Semiotics is the study of signs, where a sign is defined as anything that has a meaning. Complicated ways of saying obvious things are a big part of semiotics. Semiotics is a part of "cultural theory." This includes, pop culture, advertisements, and much more. Anything can become the subject of analysis and have its meaning dissected and described. Here are a few French theorists such as ‘Derrida, Barthes’, ‘Deleuze’, ‘Guattari’, ‘Baudrillard’, and so on.
Ideology translates to the science or study of ideas. However, ideology tends to refer to the way in which people think about the world and their ideal concept of how to live in the world. The term was coined first by the French philosopher, Count Destutt de Tracy, who used the term in the 1700s to describe the more specific definition of the science of ideas. Today the term ideology is used in so many ways, that it is often difficult to know how to describe it.
Both of these images show connotations of destruction in America, and both show disturbing and shocking views of America.
The first image shows the statue of liberty, which in America, is a symbol of their independence and hope. But this changes when you look to the background and see the construction of the 9/11 attack. The September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others.
The image is contradicting it’s self, as Ellis island where the statue of liberty stands, is where foreigners use to get off the boat from other countries and the first thing they will see is this statue giving them hope freedom and independence. But the cause of the destruction was made by Al-Qaeda terrorists, and making the country full of hope, fearing for their life. The photographer has made sure that the statue of liberty is clearly shown among all the destruction that is going on behind it showing that America still believe they have hope, freedom and independence, but also showing that not everyone in America believes this and will try to destroy and cause pain to their own country; Knowing all that I believe that America and Americans have a lot of hope and strength to this day.
The second image shows the destruction of the pentagon, the ministry of defence, this is also linked with the 9/11 attack. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. In total ‘2,993 people’, died in the attacks. ‘The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 90 countries’.
Far in the back ground you can see the White House, whether this is intentionally or a coincidence we will never know, but I believe there are two different stories behind it. One is that the president is to blame for the reason of the attack, suggesting its corrupt and that there are a lot of secrets within the American government that America do not know about. On the other hand this could be seen completely different in sense that the government is being threatened, that he is a target of all this destruction as you can just see the White house as if it was next in line. Connotations are devastation, loss, hurt, tragedy and death.
So America have had a rough time but we are shown that they are strung country even with a conspiracy president, and semiotics and ideology have helped me see this through the two photos.
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