Semiotic Analysis of 'Enchanted' Film Poster.
iii Maranatha Christian University
ABSTRACT
Tugas akhir ini membahas tentang unsur-unsur Semiotik, signifier dan signified yang terdapat dalam Enchanted film poster. Setelah analisis signifier dan
signified dilakukan maka ditemukan kesesuaian antara setiap elemen yang terkandung di dalam poster dengan konsep yang telah ditemukan.
Dalam poster ini ditemukan dua konsep yang bertolak belakang satu sama lain yaitu dongeng dan kenyataan. Konsep dongeng berbicara tentang hal-hal yang berhubungan dengan imajinasi manusia, sedangkan konsep kenyataan berbicara tentang hal-hal yang benar-benar nyata keberadaannya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.
Setelah diketemukan banyak perbedaan antara konsep dongeng dan kenyataan, terdapat pula persamaan di antara kedua elemen yang disuguhkan dalam poster. Kedua pemeran utama dalam film digambarkan sebagai manusia nyata dan memiliki ukuran yang lebih besar dari pada elemen lain yang ada di dalamnya. Dibantu dengan teori dari Kress dan van Leeuwen, maka diketahuilah bahwa pembuat poster bermaksud menyatakan bahwa baik dongeng maupun kenyataan keduanya bersandar pada kenyataan.
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ii Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . i
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . ii
ABSTRACT . . . iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study . . . 1
Statement of the Problem . . . 4
Purpose of the Study . . . 4
Method of Research . . . 4
Organization of the Thesis . . . 4
CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK . . . 5
CHAPTER THREE: SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF ENCHANTED FILM POSTER . . . 9
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION . . . 28
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . 32
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1 Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Everybody in this world needs language to communicate their feelings, ideas and creativity. Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), a Swiss linguist, stated that language is “the most important of all of the system of signs.” (Chandler 12). This statement comes from an understanding that language is a communication system. It means, what we use to communicate with others is language, and every language has a sign system in it. Language does not only concern verbal conversations we have in our daily life – either directly as talking face to face or indirectly, through a cell phone or radio as the media for people to get information, but also nonverbal communications such body gestures, clothing, and posture can be considered as language. (Hawkes 101)
People can also communicate their feelings and ideas using non-verbal language in order to attract attention, or to get a better understanding from others. For example, diagrams or pictures are usually easier to understand than verbal explanations (Colbert 140). Sometimes a visual image is also used to give an
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indirect message. Thus, people have to think what the hidden message is. Examples of visual communication are seen in the forms of posters, advertisements, and covers of books, film, and album.
In this thesis I choose semiotics as the general science of signs to find the meanings that exist in a sign. The data source of this thesis will be analyzed based on the Saussurean theory about Signifier and Signified. Both of the signifier and
signified make what is called a sign. A signifier is a concrete form, or a physical form of a sign. It is something which our five senses can recognize, something which can be seen, touched, heard, smelled or tasted while a signified is a concept, a mental construction about what signifier is. Signified does not talk about a thing, but the notion of a thing. The same signifier could stand for a different signified according to the process of thinking which happens to everyone (Chandler 17). Roman Jakobson suggested a general principle:
Every message is made of signs; correspondingly, the science of signs termed semiotic deals with those general principles which underlie the structure of all signs whatever and with the character of their utilization within messages, as well as with the specifics of the various sign systems, and of the diverse messages using those different kinds of signs. (Hawkes 102).
Based on that principle, it is possible for me to find the hidden meaning in every sign more than what is written or illustrated through a semiotic analysis. For example, we can understand and read the situation when an advertisement is published. Besides, through a semiotic analysis, we can also see what the film poster tells us about the story before we watch it.
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In this thesis I choose Enchanted film poster as a sign because compared with the other posters, this poster has a tagline that describes the situations which happen in the movie. This film poster has some features of fairytale and reality, it combines animated and non-animated pictures in its visualization. This poster is one of the advertising media that brings Enchanted movie won the ASCAP Award as Top Box Office Film, and Critics Choice Award as Best Family Film.
In addition to using Saussure’s theory, I will analyze the sign using Kress and van Leeuwen's reading image theory. According to this theory, we can analyze a visual image by reading its grammar and vocabulary. The vocabulary of an image is about the denotation and the connotation meaning in an image (Colbert 143) while the grammar of image is the arrangement of image composition, and the relationship between people or objects in the picture represented (144).
I hope people who read this thesis especially the English Department students, who take the same topic for their theses, will have more understanding how to analyze a sign using a signification process. I also hope the reader of this thesis will find some information about the elements of fairytale and reality in
Enchanted film poster. Furthermore, I hope this thesis can help the readers who want to make a drama or a film advertisement, especially those who want to take fairytale or reality concept for their poster, to create a more interesting and meaningful poster for their viewers.
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1.2Statement of the Problem
In this thesis I would like to analyze the following problems: 1. What semiotic elements are found in Enchanted film poster? 2. What is the sign system of Enchanted film poster?
1.3Purpose of the Study
There are some purposes in doing this research:
1. To find out the semiotic elements in Enchanted film poster.
2. To show the sign system of Enchanted film poster.
1.4 Method of Research
In doing this study, at first I look for the data, and choose Enchanted film poster to be analyzed. Then I do the library research and Internet browsing to find the theory I will use to support my research. Finally, I write the research report.
1.5Organization of the thesis
The first chapter is Introduction, which consists of Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Method of Research, and Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is Theoretical Framework and Chapter Three contains Semiotic Analysis of Enchanted film poster. Chapter Four is the conclusion of this research. Finally, this thesis ends with Bibliography and Appendix.
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
In this chapter I will provide a conclusion of the study based on my research in the previous chapter. In this chapter I will also give my comments about my findings and give some suggestion for the readers and the other researchers who might be interested to make a research related to Semiotic, media and the concept of fairytale and reality.
The purpose of this study is to find out the semiotic elements, the signifier and signified that appears in Enchanted film poster, and also to show the sign system in the poster. In my research I find out that Enchanted film poster has two types of signifiers, the first is textual signifiers and the second is visual signifiers. There are 4 textual signifiers and fifteen visual signifiers appear in the film poster. After analyzing the signifier and signified I continue with finding how the signifiers can reveal the concept of fairytale or reality. I find that the signifiers in
Enchanted film poster presents the concept of fairytale or reality differently. Most of them show that they are related with the concept of fairytale.
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29 Maranatha Christian University In doing my research I find that the tagline of Enchanted film poster give a clue related to the visual signifiers, and the title Enchanted is related with concept of fairytale. Two of visual signifiers which are the name of the production house and the additional information are not related to the concept fairytale or reality. When analyzing the visual signifier I also find that in the concept of fairytale is drawn at the left side of the poster and the concept of reality is drawn at the right side. This is fit with Kress and van Leeuwen theory of theme and rheme as in the tagline fairytale is mention first than reality, so do the visual signifiers.
The fairytale side in this film poster involves the woman and the castle, while the reality side involves man and the city view. The concept of fairytale also can be found in the appearance of the animals in the poster. The concept of fairytale is also shown by the magical substance such as the sparkling stars around the woman’s hand.
In doing this research I find that the fairytale element is something which is adapted from something which has been exist in the reality, but it is developed as the creativity in somebody’s mind to become something new, which has not been there before. For examples are the castle, the blue birds, and the squirrel. As it has been analyzed in chapter three that the fairytale castle is inspired by Neuschwanstein castle, the blue bird is inspired by Sialia Currucoides, the squirrel and the princess and the sky are also available and exist in the real world. Besides, the fairytale side is shown through something adapted from the real world, the concept of reality in Enchanted poster is shown by the portrait of something which already exist. For examples are the New York City view and the man’s style.
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30 Maranatha Christian University After doing this research, I also find that the small aspects in every element in a film poster can show the concept of fairytale and reality too. Like the woman dress color in the woman, the color purple in the castle roof, the white wall and the brick road in the castle which is related to the concept of fairytale. The small aspects like the man outfit and its color which support the concept of reality. In the city view there is also the Empire State Building, pedestrian crossing, cars which are related to the concept of reality.
In conclusion the Enchanted film poster has featured two different concepts in it, which are the fairytale and reality. Eight visual signifiers carry the concept of fairytale and five visual signifiers carry the concept of reality. From all of the nineteen signifiers in the film poster, only two textual signifiers which do not carry the concept of fairytale nor reality. They are the name of the production house, and the additional information. This is related with Kress and van Leeuwen’s theory which says that the size can affect the importance of something. This text is typed with very small font sizes, thus these textual signifier is not important and do not have relation with the concept taken.
The concept of fairytale in the film poster shows the idea that fairytale is something imaginary, it comes from people imagination, and it involves imaginary creatures. Fairytale also involves magic in its story. Moreover, the concept of reality in the film poster shows the idea that reality is the actual condition of things. It is not imaginary, and truly exists.
The fact that some signifiers belong to fairytale or the imaginary world does not mean they are actually separated from the real world. On the contrary,
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31 Maranatha Christian University the so-called imaginary signifiers are also part of reality. As a result, I come to realize that there is always reality behind anything imaginary.
As it has been said before that there are the two concepts in Enchanted
film poster. It is quite interesting to analyze and make the comparison between the two elements found. But I suggest the readers or researchers who are interested to take the same topic, advertisements, or the concept of fairytale and reality to find a data in one concept. Thus, the analysis of the data will be more significant and focus. After finding the one data, the researcher might take another data with another concept to be analyzed and compared with.
I also suggest that the researcher who wants to take the same topic provides the research with an up-to-date resources or literary works that discuss semiotic, fairytale, or reality in it. This will help the readers to find something new for their knowledge.
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32 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“10 things to see in New York City.” Resapiens. reSabi Media, 2012. Web. 6 October 2014.
"A fairy story/fairytale." Def. 1. Cambridge International Dictionary of English. 1995. Print.
"Awards for Enchanted (2007)". IMDb. N.d. Web. 18 April 2013.
Blanks, Tim. “DKNY Fall 2007 Menswear.” Fashion Show Finder. Style.com. 4 February 2007. Web. 6 October 2014.
Caviness, Oyama. The Castle behind Disney’s Castle. Orange County Register Communications, 2014. Web. 5 October 2014.
Chandler, Daniel. Semiotic for Beginners. Aberystwyth: University of Wales, 1994. Print.
Characteristic of Fairy Tales. N.p. n.d. Web. 6 October 2014
Colbert, John. Intercultural Approaches to English Languange Teaching. Great Britain: Cromwell Press, 2003. Print.
“Courtyard.” 'Mad' King Ludwig's fairytale castle. N.p. N.d. Web. 11 October 2014.
“Discovering Fairytales.” Myths, Folktales and Fairy Tales. N.p. n.d
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33 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
“Earth and Sky Symbols.” Symbology. Inspired Planet. n.d. Web. 5 October 2014
“Enchant,” def. 1 Cambridge International Dictionary of English. 1995. Print.
“Enchanted (2007).” OtsoNY. On the Set of New York, 2014. Web. 27 August 2014.
“Enchanted” Movie Wall- Movie Posters, Wallpapers & Trailers. Movie Wall, 2008. Web. 3 March 2013.
Enchanted Poster Enchanted. Online Image Arcade. n.d. Web. 23 February 2013.
“Eternal Granite Stone Blocks.” Extraction and Processing of Granite, Products of Granite. 27 February 2009. Web. 29 October 2014.
“Fashion History.” Love to Know Fashion History. Love to Know Crop, 2014. Web. 15 October 2014.
Freeman, Margot. “How Squirrels Communicate with Their Species.” Animals.
Demand Media. n.d. Web. 6 October 2014.
Hawkes, Terence. Structuralism and Semiotics. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print.
“HTML Color Codes and Names.” Computer Hope. Computer Hope, 2014. Web.
14 Oktober 2014.
“Interesting Facts about Squirrels.” Vivapets. Memória Visual. 17 October 2008. Web. 6 October 2014.
Lazarin, Jay. NYC Intersections, Pedestrians Crossing 34th St & 7th Avenue,
Manhattan.iStock. 6 September 2012. Web. 7 October 2014
“Mountain Bluebird – Sialia currucoides.” Nature Works. New Hampshire Public Television, 2014. Web. 6 October 2014.
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34 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
“New York City, NY-Your Day, Your Way.” Bus Trips. Mansenfield University. n.d. Web. 18 March 2013
“Real,” def. 1. Cambridge International Dictionary of English. 1995. Print.
“Sparkling Glitter Bling Stars” Magic, Spells & Potions. N.p. n.d. Web. 7 Oktober 2014.
Strinati, Dominic. An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. London: Routledge, 2004. Print.
“The Color Blue.” Empower Yourself with Color Psychology.
Empower-Yourself-with-Color-Psychology.com. n.d. Web. 13 Oktober 2014.
“The Color Purple and The Color Violet.” Empower Yourself with Color Psychology. Empower-Yourself-with-Color-Psychology.com. n.d. Web. 13 Oktober 2014.
“The Color Story of Teal.” The Jewelry Hut. N.p. n.d. Web. 28 Oktober 2014.
The Walt Disney Studios.Disney.com. n.d. Web. 03 Maret 2013.
Zimmerman, Zimmerman. “A DRAFT History of Bluebirds and Bluebirding.”
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29 Maranatha Christian University In doing my research I find that the tagline of Enchanted film poster give a clue related to the visual signifiers, and the title Enchanted is related with concept of fairytale. Two of visual signifiers which are the name of the production house and the additional information are not related to the concept fairytale or reality. When analyzing the visual signifier I also find that in the concept of fairytale is drawn at the left side of the poster and the concept of reality is drawn at the right side. This is fit with Kress and van Leeuwen theory of theme and rheme as in the tagline fairytale is mention first than reality, so do the visual signifiers.
The fairytale side in this film poster involves the woman and the castle, while the reality side involves man and the city view. The concept of fairytale also can be found in the appearance of the animals in the poster. The concept of fairytale is also shown by the magical substance such as the sparkling stars around the woman’s hand.
In doing this research I find that the fairytale element is something which is adapted from something which has been exist in the reality, but it is developed as the creativity in somebody’s mind to become something new, which has not been there before. For examples are the castle, the blue birds, and the squirrel. As it has been analyzed in chapter three that the fairytale castle is inspired by Neuschwanstein castle, the blue bird is inspired by Sialia Currucoides, the squirrel and the princess and the sky are also available and exist in the real world. Besides, the fairytale side is shown through something adapted from the real world, the concept of reality in Enchanted poster is shown by the portrait of something which already exist. For examples are the New York City view and the man’s style.
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30 Maranatha Christian University After doing this research, I also find that the small aspects in every element in a film poster can show the concept of fairytale and reality too. Like the woman dress color in the woman, the color purple in the castle roof, the white wall and the brick road in the castle which is related to the concept of fairytale. The small aspects like the man outfit and its color which support the concept of reality. In the city view there is also the Empire State Building, pedestrian crossing, cars which are related to the concept of reality.
In conclusion the Enchanted film poster has featured two different concepts in it, which are the fairytale and reality. Eight visual signifiers carry the concept of fairytale and five visual signifiers carry the concept of reality. From all of the nineteen signifiers in the film poster, only two textual signifiers which do not carry the concept of fairytale nor reality. They are the name of the production house, and the additional information. This is related with Kress and van Leeuwen’s theory which says that the size can affect the importance of something. This text is typed with very small font sizes, thus these textual signifier is not important and do not have relation with the concept taken.
The concept of fairytale in the film poster shows the idea that fairytale is something imaginary, it comes from people imagination, and it involves imaginary creatures. Fairytale also involves magic in its story. Moreover, the concept of reality in the film poster shows the idea that reality is the actual condition of things. It is not imaginary, and truly exists.
The fact that some signifiers belong to fairytale or the imaginary world does not mean they are actually separated from the real world. On the contrary,
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31 Maranatha Christian University the so-called imaginary signifiers are also part of reality. As a result, I come to realize that there is always reality behind anything imaginary.
As it has been said before that there are the two concepts in Enchanted film poster. It is quite interesting to analyze and make the comparison between the two elements found. But I suggest the readers or researchers who are interested to take the same topic, advertisements, or the concept of fairytale and reality to find a data in one concept. Thus, the analysis of the data will be more significant and focus. After finding the one data, the researcher might take another data with another concept to be analyzed and compared with.
I also suggest that the researcher who wants to take the same topic provides the research with an up-to-date resources or literary works that discuss semiotic, fairytale, or reality in it. This will help the readers to find something new for their knowledge.
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32 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“10 things to see in New York City.” Resapiens. reSabi Media, 2012. Web. 6 October 2014.
"A fairy story/fairytale." Def. 1. Cambridge International Dictionary of English. 1995. Print.
"Awards for Enchanted (2007)". IMDb. N.d. Web. 18 April 2013.
Blanks, Tim. “DKNY Fall 2007 Menswear.” Fashion Show Finder. Style.com. 4 February 2007. Web. 6 October 2014.
Caviness, Oyama. The Castle behind Disney’s Castle. Orange County Register Communications, 2014. Web. 5 October 2014.
Chandler, Daniel. Semiotic for Beginners. Aberystwyth: University of Wales, 1994. Print.
Characteristic of Fairy Tales. N.p. n.d. Web. 6 October 2014
Colbert, John. Intercultural Approaches to English Languange Teaching. Great Britain: Cromwell Press, 2003. Print.
“Courtyard.” 'Mad' King Ludwig's fairytale castle. N.p. N.d. Web. 11 October 2014.
“Discovering Fairytales.” Myths, Folktales and Fairy Tales. N.p. n.d Web. 03 Maret 2013.
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33 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
“Earth and Sky Symbols.” Symbology. Inspired Planet. n.d. Web. 5 October 2014 “Enchant,” def. 1 Cambridge International Dictionary of English. 1995. Print. “Enchanted (2007).” OtsoNY. On the Set of New York, 2014. Web. 27 August
2014.
“Enchanted” Movie Wall- Movie Posters, Wallpapers & Trailers. Movie Wall, 2008. Web. 3 March 2013.
Enchanted Poster Enchanted. Online Image Arcade. n.d. Web. 23 February 2013. “Eternal Granite Stone Blocks.” Extraction and Processing of Granite, Products
of Granite. 27 February 2009. Web. 29 October 2014.
“Fashion History.” Love to Know Fashion History. Love to Know Crop, 2014. Web. 15 October 2014.
Freeman, Margot. “How Squirrels Communicate with Their Species.” Animals.
Demand Media. n.d. Web. 6 October 2014.
Hawkes, Terence. Structuralism and Semiotics. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print.
“HTML Color Codes and Names.” Computer Hope. Computer Hope, 2014. Web. 14 Oktober 2014.
“Interesting Facts about Squirrels.” Vivapets. Memória Visual. 17 October 2008. Web. 6 October 2014.
Lazarin, Jay. NYC Intersections, Pedestrians Crossing 34th St & 7th Avenue, Manhattan. iStock. 6 September 2012. Web. 7 October 2014
“Mountain Bluebird – Sialia currucoides.” Nature Works. New Hampshire Public Television, 2014. Web. 6 October 2014.
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34 Universitas Kristen Maranatha
“New York City, NY-Your Day, Your Way.” Bus Trips. Mansenfield University. n.d. Web. 18 March 2013
“Real,” def. 1. Cambridge International Dictionary of English. 1995. Print. “Sparkling Glitter Bling Stars” Magic, Spells & Potions. N.p. n.d. Web. 7 Oktober
2014.
Strinati, Dominic. An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. London: Routledge, 2004. Print.
“The Color Blue.” Empower Yourself with Color Psychology. Empower-Yourself-with-Color-Psychology.com. n.d. Web. 13 Oktober 2014.
“The Color Purple and The Color Violet.” Empower Yourself with Color Psychology. Empower-Yourself-with-Color-Psychology.com. n.d. Web. 13 Oktober 2014.
“The Color Story of Teal.” The Jewelry Hut. N.p. n.d. Web. 28 Oktober 2014. The Walt Disney Studios.Disney.com. n.d. Web. 03 Maret 2013.
Zimmerman, Zimmerman. “A DRAFT History of Bluebirds and Bluebirding.” Sialis. Sialis, 2013. Web. 5 October 2014.