can in the example provided that how during 1959 Bill Bernbach was hired to make an advertisement for Volkswagen. A very defining feature of the car was that it was small and Bernbach decided to highlight that aspect in his use of creating ads for it. You can see how it is minimal only being in the middle left side of the page with such a big empty space with the tagline âThink Smallâ along with the other important details at the bottom. He made a connection with the product and so it had an influence on his method of designing for it.
In social media communications, how does ânoiseâ disrupt or alter the communication process?
âNoiseâ as defined by the JMIR is âany tweets produced from an account identified as a social bot, is narrow and oversimplifying, and may even be misleading in some cases.â
So this then affects the communication process by spreading either spreading false information and confusing people on different topics. Something like this is bounded to happen with many people reporting on the same thing. A situation I can recall is when there was a tweet about the CEO of Pfizer not being fully vaccinated and the internet went wild but if people actually did their research they would have known that he was not fully vaccinated because he wanted to wait till his age range was allowed to take the vaccine.
https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-pfizer-ceovaccine/fact-check-pfizer-ceo-received-his-second-dose-of-the-covid-19-vaccine-on-march-2021-idUSL1N2PD1UX
Honestly, global political and economic power has consistently been communicated through the use of icons, symbols, and more in historical media. During World War 2, Poland was one of the first countries to be invaded by Germany, thus resulting in the spark and formation of the war. This initial move generated much Polish War propaganda, including those that persuaded its citizens to join the fight. In the following propaganda poster, a direct translation indicates the written text “For Help! Everything in the front, Everyone in the front”, with additional imagery of a group of people holding up a wall that has the enemies attempting to climb over it. The image not only symbolizes the representation of strength of the fight but the aspect in which it meant that every single hand counts for Poland’s success. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rbth.com%2Fhistory%2F329877-20-posters-from-polish-war&psig=AOvVaw2_Hv3krQb5gggC_PLR-VO1&ust=1643328727098000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCKCnodrS0PUCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
This same idea is proposed in the American “Uncle Sam” propaganda posters that were posted across the country in its efforts to recruit citizens into the war fight. The direct use of imagery depicts the fact that even though, of course, Uncle Sam does not directly know the viewer, he still directly wants whoever is viewing to engage and sign up for the war. In this irony, those who were ineligible probably, of course, could not participate such as women and young children, but the straightforward goal was for the most recruitment.
Link to Uncle Sam poster:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.archives.gov%2Fexhibits%2Fpowers-of-persuasion&psig=AOvVaw2gGI3oHWGZtwjj0wD2-0k9&ust=1643328261225000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCOiEpPzQ0PUCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAT
In social media communications, how does ânoiseâ disrupt or alter the communication process? Consider recent social or political events.
There are so many different forms of noise when it comes to social media communications, but especially in the fact that there is an immense load of misinformation across platforms that makes any information unreliable or warped to the point that it subconsciously forms specific biases in audiences. The way that I see social media as a form of communication is in the way that it consists of platforms that intend on being a hub of sharing funny, family-friendly video and image content. Of course, this is not always the case, and the evolution of social media has led to every possible avenue that shares the commonality of conveying information through photos and video. The part where the noise comes in is in the part where “news” account outlets or community/locally based account outlets spread the news of events in such warped manners that they are practically untrue. Week after week, I see news of horrible crimes occurring in the NYC boroughs, but much more often across The Bronx and Queens. Based on these accounts and the data that is shared between them and my location, my feed consists of so many posts about events that occur between these boroughs. So, thus, my feed posts after post of crimes that have occurred that result in fear, disappointment, and a range of other emotions. Living in the city, I am aware of these incidents as they are bound to happen, but seeing the noise of crime after crime further pushes me to be afraid of everything and everyone. Politically, the comments sections are found to be warzones for people finding blame for the crimes across the city, from the mayor to the boroughs themselves. While it is important to know what happens in this city, rather than having a feed of crime after crime, having infographics on public safety could be a much better alternative that makes social media much more stress-free rather than stress-inducing.