Sunday, February 1, 2015
Week 2 Journal Blog: interactive participant and represented participant in semiotic theory
Blog Topic: In your journal post, consider the concept of interactive participant and represented participant as identified in the semiotic theory in Kress and van Leeuwin and its link to the social context of literacy.
In our reading Kress and van Leeuwin believe that, "there are two types of participant involved in every semiotic act, interactive participants and represented participants. The former are the participants in the act of communication – the participants who speak and listen or write and read, make images or view them, whereas the latter are the participants who constitute the subject matter of the communication; that is the people, places and things (including abstract things) represented in and by the speech or writing or image, the participants about whom or which we are speaking or writing or producing images” (p. 48). They believe that every visual image has a represented participant or the participants that compose the subject of expression. They are the ones that are responsible for creating the visual image. As an interactive participant you use your own understanding of the world; how you interpret things and what your background understanding is of things to interpret a visual piece.
It's overwhelming to think that one piece of art (or a sign) can be interpreted so many different ways. Everyone is raised differently, influenced differently, and brings a different twist on things to the table. One persons view of a sign or artwork could be completely and totally different from another's view. I like how our video, "Semiotics: the Study of Signs" gives us a visual explanation of this. They show two people at the end of the video having a conversation. One person says one word and the other has an "idea bubble" pop up with how they visually interpret a word. For example, the one person says the word, "vacation" and the other persons idea bubble is of "ZZZZZ". The person associates a vacation with sleeping. If someone said the word vacation to me, I'd envision a lake and a campfire. This example just goes to show that one represented participant can interpret something so differently from another.
I believe this to be the reason why we need such distinct cultural signs; signs that everyone knows the meaning behind. These signs involve no guessing to the person trying to interpret them. Such signs include; stop signs, red lights, yield, bathroom (male/female) signs etc, etc. You know without a doubt what these signs mean and what to do when you see them. There is no guessing involved with these cultural landmarks but when looking at a piece of art or in our own conversations we are left to determine the meaning behind them. Whatever experiences you bring to the table directly effect how you interpret things.
Kress, G., & Van leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading Images: The Grammer Of Visual Design (2nd ed., p. 312). Routledge.
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It is a little overwhelming, yet very intriguing. I think you made a very solid observation in terms of the translation of a sign based on how one was raised and influenced! Throughout the world based on culture, perhaps religion, the various levels of which one is raised in society; one may see something in an image that they relate to based upon how they were raised; missing perhaps an element that someone whom was raised differently recognizes. When I hear the word vacation I immediately think of diving in the South Pacific; however when my boyfriend hears vacation; he thinks music row in Nashville. He was raised in Georgia listening to country music. I was raised in Florida spending weekends at the beach. It’s a good thing that we have universal signs all over the world; especially in terms of traffic signs, hospital signs etc. The next time I am at an intersection I am sure I will be thankful for everyone being on the same page in terms of the red, yellow and green lights! I enjoyed your post!
ReplyDeleteYour example about having distinct cultural signs is excellent. I never would have thought, prior to reading this chapter, how important this would be. Can you imagine how difficult it may be to travel from country to country and see signs of different shapes and designs with similar meanings to what you know. I cannot speak to experience as I've been limited in travel opportunities. However, I can imagine if I went somewhere and they suddenly had a yellow upside triangle that was meant to be a stop sign, that I'd certainly be confused. It's amazing how our brains are programmed to see and think of such minute details in a certain way. Certainly something I was unaware of prior to this reading.
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