Leona I think one of the problems you are going to have with trying to use semiotics for this type of analysis is that semiotics tends to produce rather transhistorical readings. The situation you will be in using semiotics will be that of taking a film as a historical artefact and then subjecting it to an analytical method which treats it as if it can be read as having some essential, universal meaning. This problem is one I am very interested in as it is one I have to find a way of overcoming in my own work. I have found some interesting ideas in Sean Nixon's book "Hard Looks" where he adopts Foucault's ideas about the discursive formation of subjectivity to produce a reading of men's fashion magazines which is rather more sensitive to historical context than a semiotic account would have been. You might also find Janet Staiger's book on interpreting historical audiences (I think it's called "Interpreting Audiences") useful. I have also been wondering about the potential of using Barthes' ideas in his "S/Z" phase to illustrate the potential openness of the text to a wide range of readings and then attempting to position those readings within a wider discursive formation using other forms such as magazines, but I haven't fully thought the implications of this through and I think there may be problems with trying to do this. I'd be interested to know what ideas you come up with and what other list members might think. Mike Mike Chopra-Gant Media and Communications Department Goldsmiths College University of London [log in to unmask] On Fri, 17 Apr 1998, Leona Geudens wrote: > Dear List-members, > > I wish to prove that film can show the ideas that live in society at a certain moment of time. I am not thinking about propaganda films, but just of ordinary fiction films, that reflect in a subtle way the culture of viewers. > What do you feel are the most important theories/ academic views that could help me prove this theory ? Maybe there are also websites at the internet that could help out ? > > A semiotic method seems the best way to analyse these films, which I consider to be true historical data. Does anybody know of other methods ? > > If you take it to be so that films are a mirror to and of a nation, you wonder whether it wouldn't be possible to use film to create a more international or universal union ? Of course this might just remain a philosophy. You either need a lot of power or a lot of money to be able to influence the products of the film, but this could be an interesting topic for just discussion. It is a fact that American films often show this type of stories where people are willing to fight and die for uncle Sam and are always proud to be an American citizen. European films just portray our ideas of regionalism and individualism, so you can wonder if we cannot become a truely United States of Europe, if you transfer the principles of most American films ?! > > Leona Geudens > [log in to unmask] > > ---- > To sign off SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L > in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask] > ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama.