Preliminary Exercise 2: Roland Barthes' Theory of Semiotics Analysis

In Media Studies, Roland Barthes is an important name. He talked about how symbols have different meanings in our society. For example, a sign might mean something obvious, but it can also mean something deeper or emotional. Barthes also talked about how our beliefs and ideas shape these meanings. Understanding these ideas is super important when making movies. Filmmakers use signs to tell stories and convey feelings. This exercise applies Barthes' theory to a YouTube clip from Mockingjay Part 2, analyzing four codes: the Hunger Games Ceremonial Stage, Katniss’ emotionless expression, the Wedding dress on fire, and the Crowd angrily yelling. The Semiotic Analysis Table below reveals how these symbols carry nuanced connotations, illustrating the power of Barthes' theory in enriching our comprehension of media language and its storytelling impact.

Reflection

The goal of this activity was to delve into Roland Barthes' Semiotic Theory and apply it practically to a media text, in this case, a presentation. The objective was to understand how signs and symbols carry deeper meanings, and to illustrate this understanding through the analysis of a video clip from Mockingjay Part 2. For this task, I used PowerPoint, a tool I'm moderately skilled in, combining text and visuals to explain Barthes' theory and showcase its application. Me and my partner both had specific responsibilities. My partner focused on researching the theorist and his theory, while I worked on the analysis table, dissecting the chosen signs from the video clip. Through this exercise, I learned how signs, like the Hunger Games Ceremonial Stage or Katniss’ emotionless expression, could symbolize complex ideas and emotions, enriching the storytelling experience. It emphasized the importance of visual and symbolic language in media, teaching me how to interpret and convey meanings effectively, a valuable skill in the field of media studies.

Work-Cited

Fansite, T. (2014) The hunger games: Catching fire movie clip #6 - the Mockingjay appears (2013) movie HD, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM1ABOZQ8Po (Accessed: September 2023).