Bloomsbury Understanding Media Semiotics

Media semiotics is a valuable method of focusing on the hidden meanings within media texts. This new edition brings Understanding Media Semiotics fully up to date and is written for students of the media, of linguistics and those interested in studying the ever-changing media in more detail. Offering an in-depth guide to help students investigate and understand the media using semiotic theory, this book assumes little previous knowledge of semiotics or linguistics, avoiding jargon and explaining the issues step by step. With in-depth case studies, practical accounts and directed further reading, Understanding Media Semiotics provides students with all the tools they need to understand semiotic analysis in the context of the media. Semiotic analysis is sometimes seen as complicated and difficult to understand; Marcel Danesi shows that on the contrary it can be readily understood and can greatly enrich students' understanding of media texts, from print media right through to the internet and apps. Review Comprehensive in scope yet also readable and full of brilliant insights, Marcel Danesi's Understanding Media Semiotics 2nd edition is a path-breaking book that shows the central role that semiotics plays in helping us understand how the media shape our psyches, cultures and societies. Covering everything from branding, postmodernism, and visual rhetoric to social media, meme culture, and gangsta rap, Understanding Media Semiotics 2nd edition is highly recommended for courses in semiotics, media studies, popular culture, communications, and related disciplines. (Of the second edition)Arthur Asa Berger, Professor Emeritus, San Francisco State University, USAThe aim of the book is not so much to advance the cause of semiotic theory, however, as to provide the most fundamental level of understanding needed to be able to appreciate the cultural context in which media signs are encountered. Thus the section on television, for example, begins with a short introduction to the history of the medium which extends back to John Logie Baird ... students will find much to consider in this book and will find much useful information.Convergence (of the first edition)This book provides a comprehensive basic framework with which to understand semiotics: the study of signs and their uses in representation. It flows well and is written at the introductory level. The author proceeds from a historical perspective to modern application of semiotic theory in subjects such as ebooks, the Internet, and media convergence. Designed as a text, the book uses italics and bolding to highlight important points within each chapter and also includes a glossary as well as tables and figures where appropriate to enhance understanding.The paradox of mediation is perhaps the underlying theme for the book: "The same culture that is capable of producing a work of inestimable cinematic art, such as Amadeus, is also capable of producing American TV wrestling matches ...," (p. 201). Danesi introduces media and their historical development, while inseparably tying media to culture. Interestingly, the author does not use the term culture; instead he refers to "signifying order so as to highlight the fact that it constitutes a network of meaning structures," (p. 26). In short, Danesi takes the reader far beyond the Shannon and Weaver model of communication into a deeper understanding of meaning and attempts to improve the reader's linear as well as critical thinking skills ... At just over 200 pages in paperback, Understanding Media Semiotics is an ideal introductory text.Communication Research Trends (of the first edition) About the Author Professor Marcel Danesi is known for his work in semiotics and youth culture. He has published as well on the meanings of popular culture and how they inform social evolution. He has also written textbooks introducing linguistics and semiotics. And he has published a series of books on advertis