Semiotics, semiology and film
Copyright and Licensing:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
- Articles
- Submited: November 18, 2022
-
Published: November 21, 2022
Abstract
Semiotics and semiology are quite different paradigms stemming from different origins. This paper demonstrates the differences and developes C.S. Peirce's notions of Phaneroscopy, Firstness, Secondness and Thirdness, explores his notion of Interpretants and applies these to the study of film. Peirce's theory is shown to be much more adaptable than the semiology developed by Metz from de Saussure's linguistic con- cepts. Whereas Metz's theory of signs can only take account of narrative cinema, the extention of Peirce's theory proposed here is able to account for all types of cinema from narrative to abstract.
Article Metrics Graph
References
- Barthes, R. (1968) Elements of Semiology. London: Jonathan Cape.
- Barthes, R. (1973) Mythologies. London: Paladin.
- Barthes, R. (1977) Image-Music-Text. London: Fontana.
- Bettettini, G. (1973) TheLanguage and Technique of Film. The Hague: Mouton.
- Braithwaite, R.B. (1934) Review of Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce. Mind, XLIII. 487-511.
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/XLIII.172.487
- Buchler, J. (1939) The Accidents of Peirce's System. Journal of Philosophy, XXXVII, 673-689.
- Burks, A.W. (1948-1949) Icon, Index and Symbol. Philosophical and Phenomenological Research, IX, 673-689.
- https://doi.org/10.2307/2103298
- De Saussure, F. (1959) Course in General Linguistics. New York: Mc- Graw-Hill.
- Dewey, J. (1946) Peirce's Theory of Linguistic Signs, Thought and Mean- ing. Journal of Philosophy. XLIII, 85-95.
- https://doi.org/10.2307/2019493
- Eco, U. (1976) A Theory of Semiotics. London: MacMillan. Eco, U. (1977) On the Contribution of Film to Semiotics. QRFS, 2, 1-14.
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10509207709391328
- Esser, A.H. (1975) Synergy and Social Pullution in the Communal Ima- gery of Mankind. In White, J. (ed.) Frontiers of Consciousness. New York: Avon.
- Feibleman, J.K. (1940-1941) Peirce's Phaneroscopy. Philosophy and Phenomelogocal Research, 1, 208-216.
- https://doi.org/10.2307/2102740
- Fitzgerald, J.J. (1966) Peirce's Theory of Signs as Foundation for Prag-matism. The Hague: Mouton.
- Fredericksen, D. (1979) Jung/Sign/Symbol/Film. Quarterly Review of Film Studies, 4, 167-192. Harman, G. (1977) Semiotics and the Cinema: Metz and Wollen. Quar- terly Review of Film Studies, 2, 15-24.
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10509207909360992
- Hartshorne, C. and Weiss, P. (eds.) (1931-1935;1958) The Collected Pa-pers of Charles Sanders Peirce, I-IV. Vols. VII-VIII. Edited by A. Burks. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
- James, D.E. (1978) Semiology and Independent Film: A Review of Criti- cism and Theory. Quarterly Review of Film Studies, 3, 389-404.
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10509207809391411
- Jakobson, R. (1960) Style in Language. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Lotman, J. (1976) Semiotics of the Cinema. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
- Metz, C. (1974a) Film Language: A Semiotics of the Cinema. New York: OUP.
- Metz, C. (1974b) Language and Cinema. The Hague: Mouton. Morris, C.W. (1938) Peirce, Mead and Pragmatism. Philosophical Re- view, XLVII, 109-127.
- https://doi.org/10.2307/2180851
- Morris, C.W. (1946) Signs, Language and Behaviour. New York: Pren- tice Hall.
- https://doi.org/10.1037/14607-000
- Murphey, M.G. (1961) The Development of Peirce's Philosophy. Cam-bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
- Penley, C. (1975) Metz's Film Language: Semiology's Radical Possibili-ties. Jump Cut, 5.
- Quine, W.O. (1933) Review of Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, Vols. II, III and IV. Isis, XIX 220-229; also XXII (1934-1935), 286 297, 551-553.
- https://doi.org/10.1086/346931
- Shapiro, J. (1970) One Dimensionality: The Universal Semiotic of Techno- logical Experience. In Breins, P (ed.) Critical Interruptions. New York: Herder and Herder, 136-186.
- Van Zyl J.A.F. (1977) Towards a Socio-Semiology of Performance. In van Zyl, J.A.F. and Tomaselli, K.G. (eds.) Media and Change. Johannesburg: McGraw-Hill, 36-47.
- Williams, L. (1976) Hiroshima and Marienbad - Metaphor and Meto-nym. Screen, 17, 34-39.
- https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/17.1.34
- Wollen, P. (1974) Signs and Meaning in the Cinema. London: Secker and Warburg.
- Youngblood, G. (1970) Expanded Cinema. London: Studio Vista.
How to Cite
Semiotics, semiology and film. (2022). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 2(1), 42-61. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v2i1.2190
