Assignment #6 for the Departments of English & Media Studies by Prof Dr Sohail Ansari

Text encoding

Task:  Select texts and be the arbiter for closed and open text. Having done with classification, you are to change closed into open and open into closed by changing space for the readers.  

Anchorage

Task: Anchor a text to intended meanings

Instructions: Scan articles for marking anchorage and then do tying down on your own. Choose any text for the use of commentary or captions to control the connotations. Choose the text of articles you have already scanned for anchorage and select lines those afford the scope of anchorage.
Metaphor

Task: Create a sign between two aspects of the text so that a sign can become the metaphor. Create an implicit or explicit comparison between signs to transfer the qualities of one to another.

Metonymy

Task: Select a thing or a person to stand for the whole so that recipients assume the rest outside the frame.

Task: Try to make these three methods work together or try any of tools on some of the advertisements you might encounter on public transport, television, in newspapers or in those magazines you keep under the bed.

Task: Examine how the question of who it may appeal to is both an artistic and commercial matter and why some is excepted.  

Task: How advertisements are the best example of the simplest texts but effective texts.
Task: Examine the frame of a text for ‘Structuring absences’ and ‘Exnomination’ and select a text for ‘Commutation’

Task: Change artificial into regular context so that it ceases to be abstracted from the wider culture and society

Task: Analyze ‘writing with light’ and use tools for still image texts and Components of the form and examine how meaning is made from the primary text.

Material below will equip you for above tasks

Analyzing the text

This is the way in which we ‘educate’ our guess.

Break down the text

Break the text down into its component signs, or units of meanings.
Focus on the relationship between the physical part of the sign (the signifier) and what the sign signifies (the signified); that is, how each part of the sign makes meaning.

Tips for breaking down the text

A sign is anything which produces meaning. In analyzing signs, remember:

Signs do not merely comment on things in the world; they are things in the world; for example, street signs, clothing or parts of a magazine

Signs are also units of meaning: they produce meanings.

Signs can produce many meanings, not just one per sign. We call this spread of possible signifieds connotations. The most stable and verifiable of these we call the denotation

Encoding texts
As the link between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary, media texts are naturally polysemic: open to many interpretations. In their attempt to ensure a particular meaning is made, the industries and individuals responsible for these texts attempt to manipulate the relationship
between signifier and signified to direct receivers to adopt an intended message.
The sender is encoding the text in a certain way, which means that we can classify texts as being either:
open texts: which have many meanings (depending on time, gender, race, politics, place, class, age and experience), or
closed texts: which encourage a specific meaning and permit little space for the reader to generate different interpretations.
As a (very) general rule, the more complex the text, the more ‘open’ it will be (allowing for many different readings).
The simpler the text, the more ‘closed’ it will be (allowing for relatively fewer readings).

A great deal of textual analysis will be spent understanding how the text is encoded.

Tips for determining whether this is an ‘open’ or ‘closed’ text.

There are three principal ways senders attempt to produce closed texts—to limit the range of connotations available or specifically encode a spread of signifieds around a certain signifier:

By anchorage: the use of captions or commentary designed to select and/or control the connotations that can be made by a reader. This ‘anchors’ an image text (through a caption) or a written text (through a headline) to a certain meaning.

In short anchorage is the tying down of an image text (through a caption) or a written text (through a headline) to a certain meaning.

By metaphor: an implicit or explicit comparison between
signs by which the qualities of one are transferred to another.
Imagine a big equals sign between two aspects of the text,
whether words or pictures or a combination of the two. If
you use this lipstick, you too can become glamorous, attractive and shed ten kilos: the lipstick becomes the metaphor for personal success.

By metonymy: a part or element of something is used to
stand for the whole. At its simplest, a pair of good legs in an
advertisement represents an entire person. We assume that the rest of the person continues outside the frame; we are not looking at just a pair of dismembered legs. In complex metonyms, a person can stand for all people, a colour can represent an entire product (Coca-Cola’s use of red and white), a symbol can represent a company (the Nike swoosh or McDonald’s arches) or a particular writing style can represent a particular way of being (class, taste or
passion).

In short metonymy is  the standing in of a part or element of a text for the whole.

These three methods can work together; for example, a strong arm wearing a watch with the slogan ‘Testosterone Watches—for real men’ would be a combined example of anchorage, metaphor and metonymy. The caption anchors the image: we know it refers to a particular brand of watch, as it is a watch advertisement. The arm works metonymically, in that it stands in not just for the rest of the model (who we assume continues outside the frame of the ad) but for all men. The arm also works metaphorically; that is, it transfers the strength of the arm to the strength of the watch. The implication is that if you wear a Testosterone watch you too will be a strong man, a ‘real man’. This could appeal to women too; if they buy your husband or colleague a Testosterone watch, it will make him a strong man, ‘a real man’, an appealing man to a woman.

Advertising            
Still having trouble breaking down texts? Try these tools on some of the advertisements you might encounter on public transport, television, in newspapers or in those magazines you keep under the bed. Advertisements are often the simplest texts, because they are so clearly encoded
to make you think a certain way: that you need to buy this product or service. It is estimated that the average Australian sees 1500 marketing messages every day and

The cultural studies theorist Raymond Williams (1980/1960) once called advertising the ‘official art of modern capitalist society’. That is because advertising:

Is one of the oldest forms of media
It informs much of the media we consume, as advertising provides the main source of income for media owners
Advertising orientates the range of entertainment and information produced by the media toward those audiences advertisers want to reach. In developing a program or publication, the question of who it may appeal to is therefore both an artistic and commercial matter(though public broadcasters like the ABC and BBC are seen to be excepted from this).
Framing the text

Framing the text involves two considerations:

The frame of the text is the way the text is presented to us

The context is where the text is located, and how it is encountered by use.

In looking at the frame of the text:

Structuring absences: elements in the text that have meaning despite or because they have been left out.

Ask yourself not only why certain elements have been included, but also, what has been left out? Ask yourself why these have elements been left out. How does this affect the possible meanings the text might have?

Exnomination: the process by which dominant ideas become so obvious they don’t draw attention to themselves; instead they just seem like common sense.

In thinking about what is not included in the frame, look at
structuring absences: what is absent, what is missing from a text. Since all media texts are mediations of the world, affected by a series of choices and selections, and framed in a certain way, we must always be aware of what is not included in the text.

What is missing?
What choices have been made in leaving out this or that element?

What selection of images and information has occurred?

Always be aware of what is absent from the text as much as what is there.

In thinking about analysing what is included in the frame, use the following tools to help you determine how meaning is made:

Exnomination: the process by which dominant ideas become so obvious they don’t draw attention to themselves; instead they just seem like common sense. When you nominate something in a text, you draw attention to it; for example, a skin-coloured bandaid. The bandaid is pink and therefore the implication is that anything other than pink cannot be considered skin coloured. The phrase ‘skin-coloured bandaid’ therefore works hegemonically to reinforce certain ideas of race, a form of racism that doesn’t draw attention to itself. Therefore you need to be aware of exnomination so that you can draw out the subtleties of power relations in texts, particularly where they work with other intertexts to support a certain ideology of the world.

Commutation: the replacement of one element of a text with another, to see how this affects how meaning is made.

The commutation test is a test by which you replace one element of a text with another one to see how this affects how meaning is made; for example, substitute ‘man’ for ‘woman’, ‘black’ for ‘white’, ‘arm’ for ‘leg’ or ‘young’ for ‘old’ to find out how these substitutions alter the meaning of the text.

Context

In looking at the context, consider:

The time in which the text was created.

The type of media product in which the text is located

Where the media text is placed in that product; for example, is it located toward the front of A newspaper or magazine? Or does it go to air during prime time or late at night?

The country of origin (and reception) for the text

The industry responsible for the text’s creation

Recognize that the context may be somewhat artificial. You could be encountering the text as a result of an assignment from your boss or an academic exercise set at university. Try to keep in mind the regular context for such a text, otherwise it will remain abstracted from the wider culture and society.
Intertexts

While the primary text should remain the focus of textual analysis, two other types of text can help us understand how meaning is produced by a text. Intertexts are interrelated, interdependent texts that relate to either primary or secondary texts, and can inform us about how meaning is made from the primary text. They can include production
records, academic articles or other media programs in a similar genre.
Texts frequently make meaning through their relationship with other texts. Indeed, as we have seen time and again, the logic of representation in the media sphere is intertextual, because social and political significance cannot be achieved through reading a single text.

Specific tools for specific types of texts
Because of the variety of texts, we also need specialised tools designed for particular texts.
Some texts are primarily written (such as newspapers, novels or letters) and some are primarily image based (such as films, television programs or computer games). Others are combinations of the two (such as comic books or websites). Just as you would select a screwdriver for some household jobs and a hammer for others, you should use these specific tools for some specific textual jobs and not others.

Analyzing image texts

Films can provide us with a vocabulary that we can use to analyse both still and moving image texts (photographs and films). This involves breaking down these image texts into their individual components, naming each component, and seeing how each works as a unit of meaning. These parts of an image’s composition are similar to the signs in that they are all comprised of a signifier (a physical or aural element) and a signified (the mental element we associate with that physical part).
This also means we can read image texts just as we would a written text. This shouldn’t be that surprising, for after all, the literal definition of photography is ‘writing with light’.
When we read a still image text (such as a photograph or a piece of art) we look at two aspects of the text:

The form of the text: the shape of the text and the way it appears before us

The content of the text: what is actually there, what is the subject of the text and how that subject is presented to us.
When we read a moving image text (such as film or television), we look at the form and the content, as well as the camera movement, the sound and the editing (the way the film is put together).

Tools for still image texts

The form is the shape of the text and the way it appears before us.

Components of the form
Frame: be aware of the size of the image and how the image has been presented.
– Has the image been cropped or cut?
– Why have particular elements been cut out?
– Where is the centre of the image?
– Does the important part of the image fill the frame, or is it alone in the centre of the frame?
– Does this make the image dominant or isolated?
Lens type: which lens has been used to shoot the image?
– A telephoto lens can signify voyeurism, giving the impression that you are seeing something you shouldn’t see.
– A standard lens can signify normality, placing the audience at ease.
– A wide angle lens can signify drama, placing the audience in a state of anticipation.
Form: the shape of the text and the way
it appears before us.
Film stock: be aware of whether this is a digital shot or a shot created on film stock.
– Think about why the producer of the image has made this choice.
– Has the image been shot digitally so it can be manipulated in some way?
– ‘Fast’ film and ‘slow’ film are terms that refer to the speed at which the film stock responds to the light. A fast film stock produces a grainy, documentary look that can
appear unguarded and ‘real’. A slow film stock produces a high resolution image that can appear more normal.
Camera angle: be aware of how the image has been shot.
– Are you looking up at the figure (implying a low camera angle) or are you looking down
at the figure (implying a high camera angle)? Low angles often reinforce the power of the figure on the screen; high angles may signify subservience.
– For drawings or pieces of art, you can substitute the words ‘point of view’ for ‘camera angle’.
Height: be aware of the height at which the shot was taken.
– Is the shot taken higher or lower than how you would normally view this image?
– Does it encourage you to look at the image in a certain way? For example, does it offer
a child’s-eye view of the world or a bird’s-eye view of the world? (The most common
height is eye level, just under two metres.)
Level: be aware of the level the camera was on when the shot was taken. Usually this will be straight on (0 degrees), but altering the level of the camera can create a feeling of disorder, unease or chaos.
Distance: be aware of the distance of an object from the camera. This can take a variety of forms:
– extreme long shots (for landscapes or aerial photography)
– long shots (for groups of people): setting a scene; that is, placing subjects into a
context.
– medium shot (one or two people): places members of the audience at a safe distance to
observe without feeling as though they are intruding
–medium close-up body): (part of focuses the audience’s attention on something important
– close-up (face): places the audience in an intimate relationship with the subject, usually
signifying an emotional moment
– extreme close-up (part of face): can, conversely, create distance by making something
familiar appear strange.
Depth of field: be aware of the focus range of the shot.
– deep focus (where the whole scene is in focus) is an expressive technique by which the
entire content of the shot becomes unnatural and strange. All parts of the content (or mise-en-scène, add to this.
– selective focus (where some parts of the shot remain indistinct) signifies what is important in a shot.
– soft focus (where the shot appears fuzzy or somewhat indistinct) can signify nostalgia (in the form of a flashback), a dream state, romance or glamour.