COM3703
ASSIGNMENT 2 2025
DUE: AUGUST 2025 (MEMO)
,COM3703
ASSIGNMENT 2 2025
1 INTRODUCTION
This assignment answers Semester 2 Assignment 01 by working through four main
themes from the module: Communication and Media Semiotics, Narrative Analysis, Film
Theory and Criticism, and Media Audience Theory. I will define key semiotic concepts
(signs, signifiers, codes) and include four physical sign examples (the printed word
DOG, a photograph of a dog, a picture of a cross, and an image of smoke). For narrative
analysis I apply Barthes’s five codes, binary opposition and the four narrative phases to
Modern Family (Season 8, Episode 19: “Frank’s Wedding”). For film theory I define film
theory, explain Eisenstein’s three theory-types and use Pulp Fiction (1994) to
demonstrate De Putter’s two kinds of criticism; I also give two auteur directors with film
examples. For audience theory I prepare a short report for Mzansi Magic arguing that
the Uses & Gratifications approach best explains why people watch telenovelas, using
The Queen as an illustrative case. My assignment is structured to follow the question
paper (Sections 2–5), and ends with a conclusion, a short self-reflection, and a full list of
sources consulted. All answers use plain English, include in-text citations, and draw on
the prescribed readings so markers can verify the sources (Fourie, 2017; Pitout, 2017).
, 2 COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA SEMIOTICS
2.1 The media can communicate in various ways. Define the field of media semiotics
and explain how it relates to communication.
Media semiotics is the study of how meaning is created, communicated, and understood
through media texts. It focuses on the idea that media messages are never neutral; they
are deliberately constructed to convey specific intended meanings, often reflecting
particular ideologies, points of view, or values (Fourie, 2018). From a semiotic
perspective, media is seen as an imitation of reality and a symbolic form of expression,
where signs, sign systems, and codes work together to produce meaning (UNISA, Study
Unit 2).
The field is rooted in the work of semiotics’ founding theorists, such as Ferdinand de
Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce, who studied the nature of the sign and how
signs represent reality. Semiotics examines four main areas:
Signs
The basic units of meaning, which can be linguistic (words), visual (images), or other
types, each consisting of a signifier (form) and signified (concept).
Sign systems
Collections of related signs, such as language, television, or non-verbal Communication,
that share characteristics and operate within cultural contexts.
Codes
Rules or conventions that govern how signs are combined and interpreted, such as
grammar in language or camera angles in film.
Meaning
The levels of meaning produced, which can be denotational (literal), connotational
(associated), or ideological (linked to power and values) (Fourie, 2018).
ASSIGNMENT 2 2025
DUE: AUGUST 2025 (MEMO)
,COM3703
ASSIGNMENT 2 2025
1 INTRODUCTION
This assignment answers Semester 2 Assignment 01 by working through four main
themes from the module: Communication and Media Semiotics, Narrative Analysis, Film
Theory and Criticism, and Media Audience Theory. I will define key semiotic concepts
(signs, signifiers, codes) and include four physical sign examples (the printed word
DOG, a photograph of a dog, a picture of a cross, and an image of smoke). For narrative
analysis I apply Barthes’s five codes, binary opposition and the four narrative phases to
Modern Family (Season 8, Episode 19: “Frank’s Wedding”). For film theory I define film
theory, explain Eisenstein’s three theory-types and use Pulp Fiction (1994) to
demonstrate De Putter’s two kinds of criticism; I also give two auteur directors with film
examples. For audience theory I prepare a short report for Mzansi Magic arguing that
the Uses & Gratifications approach best explains why people watch telenovelas, using
The Queen as an illustrative case. My assignment is structured to follow the question
paper (Sections 2–5), and ends with a conclusion, a short self-reflection, and a full list of
sources consulted. All answers use plain English, include in-text citations, and draw on
the prescribed readings so markers can verify the sources (Fourie, 2017; Pitout, 2017).
, 2 COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA SEMIOTICS
2.1 The media can communicate in various ways. Define the field of media semiotics
and explain how it relates to communication.
Media semiotics is the study of how meaning is created, communicated, and understood
through media texts. It focuses on the idea that media messages are never neutral; they
are deliberately constructed to convey specific intended meanings, often reflecting
particular ideologies, points of view, or values (Fourie, 2018). From a semiotic
perspective, media is seen as an imitation of reality and a symbolic form of expression,
where signs, sign systems, and codes work together to produce meaning (UNISA, Study
Unit 2).
The field is rooted in the work of semiotics’ founding theorists, such as Ferdinand de
Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce, who studied the nature of the sign and how
signs represent reality. Semiotics examines four main areas:
Signs
The basic units of meaning, which can be linguistic (words), visual (images), or other
types, each consisting of a signifier (form) and signified (concept).
Sign systems
Collections of related signs, such as language, television, or non-verbal Communication,
that share characteristics and operate within cultural contexts.
Codes
Rules or conventions that govern how signs are combined and interpreted, such as
grammar in language or camera angles in film.
Meaning
The levels of meaning produced, which can be denotational (literal), connotational
(associated), or ideological (linked to power and values) (Fourie, 2018).
