Semiotics, or semiology, is the study of signs, symbols, and signification. It is the study of how meaning is created to the audience, as signs allow us to deconstruct meaning within the media. For example, an extract from a film or TV programme can be analysed to see what is denoted and connoted within the extract. The relationship between the signifier and the signified is referred to as signification. The signifier is any material thing that signifies e.g. words on a page or an image. The signified is the concept that a signifier refers to. There are three different types of signs, they are: Iconic signs – Icons are signs where meaning is based on similarity of appearance, Indexical signs –Indexical signs have a cause-and-effect relationship between the sign and the meaning of the sign. And finally, Symbolic signs – These signs have an arbitrary or conventional link.  The word tree, only comes to stand in for the notion of tree because of the conventions of our language.

A combination of signs creates a code that can be understood usually through cultural or social context. Some theorists argue that even our perception of the everyday world around us involves codes. Fredric Jameson declares that ‘all perceptual systems are already languages in their own right.’

Ferdinand de Saussure believed that all the ways humans communicate, through colour, clothing, flags, etc could be analysed as if it were a language. Saussure also believed that things have no link to the names they are given. The connection between the name and the object it is assigned to is learned.

Another theorist: Roland Barthes developed a method so we can analyse and discuss the literal and potential meanings of an image. To indicate the literal meaning of an object/image means to denote it. Connotation, on the other hand indicates potential or suggested meanings. For example red hair could connote evil or the devil.

Genre continued – Horror and sub genres

Through my research of the horror genre I have uncovered and learned about horror through the years. From its birth in the 1800’s to what we now know as modern horror. In doing this, I have also learned about the key characteristics and conventions of the horror genre. For example: Tense music used to make the audience jump or indicate a dangerous situation, Brutal murder/ death, Scary characters/ scenarios/ setting and using the audiences worst fears/nightmares to scare.

Early horror

Horror has come a long way from when it first started in the form of gothic horror novels written by famous authors such as Mary Shelly, Bram Stoker and Edgar Allan Poe. It was from gothic literature that early filmmakers got inspiration to create silent horror films such as The Manor of The Devil (George Melies 1896.)

Horror in the 1900’s

In the 1900’s Hollywood directors began to use sound to their advantage. Different sounds and effects were used to create horror films like we know them today.

During the 1950’s, monsters and mutants were a popular theme for horror films. Teens at the time took a big interest in this type of film and the industry began to make a lot of money through this popular theme.

Psychology, sex and gore

Unlike the monsters of previous horror cycles, Alfred Hitchcock was rooted in reality. He created films such as the Psycho series (1960 – 1998).

Similarly to Hitchcock, Hammer Films Productions in The United Kingdom began recreating Universal’s Gothic Monsters – but adding sex and gore.

Shot in full colour, Hammer’s first Gothic horror reboot was Terence Fisher’s The Curse of Frankenstein with Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the monster. For the first time in a Frankenstein film, blood was shown on screen and in full colour.

Modern horror

Horror has come a long way since its birth in the mid 1800’s. Today’s horror movies are made up of scary settings and characters, tense music, jump scares and brutal deaths. It is a genre that continues to grow through the making of horror films such as clown, woman in black, gory horrors such a Saw and through directors such as Jon Watts and Tim Burton. It is a widely popular genre, enjoyed my millions worldwide.

Sub genre

Sub genre is a sub catagory within a particular genre. Through my research, I discovered subgenres with in the genre of horror. For example:

Comedy-horror

Comedy-Horror combines comedy with traditional horror movie themes and characters. An example of a comedy-horror film would be Shaun of the dead.

Teen-horror

Teen-Horror is a sub-genre that revolves completely around a teenager or a group of teenagers. An example of a teen-horror film would be Scream.

Monster-horror

A Monster film is sub-genre of Horror that centres on a struggle between human beings and a monster. Often, the monster in the film has been created in an “experiment gone wrong.” The monster usually serves as a villain, and the film portrays a hero or heroine that ultimately saves the world from the monster. An example would be Godzilla.