For today’s class, 7.2 Watch filmic examples of semiotics and discourse analysis. For each film, write one multiple-choice test question.

The best questions may be selected for use on the unit test. If your question is selected, you will earn extra credit towards your test score. You will earn completion credit for this task.

7.2 Watch filmic examples of semiotics and discourse analysis

For today, please watch:

• Jean Kilbourne: Killing Us Softly (Links to an external site.) (2010, 46 mins)
• Naomi Klein – No Logo: Brands Globalization Resistance (Links to an external site.) (2003, 44 mins)
• Toy Ads and Learning Gender (Links to an external site.), Feminist Frequency (2010; 8 mins)

All three of these films/videos do different forms of semiotic and discursive analysis. While you are watching, pay attention not only to the arguments being made, but to how they are conducting the analysis (especially for those of you who are writing CAP 2). The analysis in Killing Us Softly is a classic form of semiotics of the image. Naomi Klein looks at how discourses (networks of meaning and power) are created by corporations to foster a globalized form of consumer culture. Naomi Klein also combines political economy (from the last section of our course) with analysis of media content. The feminist frequency video is a very short example that combines semiology and discourse analysis. These examples are a bit dated, but try to look past that to see how these methods of analyzing media content work.