Barthes and the Second-Order Semiological System
Saleem Suzah
02 / 09 / 2015
There are three important components in the sign system, signifier, signified, and sign. The signifier is the language, which could be manifested in forms of writing, speaking, or in an image. The signified is the concept that our minds create once we read, hear, or see those lingual forms. Finally, the sign is the “whole that results from the associating of the signifier with the signified” as Ferdinand de Saussure defines (Rivkin and Ryan 62). For Roland Barthes, this tri-dimensional pattern (signifier, signified, and sign) exists in a semiological chain in which the sign in the first system becomes a signifier in the second (Rivkin and Ryan 81). It is a “second-order semiological system” which refers to a greater system that Barthes calls a “myth” or “metalanguage” (Rivkin and Ryan 81-82). I chose the image above on which to apply Barthes’s mythological analysis and to explain its primary meaning and what it secondarily signifies (metaimage)? What is its second-order semiological system and what myth it carries within?
In this image, some Mexican-Americans lift up the Mexican flag above the American flag on the American territories. This is the simple meaning of the image. Whoever published this image, suggests that this is unacceptable as it is considered an insult to the United States. The people pictured are presumably Mexicans who live in the United States. They are supposed to be Americans and salute its flag. They are supposed to be a part of this nation and respect its national identity. The signifier here is the image where we see a crowd of Mexican-Americans in an American state pulling down the American flag and lifting up the Mexican flag instead. The signified in this event is that Mexican-Americans do not respect the American flag and, in turn, they do not appreciate being a part of this nation. Now, the sign that is constructed by the combination of the signifier and the signified of this image becomes understood to us as an audience. It is what Barthes calls “the first-order semiological system”. What about the second-order semiological system (metaimage)? Does the sign of this image refer to a greater semiological system? Does it signify a certain myth? Sure it does.
Remember what Barthes says, “The sign in the first-order semiological system becomes a mere signifier in the second” (Rivkin and Ryan 81). The simple meaning of this image in the first-order semiological system, which primarily conveys that Mexican-Americans disrespect the American flag, becomes a signifier to a complex meaning in the second-order semiological system. It secondarily signifies a “myth” in which the Mexican-Americans are not loyal to the United States and are a threat to its national identity. In other words, the image simply means that Mexican-Americans disrespect the American flag, but the metaimage signifies that those Mexican-Americans should not be welcomed here since they are not loyal to the country and they do represent a threat to the national identity. They should be deported because they do not appreciate being a part of this nation. It could also be a broader message against the immigration issue in whole. It may mean all immigrants, not only the Mexicans. This is why I mentioned that the signifier in the second-order semiological system might signify a complex meaning. The metalanguage or the myth in this image is being used as a political propaganda to mobilize the public against the immigration law. This is the greater semiological system that the image secondarily signifies.
Finally, we can use the Barthes’s mythological analysis on any phenomenon, image, or text to better understand what they primarily mean and what they secondarily signify? It is an analysis that enables us to know the “myth” or the “metalanguage” behind any event.
Works Cited
Rivkin, Julie and Michael Ryan, eds. Literary Theory, an Anthology. 2nd ed. Massachusetts: Blackwell, 2004. Print.
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Saleem Suzah
02 / 09 / 2015
There are three important components in the sign system, signifier, signified, and sign. The signifier is the language, which could be manifested in forms of writing, speaking, or in an image. The signified is the concept that our minds create once we read, hear, or see those lingual forms. Finally, the sign is the “whole that results from the associating of the signifier with the signified” as Ferdinand de Saussure defines (Rivkin and Ryan 62). For Roland Barthes, this tri-dimensional pattern (signifier, signified, and sign) exists in a semiological chain in which the sign in the first system becomes a signifier in the second (Rivkin and Ryan 81). It is a “second-order semiological system” which refers to a greater system that Barthes calls a “myth” or “metalanguage” (Rivkin and Ryan 81-82). I chose the image above on which to apply Barthes’s mythological analysis and to explain its primary meaning and what it secondarily signifies (metaimage)? What is its second-order semiological system and what myth it carries within?
In this image, some Mexican-Americans lift up the Mexican flag above the American flag on the American territories. This is the simple meaning of the image. Whoever published this image, suggests that this is unacceptable as it is considered an insult to the United States. The people pictured are presumably Mexicans who live in the United States. They are supposed to be Americans and salute its flag. They are supposed to be a part of this nation and respect its national identity. The signifier here is the image where we see a crowd of Mexican-Americans in an American state pulling down the American flag and lifting up the Mexican flag instead. The signified in this event is that Mexican-Americans do not respect the American flag and, in turn, they do not appreciate being a part of this nation. Now, the sign that is constructed by the combination of the signifier and the signified of this image becomes understood to us as an audience. It is what Barthes calls “the first-order semiological system”. What about the second-order semiological system (metaimage)? Does the sign of this image refer to a greater semiological system? Does it signify a certain myth? Sure it does.
Remember what Barthes says, “The sign in the first-order semiological system becomes a mere signifier in the second” (Rivkin and Ryan 81). The simple meaning of this image in the first-order semiological system, which primarily conveys that Mexican-Americans disrespect the American flag, becomes a signifier to a complex meaning in the second-order semiological system. It secondarily signifies a “myth” in which the Mexican-Americans are not loyal to the United States and are a threat to its national identity. In other words, the image simply means that Mexican-Americans disrespect the American flag, but the metaimage signifies that those Mexican-Americans should not be welcomed here since they are not loyal to the country and they do represent a threat to the national identity. They should be deported because they do not appreciate being a part of this nation. It could also be a broader message against the immigration issue in whole. It may mean all immigrants, not only the Mexicans. This is why I mentioned that the signifier in the second-order semiological system might signify a complex meaning. The metalanguage or the myth in this image is being used as a political propaganda to mobilize the public against the immigration law. This is the greater semiological system that the image secondarily signifies.
Finally, we can use the Barthes’s mythological analysis on any phenomenon, image, or text to better understand what they primarily mean and what they secondarily signify? It is an analysis that enables us to know the “myth” or the “metalanguage” behind any event.
Works Cited
Rivkin, Julie and Michael Ryan, eds. Literary Theory, an Anthology. 2nd ed. Massachusetts: Blackwell, 2004. Print.
Back to the articles page