#structualism

In “Course in General Linguistic” and “Mythologies,” Ferdinand de Saussure and Roland Barthes set the groundwork for our studies in semiotics and structuralism.

What is the arbitrary nature of the sign, how is the sign differentiated from a symbol, and why is language the most characteristic of all sign systems?

In what ways is myth a semiological system?

Through the visual composition of "The Woman King", its image, colors, and layout (the material form) serve as signifiers to convey the message of womanly strength and empowerment. 

By the definition of Saussure, the signifier is the material and physical form of the sign, the part of the sign that our senses are able to perceive. Most likely the signifier is made up of either words, images, sounds, or even gestures–”the signifier is the acoustic image”(1). The signifier and the signified are the two key components of signs, the major difference between the two is that the signifier is not a sign of the signified. Meaning that they work together to create a sign, they are not separate concepts.

The visual elements of The Woman King contribute to the relationship between the signifier and signified. There is the image of the award-winning actress Viola Davis at the very center of this film poster. Furrowed brows and a slight tilt downwards on the side of her lips creates this stoic look full of fiery passion, but still has this tough expression that reads off as resilient and unbreakable. With her clenched fist and muscular body, she gives off the impression of a tough and mighty leader. Using the images, the signifer, seen within the poster, as a viewer, I am able to conceive the message that the woman with the brawny and powerful build is the so-called “Woman King” (mind you I have not seen the film). The symbols of power are placed all throughout the composition of the poster to signify the story of the Agojie, an all-female warrior pact that fought fearlessly for the African Kingdom of Dahomey. The colors of the poster also build upon the idea of the signifier. Colors of brown, black, orange, yellow, and gold are primarily used for the movie poster. The colors of brown and black are typically used in action and adventure films to give the poster some grittiness. That is important to note because we use that signifier to connote those colors to the concept of strength of mind. A small side note, the costuming with a tone of texture that creates this coarse and almost harsh look can also be attributed to the gritty feeling I perceive when I view the film poster. The colors of yellow and orange more or less lighten up the poster to give it some contrast and color dichotomy, but the gold of the typography is what is important to highlight. Gold is commonly associated with opulence and serves as a representation of accomplishments. To use the color gold is to signify and tie the name of the film to the movie poster!

Metz’s semiotics of cinema allows for the viewer to draw meaning from the language of cinema, we can participate as viewers through the analysis of its signifiers and signified within the poster of “The Human Stain.”

Christian Metz drew on the term “semiotics of cinema” to develop an analytical approach towards film. The definition of semiotics is the study of signs and symbols, and their communication of meaning. Metz draws on the idea that films have their own systems of signs that properly convey meaning, building upon the ideas of Roland Barthes. “The basic figures of the semiotics of the cinema—montage, camera movements, scale of the shots, relationships between the image and speech, sequences, and other large syntagmatic units—are on the whole the same in “small” films and in “big” films”(2).

In order to properly analyze a film poster through the lens of Metz, I must use a similar process of identifying signifiers through its image, colors, and typography to tie them into symbols. When I first looked over the list of movie posters, when I saw “The Human Stain” I immediately recognized the film as some sort of romance and drama. The use of the color red for the title ties red to the symbol of love, but also chaos. Red is a color that is commonly associated with the heart, but is usually used to depict madness. Through this process, I am able to distinguish the text as a signifier that produces a straightforward meaning for its audience. The composition of the poster centers on a woman with a hardened gaze wearing a sexually suggestive top and an older man with a soft look on his face. The poster exhibits a formulaic narrative element of a sexually driven young woman that reignites the spark of an older fellow. While the poster does not give off the impression of the twist in the plotline, it was able to properly code its dramatic flair with the staging of the subjects. The feelings that are being conveyed through the expressions of the actors allows for a viewer to feel for the film which provides a framework to understanding how meaning is ensued through visual aspects. 

Through the usage of the sign, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"’s signifier and the signified creates a dynamic that identifies the visual and textual elements to gain a proper understanding and analysis of the socially constructed signs within the film’s poster. 

In Saussure’s works of semiotics, he highlights the usage of the sign. “The linguistic sign unites, not a thing and a name, but a concept and a sound-image”(3). Through this, Saussure emphasizes how signs are a major contribution to the study of language and symbols, more specifically how meaning comes to be. It is important to note that a sign is arbitrary as its meaning only comes to be based on its cultural association through its two key components: the signified and the signifiers. The sign is simply cultivated by its comparison to other concepts. 

The film poster of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” perfectly depicts the genre of horror and camp. Starting with the use of red; red is connoted with the images of blood and love. Using that bright red, in contrast to the black background, the composition of the movie poster highlights its genre of horror but also lust, excitement, and flirtation. The main image of the film poster is bright cherry-red lips sensually biting the bottom lip–adding that edge to its inherent sexual nature of the film. The signifier within the poster is the image of the red bold lips that evokes almost a feeling of taboo lust, as the lips seem to be a woman’s. Red lipstick is commonly associated with the femme fatale trope that acts as a seductress. Referring back to the arbitrary nature of the sign, the associations with feminine lust and red lipstick are entirely socially constructed. In comparison to Asia, red lips were often attached to the symbol of power (although that eventually changed with time). Taking into account the typography of the movie poster, the signified also shifts meanings. The visual and textual relationship, with the blood dripping off the title of the film, are paired to create a sign that captures the genre of the film. The way in which the graphic designers chose red to tie the image and the text together to draw in on the genre, but also to invoke a particular theme. 

Through the examination of the cinematographic use of lighting and shadow, but also the textual elements of the poster, it communicates how the intentions line all works within the cinematic industry. 

Connotation, “plays a major role in all aesthetic languages, its significate is the literary or cinematographic “style,” “genre”, “symbol”, or “poetic atmosphere”—and its signifier is the whole denotated semiological material, whether signified or signifying”(4). Meaning that connotations are built upon pre-existing cultural contexts that contain specific and intentional elements to add additional meaning to the sign. 

At first glance, the lighting within the movie poster “Flatliners” is being emitted from behind the main subject of the piece of work. With that comes the dramatic flair within the poster, creating a mood and atmosphere that plays into the emotional tone of the visual design. The creators added this lighting that casts a shadow over the actors’ faces. The stylistic choice conveys a  more horror-like genre, the viewer sort of gains a feeling of eeriness and a sense of unknown with the atmospheric lighting that shifts the tone of the movie poster.  With the title of the film and its tagline “Some lines shouldn’t be crossed” interplays with each other so that the actors within the film can be seen as suspenseful but also as mysterious. The heart monitor behind the title of the film implies that there is the possibility of death and tragedy. The intentional addition of this detail is to give the audience a taste of what the movie will entail, The vagueness and the lack of information given to the audience is intentional to keep the feeling of horror alive but also thrilling. This can also be attributed to the facial expressions and poses of the actors in the poster. The intense stares and borderline glares straight into the lens of the camera, not a singular soft expression–evoking a sense of mystery.

Signified is the second element that makes up the definition of the sign; through the analysis of Saussure we are able to define the signified as the meaning we associate with the sign. The mental concept that is shaped by social definitions that surround the signifier is how we come up with the signified–that specific association. As Saussure defines “the other term of the association, the concept, which is generally more abstract”(5). 

To properly analyze the film poster for “Poltergeist,” we must distinguish the signifiers to sufficiently identify the signified. The textual elements within the poster read “They’re here.” and “It knows what scares you.” By using the term “they” and “it”, the creators remove any sense of intimacy through the vague terminology. This is implemented to communicate an eerie and suspenseful feeling to evoke emotions to the audience. 

The poster’s imagery consists of a young girl with her hands out towards a television, seemingly drawn in by its static screen. The background of the poster is this blank vastness, isolating the young girl to draw in the audience to its horror-like emotions. The lack of color is the signifier within the poster’s graphic design. The signified is the mental concept of the role of the little girl in the film, and the grayish hues are also the signified. By primarily using a monochrome color palette, attention is drawn towards the girl. There is a contrast of light and dark, these signs are typically messaged as good and evil or even life and death. The signified thus being the symbol for these dichotomies. Also, the mood associated with this lack of color is typically shown in horror genres, but as well as evoking a sense of mystery and drama. Lastly, the static screen is the signifier and the meaning that is conveyed, a static screen is commonly associated with the idea of no connection to the outside world (a feeling of isolation), is the signified within the movie poster. 

Ferdinand de Saussure. Course in General Linguistics. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966, 67.

2. Metz, Christian. "Some Points in the Semiotics of Cinema" in Film Theory and Criticism, 68. Edited by Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

3. Saussure

4. Metz

As audiences and consumers we look for “signs.” Signs allow us to understand if we will enjoy something – a book, film, product, etc. – even before we begin. While this may fall into the category of judging something by its appearance, creators and artists purposefully use these signs to lure in the correct audience to whom they want to consume it. In Ronald Barthes’ “Mythologies,” he describes the sign as “ambiguous: it remains on the surface, yet does not for all that give up the attempt to pass itself off as depth. It aims at making people understand (which is laudable) but at the same time suggests that it is spontaneous (which is cheating); it presents itself at once as intentional and irrepressible, artificial and natural, manufactured and discovered” (1). Looking at the poster from the film Poltergeist (1982), for example, the designers used key signs to draw horror fans in. Posters are a classic example of advertising and utilizing specific language to bring excitement to your project.  The first example is the dark color scheme used, with everything in black and white. It almost seems that there is a spotlight on the focal point of the poster. The eerie glow from the television screen illuminates a young child with its hands pressed upon it. The audience doesn’t know what the meaning of the child or the television screen are yet, but they know that they will contribute to the horror. The words on the screen are also purposefully utilized as signifiers of a creepy horror film. The quote on the top reads, “They’re here.” Immediately, audiences begin to wonder who this is referring to, who is saying it, and what the significance of the line is. Finally, the words at the bottom “It knows what scares you.” Again, who or what is the “it” referring to in this sentence? These phrases were chosen carefully because it is a sign that points to intrigue and intense horror. Even the smallest of details in the poster are signs, for example, the stuffed animal bunny lying next to the little girl. Audiences can recognize that eerie feeling of a child getting involved in something bad and the loss of innocence to come. 

Similar to signs, audiences have the ability to recognize the significance of a “shot.” A shot is the film's basic unit – neither symbolic nor arbitrary, but iconic. As Christian Metz writes in “Some Points in the Semiotics of the Cinema,” “If the shot is not the smallest unit of filmic signification (for a single shot may convey several informational elements), it is at least the smallest unit of the filmic chain” (2). He explains that a shot can provide a statement even though one shot does not translate to a sentence in the filmic language. A sequence of shots tells a story but one shot itself can provide important information to its story. For example, the film Catch Me If You Can (2002) shows a classic “shot” on its poster - Hanks’ character (the cop) chasing DiCaprio’s character (the criminal) in a blur. While this exact shot may not be in the film, the specific image of the blurry chase is iconic to the film. If people want to remember the film, they can think of that one shot. While the shot itself does not tell a whole story (it does not say the reason Hanks’ character is chasing DiCaprio’s, it does not give the time, place, or premise of the film) it provides a small snapshot of information, providing a small story in itself. The composition of the shot is also important to its significance. Hanks’ character is right behind Dicaprio’s, almost catching up, alluding to the suspense of the chase. The two characters are visibly running quickly which also could allude to the fast pace of the film. Thus, this shot on the poster is descriptive of the film and is another tool to draw audiences in. 

The “shot” contributes to the filmic narrative told through a poster. The filmic narrative refers to the narrative or story told through visuals, sound, or anything else in a film contributing to its overall story. Christian Metz writes about how parts of the film that create the filmic narrative are a form of language: “the function of these different procedures in relation to the filmic narrative, and thereby unify them up to a certain point in a coherent “syntax” (3). This refers to how visuals function as words in a sentence to provide a specific message. In the case of the poster for The Woman King (2022), this concept is by the visual composition of the poster transcending mere aesthetics, and instead, serving as a visual for the film's narrative. The protagonists are in a formidable battle stance, symbolizing the spirit of female warriors embarking on a quest for triumphs. The strategic utilization of lighting accentuates not only the physical prowess of these women but also the backdrop against which their story unfolds. Also, subtle nuances within the poster offer glimpses into the broader narrative landscape. The faint presence of secondary characters lurking in the background hints at the intricate web of alliances and adversaries that shape the journey of the film. This juxtaposition of figures not only underscores the solidarity of the protagonists' support network but also foreshadows the looming threats they must confront.The poster for The Woman King transcends its role as a mere promotional tool; it encapsulates the essence of the film's narrative. 

Within every narrative, there are visible connotations that audiences perceive as something with an easily identifiable meaning. Christian Metz defines “connotation” as the meanings that audiences take away from images in a film. Connotations add depth to a visual text and allow audiences to engage with it further. “In American gangster movies where, for example, the slick pavement of the waterfront distills an impression of anxiety and hardness (significate of the connotation), the scene represented (dimly lit, deserted wharves, with stacks of crates and overhead cranes, the significate of denotation), and the technique of the shooting, which is dependent on the effects of lighting in order to produce a certain picture of the docks (signifier of denotation), converge to form the signifier of connotation” (4). In the poster for The Human Stain (2003), visuals allow the viewer to make quick assumptions and associations about the nature of the film. The eye is drawn immediately to Kidman’s character, who’s strap falls off her shoulder and a lot of her skin is exposed. Her facial expression is sensual and mysterious, which can have a sexual connotation for audiences to understand the sensual or dramatic nature of the film. Additionally, the lighting on Hopkins’ character is dark, alluding to his struggle or conflict that has to do with Kidman’s. Both these tools – the lighting of the shot and the exposure of skin in the poster – are ways that audiences can take meaning and identify certain aspects of the film before they see it. It rings very similar to the previous terms because it is another way that we subconsciously judge if the art will be pleasurable to us before we consume it. 

Diegesis is another tool used in art and film posters to understand the film before you watch it. Diegesis in film is the creation of the fictional world, and on a poster, it is the visibility of that world before we are even transported into it. Metz describes diegesis as “the fictional space and time dimensions implied in and by the narrative, and consequently the characters, the landscapes, the events, and other narrative elements” (5). For example, in the poster for Porgy and Bess (1959), looking at the poster immediately transports us into the world the film takes place in. The backdrop of the poster shows an old-timey-village-like atmosphere, which one can assume is an important environment for the film’s story/fictional world. A straw of hay circles around the main title, and one’s mind can immediately think of a Western. From this one object, the world is created and thus expectations for the film’s world are created at the same time. Additionally, the characters shown on the poster immediately tell us the type of world they are in. All characters are dressed in fancy clothing, immediately setting the fictional world as a high-class society. The woman seems to have power and control over two men with a smile on her face, showing the world as a romance over a horror or something too dramatic. The village housing in the back, the construction of the characters, and the visuals used on the poster all contribute to the diegesis of the film from the poster’s advertisement. 

Works cited: 

Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. Translated by Annette Lavers. New York: Hill and Wang, 1972.

Christian Metz, “Some Points in the Semiotics of the Cinema” in Film Theory and Criticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009)

Christian Metz, “Some Points in the Semiotics of the Cinema” in Film Theory and Criticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009)

Christian Metz, “Some Points in the Semiotics of the Cinema” in Film Theory and Criticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009)

Christian Metz, “Some Points in the Semiotics of the Cinema” in Film Theory and Criticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009)

Shot: 

The “shot” in film is a series of frames in continuous action without a cut between them. Regarding semiology, “the ‘shot’—an already complex unit, which must be studied—remains an indispensable reference for the time being, in somewhat the same way that the “word” was during a period of linguistic research,” (1) meaning that it is a building block for the filmic language essential for understanding the semiology of cinema. 

The poster for the 2007 film Talk To Me incorporates several different shots. While the poster as a medium, unlike film, lacks the ability to show a moving, “alive” sequence, this poster attempts to convey multiple different points of information through the presentation of several locations and characters. While Metz concludes that there are other optical devices within cinema that can convey information, (2) the only one translatable to the poster is the shot. This poster frames characters in different shot sizes, suggesting a difference in importance between those with a larger frame that is close-up compared to those with a smaller frame that shows less detail. Additionally, the inclusion of a shot of the Capitol building from a skewn angle is an effective use of the mechanics of the shot in order to portray a disorder created at that specific location. More detailed shots taken directly from the film are present on the poster, but are difficult to see due to the distortion in their shape and their size relative to other shots, proving somewhat ineffective in providing insight into specific visuals from the film. The shots of the characters were taken outside of the context of the film, likely for promotional purposes, which fails to place these characters into the context of the narrative. These shots convey considerably less information than shots from the film, which may have been purposeful in order to not overstimulate the viewer of the poster and instead cause them to wonder what happens to the characters throughout the course of the story.

Myth: 

“Myth” refers to the framework and value given to a specific sign based on both the way it is delivered and the external and pre-acknowledged factors that surround its reception. Barthes writes that “Myth is a type of speech,” (3) and that it is defined “by the way in which it utters this message,” (4) meaning that its communicative significance lies in the form in which it is implemented.

The poster for the 1959 film “Porgy and Bess” depicts three black characters in what seems to be a western town. With the predisposed mythology I’ve acquired from knowledge of cinematic history, it seems that this film may be an unfair, caricatured representation of people of color in the American west. In 1959, the film industry (as well as the country) still carried heavy racial prejudice, and it was often carried out through a negative depiction of people of color in films. Barthes writes that “all the materials of myth presuppose a signifying consciousness.” (5) Applied to this poster, the depiction of a man on his knees in front of a woman walking proudly and confidently reminds me of films such as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Grease, and Moulin Rouge! in which a male protagonist spends the whole film attempting to win the approval of a woman, giving me a clue as to what the narrative may be like. In the background, Sammy Davis Jr.’s character in a yellow suit with white gloves and a cane elicits a myth of showmanship, as my previous knowledge of Sammy Davis Jr. as a stage performer along with the connotations of his costume assume such a persona. In many films from the 1950s, there is a side character present for comedic relief and support for the protagonist. Davis Jr.’s character seems to be just that, suggested by his presence behind both of the other characters on the poster and by my preconceived notions of him and his costume.

Semiotics of the Cinema: 

The semiotics of the cinema refers to the language of which cinema is constructed, using visual signs and signifiers in relation to one another in order to construct a narrative. Metz writes that “the semiotics of the cinema must frequently consider things from the point of view of spectator rather than of filmmaker,” (6) meaning that the cinematic language should be built in a way that makes it easiest for the audience to understand. 

The film Conquered City came out in 1962, six years before Metz’s Some Points In the Semiotics of the Cinema was written. While the concept of cinema as a semiotic language had not yet existed, the film’s poster still employs concepts and ideas that Metz would define afterward. Metz’s notion that in order to make the most effective film the filmmakers must heavily consider the perspective of the audience is strongly utilized in this poster’s design. (7) The tagline uses dramatic language and an exclamation point to build a simplified tension, the exact type of tension it predicts its audiences are looking for in the film. “David Niven vs. Ben Gazzara” in big letters emphasizes the presence of the two actors, using them as a draw for audiences. In that time, and even now, a lot of people went to see movies based on who acted in them. The film is capitalizing on this by displaying the star-studded cast above anything else, in order to drive the most sales (in contrast, director Joseph Anthony’s name is barely visible at the bottom of the poster). Because this film was released before the concept of the semiotics of cinema was established, it fails to capitalize on the effectiveness of the “shot” and its similarity to the effectiveness of the word in linguistics. (8) Only one shot is present on the poster, and its size is diminished compared to that of the actors. While it does introduce the romanticism that is present in the film, a romanticism that will likely draw audiences, the poster designers could’ve used more shots in order to make the poster more emotionally effective. 

Cinematic Language:

The Language System is a structure of individual units where each unit’s importance is based on its relationship with the units around it. Saussure defines it as “a system of interdependent terms in which the value of each term results solely from the simultaneous presence of the others.” (9) The building blocks of this language are units that can stand in for another unit, or units that can have value through being put in relation with one another. Saussure writes that language is always composed of “a dissimilar thing that can be exchanged for the thing of which value is determined” (10) and of “similar things that can be compared with the thing of which the value is to be determined.” (11)

The poster for the 1990 film Nuns on the Run serves as an example of how visual language can be used to elicit a certain tone within the viewer. The terms of the wanted poster and the actual nuns themselves placed in juxtaposition with one another signifies an irony, as they should be in jail while they are clearly out in the open air. This also clearly outlines the film’s main plotline. Barthes writes that signs can be indicative of moral feeling, (12) an internal emotion signified by an external visual. Here, the worried and alert faces of the men dressed in nun costumes utilizes the language system to signify their sinister intentions, as well as the actors’ over-caricatured portrayal of emotions. Saussure claims that language is assimilated by the individual, (13) which means that the signification each individual receives a sign with can be unique. One can view this poster as a crime thriller, not taking in the comedic nature of the taglines or aware of actor Eric Idle’s background as a comedian. Yet, “language is concrete,” (14) meaning that while people may have different interpretations of the sign, the sign itself does not change: each reproduction of the poster contains the same information. Saussure further writes that “in language there are only differences,” (15) and this is on display with the difference in the visual depiction of both protagonists in their mugshot versus them in the nun costume. Without the mug shots, one might assume that they are actually nuns, or have no reason to think they’re not other than their gender. But in conversation with the nun poster, their true characterization is more apparent.

Signified:

What is signified, also known as the “concept,” (16) is the internal meaning that a sign unlocks within the recipient, a signal of what the sign means. For example, the sign of a stop sign leads to the concept of one stopping at the stop sign. Saussure writes that “the bond between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary,” (17) in that it is up to the interpretation of each individual as they receive the sign. 

The poster for the 1997 film Jackie Brown contains a multitude of signs that create concepts in the mind of the viewer. Because of the uniqueness of each individual’s signification of signs, I am only able to speak for the connotations that I myself receive from the poster. Firstly, the presence of guns signifies the concept of the “gun”, which I associate with violence. This signification is reinforced by my knowledge of director Quentin Tarantino’s work and its bloody nature. The concept of the title in stylish red-and-yellow letters contains a connotation of retroness, leading me to infer that the film either takes place in the 1970s or, like the letters of the poster, is simply created in the style of the 1970s. On their own, the two crumpled bills at the bottom don’t allude to a large amount of money, but that image in relation to the “half a million in cash” described at the top of the poster creates an image in my mind of a large duffel bag full of money, the concept of “wealth”. The fact that the poster mentions Christmas leads me to infer that the film itself takes place during the holiday season. This is a clever marketing trick, in that it could lead one to associate the concept of the film “Jackie Brown'' with the concept of “Christmas”, making them more likely to watch it during that time. Lastly, the depiction of the characters in sleek black-and-white photography alludes to the concept of the black and white visuals, which I connect to the noir film, leading me to infer that this film will be a mystery or a thriller.

(1) Christian Metz, “Some Points in the Semiotics of the Cinema” in Film Theory and Criticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 70

(2) Metz, Semiotics of the Cinema, 71

(3) Roland Barthes, Mythologies, trans. Annette Lavers (New York: The Noonday Press, 1972), 107

(4) Barthes, Mythologies, 107

(5) Barthes, Mythologies, 108

(6) Metz, Semiotics of the Cinema, 69

(7) Metz, Semiotics of the Cinema, 69

(8) Metz, Semiotics of the Cinema, 70

(9) Ferdinand de Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, trans. Wade Baskin (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1915) 114

(10) Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, 115

(11) Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, 115

(12) Barthes, Mythologies, 26

(13) Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, 14

(14) Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, 15

(15) Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, 120

(16) Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, 66

(17) Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, 67