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Semiotics: Analogue Oppositions

Welcome Dear colleagues and fellow researchers. Today, in the discussion on Semiotics, I would like to elaborate upon the concept of Analogue Oppositions. Definition: Analogue oppositions refer to pairs of oppositional signifiers in a paradigm set representing categories with comparative grading on the same implicit dimension, e.g. when we say “good and bad” where ‘not good’ is not necessarily ‘bad’ and vice versa. Background: In semiotics, analogue oppositions refer to a type of meaning-making structure based on gradual, continuous differences between signs, rather than binary or categorical distinctions. Scholars like Roman Jakobson and Roland Barthes noted how analogue signs (such as images, gestures, or tones) can carry complex meanings through continuous variation, unlike words which are more digital in structure. Pairs of oppositional signifiers in a paradigm set representing categories with comparative grading on the same implicit dimension and which together define...

mehFILM: Dark Chocolate (2016)

Hello and welcome dear friends and cinema lovers.  Today I will talk about 2016 Bengali Crime Thriller "Dark Chocolate" directed by Agnidev Chatterjee. The film was loosely based on real life sensational murder of Sheena Bora, the daughter of media barons, Indrani Mukherjee and Peter Mukherjee.     GENRE: CRIME THRILLER DURATION: 92 Minutes WHAT IS IT ABOUT? The film opens with the gruesome discovery of a charred body in a secluded area near Mumbai, triggering a high-profile investigation. Police officers Abhishek and Payal arrest the victim’s driver, Ram Charan, whose confession implicates socialite Ishani Banerjee in the murder of her own daughter, Rina Bardhan. The narrative shifts back and forth between the present investigation and Ishani’s troubled past—her abusive childhood, rise in social circles, marriages, and descent into darkness. In a Rashomon-like format, the truth unfolds through conflicting testimonies from Ram Charan, Ishani, and her husband Sh...

iReview: Hologram

Hello dear Colleague and Fellow Researcher,  today, I would like to discuss a chapter entitled  "HOLOGRAM"  from the book Simulacra and Simulation  written by  Jean Baudrillard. Jean Baudrillard (1929 – 2007) ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S): Jean Baudrillard was a French sociologist and philosopher with an interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as well as his formulation of concepts such as hyperreality. Baudrillard wrote about diverse subjects, including consumerism, critique of economy, social history, aesthetics, Western foreign policy, and popular culture. WHAT IS THIS CHAPTER ABOUT? The chapter explores the philosophical implications of  holograms  and  simulation , arguing that the pursuit of perfect resemblance or an exact "double" ultimately leads to the disappearance of the original and its associated meaning. It suggests that the drive for hyperreal exact...

Semiotics: Addresser and Addressee

Welcome Dear colleagues and fellow researchers. Today, in the discussion on Semiotics, I would like to elaborate upon the concepts of addresser and addressee . Roman Jakobson (1896 - 1982) Definition: Jakobson used these terms to refer to what, in transmission models of communication , are called the ‘ sender ’ and the ‘ receiver ’ of a message. Other commentators have used them to refer more specifically to constructions of these two roles within the text, so that addresser refers to an authorial persona, while addressee refers to an ‘ideal reader’. Addresser: This is the person who delivers a message to a specific audience.  Addressee: This is the audience that receives the message. Background: Addresser and addressee are alternative terms to sender and receiver originated by Bühler and employed in Jakobson's model of communication. Roman Jakobson was a linguist who studied the structure of language and was particularly interested in the difficulties that appear in many lang...

mehFILM: Double indemnity (1944)

Hello and welcome dear friends and cinema lovers.  Today I will talk about the 1944 Noir film Double Indemnity directed by celebrated Billy Wilder. The film was adapted from the novel of the same name by James M. Cain. GENRE: FILM NOIR DURATION: 107 Minutes WHAT IS IT ABOUT? Released in 1944, Double Indemnity is a classic film noir directed by Billy Wilder, a defining masterpiece of the genre. Adapted from James M. Cain’s novella, with a screenplay by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, it tells a dark tale of greed, betrayal, and murder. The story follows Walter Neff, an insurance salesman played by Fred MacMurray, who gets entangled in a deadly scheme. Late one night, wounded and desperate, Neff narrates his confession into a Dictaphone, revealing how he fell for the seductive Phyllis Dietrichson, portrayed by Barbara Stanwyck. Phyllis, a femme fatale, lures Neff into a plot to kill her husband for a double indemnity insurance payout—a clause that doubles the money if the death is acc...

iReview: Clone Story

Hello and Welcome Today, I want to talk about the chapter entitled "CLONE STORY" from the book "SIMULACRA AND SIMULATION" authored by Jean Baudrillard.  Jean Baudrillard (1929 – 2007) ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jean Baudrillard was a French sociologist and philosopher with an interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as well as his formulation of concepts such as hyperreality. Baudrillard wrote about diverse subjects, including consumerism, critique of economy, social history, aesthetics, Western foreign policy, and popular culture. WHAT IS THIS CHAPTER ABOUT? This chapter explores the philosophical implications of cloning.  Baudrillard positions cloning as the materialism of the double and a step beyond traditional notions of reproduction and identity.  He argues that cloning signifies a shift from sexual procreation, linked to death and alterity, towards a monocellular utopia focus...