'Hes psycho Semiotic - that boy needs therapy...'

Last week we learnt about Semiotics, which initially was quite confuzzling but after looking at it in detail,I found it linked well with our topic. Heres the stuff I found out:

Semiotics is the study of signs and meanings. However for the purpose of a semiotic study, a sign is any physical object with a meaning. When looking into the significance of signs within our society there is always three key areas that need to be assessed and those are; the sign itself, the way this sign is integrated or the system of which it is placed and finally the culture that the sign operates within. A key theory about Semiotics is that in relation to signs there is only the Signifier (the actual sign) and the signified (that which the sign refers to within a society or consciousness). This view came from the structuralist Saussure. Later Roland Barthes pushed Saussure’s theory beyond that of the sign and the topic which a sign conjures. He believed that a Signifier had two sets of meanings. The blatant one which is often the purpose or cultural identity of a sign (Denotation) and the meanings that are much more personal or relative to the context of where or when the sign is (Connotation).
This theory links heavily with the idea of parodying. To parody, conventions, ideals and storylines must be studied, and furthermore manipulated. In a way those 3 key parts of the makeup of a genre are a signifier to the perspective audience. For instance if an audience sees a romantic comedy they immediately know the meanings and general possible outcome. They are not surprised because we live in a culture where most films follow conventions. Parodies work to change that which is signified, whilst the signifier isn’t changed at all. Normally in a film, the signified is the denotation of what it could mean. Now despite this there will always be connotations created from the denotation and a parody often harnesses those connotations that are out of context with the films storyline and are normally random, and uses a comedic connotation in place, whilst fitting the storyline around it.
In order to successfully parody, it will require knowledge of what the audience is thinking at a certain moment or signifier, division of the connotations from denotation and use of the most comedic connotation in the scene that is being parodied. Other conventions and signifiers within film can be similarly changed for an effect, that can be in some ways significant because it is, as was said, a society where conventions make up most films thus making changes more noticeable.