Hi all! Welcome to the first (graded) blog response assignment of the semester. It is for the "Introduction" (1 - 22) ofSigns of Life.
The responses may be informal but they need to be complete answers that sincerely address the reading and all elements of the questions. Although I hesitate to give a length minimum, in general, responses that are 75% of a page single-spaced,hand-written notebook page tend to be more complete. (That’s 75% per question.
All blog responses must be posted before the next class session. After which, the comments section will be locked.
• How do the authors define “sign” and “signifier” and how do these concepts relate to a study of popular culture?
• What are “folk” culture and “mass culture” and how do they relate to “popular culture?”
• How can the “semiotic method” be used to analyze popular culture? What advantages does it have over simply discussing the individual pop culture expressions as unique or discrete items?
• Why are vampires so “hot” in our popular culture? How can semiotics help us understand the
phenomenon?
(ABOVE: Woody Guthrie; BELOW: Contemporary American Folk Band playing traditional folk instruments
(ABOVE): Lou Diamond Phillips pretending to perform Los Lobos covering Ritchie Valen's "La Bamba" (a version that itself is version of a traditional Mexican folk song)
(BELOW): Traditional Mexican Folk Musicians Los Cojolites performing "La Bamba" in the traditional style (note the length!)
(BELOW): Traditional Mexican Folk Musicians Los Cojolites performing "La Bamba" in the traditional style (note the length!)