We judge and stereotype people every day, just by interpreting what they do or say. Because this is our own interpretation, and not a set fact, we are unintentionally making snap judgements about what other people "are." These interpretations and judgements may come from body language, style of clothing, or even what they own. This is called semiotics.
When I googled "punk," this was the first image that came up on my screen:
So what this picture is saying to you and I, if we had absolutely no idea about what a "punk" person looks like, is that someone who is considered to be "punk" they must have crazy hair and leather vests with spiky jewelry. By google's own "definition," these people are punk.
Next, I googled "preppy." The image that came up is exactly what I expected.
Ah, khaki pants and a polo. My boyfriend and I often joke about dressing him up like a typical (douche) prep, and we always describe him with khaki shorts and a polo. The fact that this image is exactly what I expected it to be shows that I participate in semiotics even without trying to. It's just a natural occurrence.
After handling both the "preps," and the "punks," I went with a more hardcore stereotype- the "emo kids."What do you think of when you hear the word "emo" or "hardcore"? Be honest. Loose, black clothes; dark makeup, lots of eyeliner? More than likely, you answered (if not oud-loud, then in your head) yes to at least one of those qualifications. These kind of judgements and interpretations are exactly what semiotics is.
This picture demonstrates what most people think it means to be "emo."
Stereotypes are something created by culture, but expressions and emotions are genetically programmed into humans from birth. Therefore, I decided to search certain emotions or expressions because these will be entirely affected by our own interpretation more than anything else, because emotions and expressions can never be directly affected by culture or society.
According to google, this man is angry. Psychologists have actually conducted research with facial expressions by taking pictures of college students in the United States demonstrating certain emotions and then asking villagers in New Guinea to identify the emotions that the students in the pictures were feeling. Regardless of their different culture, the villagers were almost always able to identify the expressions and/or emotions correctly.
What about this picture? What do you immediately think of when you see someone biting their lip? Typically, if someone bites their lip they are either stumped on a math problem or interested in whoever they're looking at. Yes, I know you knew that all ready. That's the beauty of semiotics. Semiotics is the study of pictures such as this one that help you understand what people are trying to convey through their reactions and/or images, etc. This study helps us learn what pictures, body language, and style lead us to believe about other people, and that is semiotics.
You've done a beautiful job with the blog post and the pictures. Love the new background, too! The only thing is that you don't seem to quite understand what semiotics means--you're not using the word correctly here, and your last paragraph is incorrect. Semiotics is the study of how signs convey meaning. And although some human emotional expressions are universal, most of our communication is definitely based in our society and culture, and we have to be taught how to communicate effectively and appropriately. Hope that helps. You may want to reread your readings. :^)
ReplyDeleteTaylor I understand where you were going with this post. It does seem like we not only look at how our culture sees someone but sometimes just a sign someone gives off can make us form a good or bad opinion about them. The above posts by Dr. Wilson is correct though we are taught what is appropriate and how to communicate based on our societies views. Is it right that we should have to fit into a social norm? Whose to say..
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