I chose to analyze the signs of an advertisement for Altschul
Orthodontics. I chose this ad because I have a personal connection to
orthopedics and found the advertisement to be quite humorous. In order to
analyze this advertisement I will be using semiotics, the science of signs and
method for viewing our world.
Semiotics is broken down into two terms ideology
and mythology. The Webster dictionary defines Ideology as a system of ideas and
ideals, the study of their origin and nature. Mythology, defined by Dr. Kevin
Williams, is the stories we live by. (Williams) I will be using both of these terms to help me
find the signified of the signs in the advertisement I have chosen.
A sign is defined as anything that points beyond itself or
has meaning beyond itself This means that virtually anything can be a sign. The
two ideas that compose a sign are the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the physical manifestation of
the sign, the sound, or the letters on a page. Signifies is what the sign
stands for, a mental concept. In the advertisement I have selected there are numerous
signs; here are four which I analyzed.
Crosswalk: The crosswalk in the image signifies teeth. The
crooked teeth signify the difficult social steps experienced through life and
how much easier those social experiences would be with straight teeth. The
crooked sidewalk also signifies the funny looks and judgments people make about
those with crooked teeth. The sidewalk looks unordinary and absurd, it’s not taken
seriously. That signifies the way someone might look at you and as a result
they may think you are absurd or not take you seriously as a human being. The
straight crosswalk signifies confidence and aspiration. With straight teeth you
can gain more confidence and have bigger aspirations. It also signifies a
purpose for a destination.
Blue sky: is where the straight crosswalk is leading to,
since the crosswalk signifies straight teeth which signify happiness the blue
sky signifies the opportunities and happiness that come from getting your teeth
straightened.
The Foliage: the foliage is plentiful across the street vs.
the dead dirt on the side of the street the viewer is on.
Dirt: the dirt on the side of the street the viewer is
standing on signifies the place the viewer would be in life without/ before
getting their teeth corrected. That place would be not very prosperous, not
very successful; nothing is going for them just as nothing is growing in the dirt.
These signs are symbolic because they all represent a meaning
beyond what the object actually is and the relationship between the signifier
and the signified is arbitrary. In the advertisement
the crosswalk is suggesting that the orthodontics can fix any set of teeth. The
signs are using images to make a statement, which means the signs are
rhetorical. The sign showing the “jacked up” crosswalk is rhetorical; the
orthodontist does not care about how it looked before, they are making a
statement about the results of their work.
Straight teeth are a code of dental hygiene. Having straight
teeth signifies being responsible. Just as not having straight teeth signifies
a lack of responsibility. Being responsible also correlates to success. Thus
enforcing the signified “road to success” the crosswalk signifier signifies.
As children we do not want to take the responsibility to take
care of ourselves. If we give into this temptation when we become adults then
we are irresponsible. Once we are aware of the world around us and are able to
be influenced we then start to focus on the responsibility of taking care of
ourselves. We gather this from advertisements and movies where people have
perfect teeth and we believe that if we are not perfect then we are a failure.
Our teeth are just one of the many things that we as a culture believe must be
perfect; so we take care of them and if they are not naturally straight we
apply braces to them.
The text I have chosen presents
false consciousness and psychological terrorism. Society has told us that we
must look a certain way, lest we be rejected. Fear of rejection leads the
members of our society to invest in materialistic enhancements, like straight
teeth. We essentially compete unconsciously with others to further our chances
of success; whether that is socially or economically. Since these ideals have
been placed on us by society they are not our own and are a way for us to be separated
by our inherent values. If you make more you can afford you can afford the
materialistic enhancements.
We are constantly under attack by advertisements
and images which apply pressure on our ideals. The modern world as we know it
has been socially conditioned by media, that is to say, “training” individuals
to conduct themselves in a way approved by society.
Our society undergoes
psychological terrorism, over criticizing topics such as obesity while
promoting unhealthy degrees of “being thin”; this is only one example. There countless
others, such as the emphasis on staying “forever young” while showing complete
disgust towards aging. Other ideals go so far as to promote our society as a
white dominated culture and anyone else would be considered an aversion. The problem
is if you do not fit into society’s “box of perfectness” then you are either forced
to fit in or accept defeat. An example being, when Beyoncé became spokeswoman
for L'Oreal makeup and hair care products L'Oreal lightened Beyoncé’s
complexion. L’Oreal was highly criticized for making Beyoncé appear whiter or “more
idealistic”; only adhering to the idea of white dominated society.
"Myths
are the narrative stories which provide answers to the questions of identity by
making it possible to identify with those events and beings that exemplify in a
clear and powerful way the relationship with the sacred that under girds human
life."(Burke) Myths administer models which dictate human behavior in a
society, which provides a link between belief and behavior. The myths answer the
identity questions we have and give reasoning to how we go about performing
tasks. The reasoning behind Americans taking care of their teeth better than
our sister culture in England could be because bad teeth are a stereo type of
our old culture, so to distinguish us from the old culture Americans take care
of their teeth.
In our culture everyone strives for the “American Dream”
which is to be successful and living comfortable. In order to flaunt that you
are successful and are able to live comfortable a few codes must be met, like
having nice or perfect teeth.
ISA or
Ideological State Apparatus comes into play with the advertisement and its
semiotic meanings. ISA seeks to keep people in the social and economic place
they are in. The other social
classes are controlled by the social elite. The social elite have set the
criteria/ codes for being successful. One of which are being attractive, but to
be considered attractive one must have straight teeth. Advertisements
themselves are a way of controlling our culture to work harder.
The Repressive State Apparatus or RSA also comes into play
with the signs in the advertisement. With the high cost of dental care and lack
of help from government many people in our society find it difficult if not
impossible to maintain the economic base.
Even in our legal system you must be
cosmetically up to date. Congressmen and Senators are now being treated like celebrities;
because they are in the spotlight they enhance their likeability by staying
cosmetically attractive. During presidential elections the “more attractive”
candidate typically wins.
Hegemony allows ideology to be re-enforced. Dr. Kevin
Williams defines Hegemony as “a preponderant influence or authority of one
group over another.”(Williams) Through advertisements these ideologies of how a
person should aspire to be are heavily unloaded on the population of our
culture daily. As a result our culture anxiously tries to become what they
naturally are not.
The semiotic analysis of this advertisement and its signs
clearly show the formation of thought every person wakes up thinking every day
and how they comprehend the society they live in. It shows the unobtainable “perfectness”
every member of our society strives for.
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