Reaching Toward the Outside : Saussure, Hjelmslev and Cinema Semiosis
Part of : Γράμμα : περιοδικό θεωρίας και κριτικής ; Vol.20, 2012, pages 51-72
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51-72
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The present paper investigates the ways through which semiosis in generaland cinematic semiosis in particular reach toward the “exo-semiotic” realm.It attempts a meta-semiotic and epistemological approach, based on Ferdinandde Saussure’s tradition of semiotics, and particularly on Louis Hjelsmlev’smodel of the sign-function, as introduced in his 1954 essay “La stratificationdu langage”. It investigates the sign-function’s relations to its referentand to its expressive materials, and then attempts to apply Hjelmslev’smodel to cinema. I hope to achieve the double aim of re-situating some lingeringdebates in cinema theory, while also exemplifying some questionsregarding semiosis in general.The paper starts by summarizing the main axes of Saussure’s definition ofthe sign and its formalisation by Hjelmslev. It then shows how the de-essentialisationof semiosis leads to significant re-arrangements of the traditionalpremises with regards to the sign’s relation to both the referent andthe expressive medium. Finally, it surveys the central issues that formedthe discipline of the semiotics of cinema, stressing the conventionality ofthe cinema sign-function and the heterogeneity of its expression-plane. Thepaper thus shows that Saussure’s and Hjelmslev’s insights with regard togeneral semiotics can assist in untangling theoretical misunderstandingswith regard to how cinema functions, while understanding cinematic semiosiscan contribute to deepening and enriching our understanding of thefunction of semiosis in general.
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References (1):
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