TITLE:
Photographs and Cartoons: Differences in Interpretation of the Visual Semiotics
AUTHORS:
Bashayir Al Zahrani, Mohammed Alhuthali
KEYWORDS:
Visual Grammar, Intersemiosis, Multimodality, Meaning-Making, Cartoons
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.14 No.3,
March
13,
2024
ABSTRACT: This study looks at
the interaction between the process of intersemiosis and resemiosis in
multimodality. The importance of both phases is widely acknowledged as part of
the meaning making process but many practical studies focus on the first rather
than the second. In particular this study looks at two groups of images about
gender relations in Saudi Arabia following the post-2017 reforms of the male
guardianship laws. One group are mostly made up of photographs and the second
group of cartoons and posters. One important finding is that the latter tend to
be less ambiguous in their semiotic structure than the former. In particular,
there are instances in the first group where a standard study of intersemiosis
indicates low modality but the image may be seen as inherently plausible by
many observers. This suggests that while resemiosis can be applied to a single
image it may be more appropriate as a tool when applied to an overall news
article or set of images. In the same way that not all individual semiotic
modes are complementary in how they build meaning, then it is possible for
different images to be supportive, contradictory or unclear when studied in
isolation.