Representation

Representation is the way people, groups, cultures and ideas are shown by the media. Media texts show us not the truth but an interpretation of the truth therefore what we are shown is not always realistic, the media makes us beleive what they want us to beleive.

Semiotics is the study of sign systems which allows us to deconstruct media texts to understand how meaning is being created.

Semiotics are a sign, the reader creates meaning for the sign unless there is already a meaning there.

The signifier is the object itself e.g a rose.

                 

The signified is what the object represents e.g love.

                                                  

Denotation is the literal meaning of a sign and connotation is the interpreted meaning of a sign or signs.
Connotation is the interpreted meaning of a sign or signs.

Polysemic-more than one meaning e.g in a dictionary one word can have more than one meaning.

Types of signs:
Iconic-those which work through resemblance (photographs)
Symbolic-thise which are learned (arbitary signs such as words)
Indexical-those which work through a casual link e.g smoke as an index of fire.