1/28/2004   slide 38
Inherent Limits of Semiotics
•Is a system for investigating how meaning is produced, doesn’t tell us what the meaning is
•Doesn’t offer design guidelines or tools for image creation
•Visual world may not follow linguistic model (difference between image and text)
–No way to determine which exact parts and relationships of images constitute “signs” (always subjective, always have polysemy—multiple meanings for any one sign)
–No end to layers of sign-signifieds (although endings seem to happen naturally in practice)
–visual signs may not all be merely conventions, as claimed
•Conclusions drawn from single image or image-genre about larger gender or power relations can be misguided (e.g., women in advertising)
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