Semiotic Analysis of Mural`s Denpasar.

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SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF MURAL’S DENPASAR

I GUSTI AGUNG MAHADIPA 1201305096

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF ARTS

UDAYANA UNIVERSITY

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ACKNOWLADGMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to the Almighty

God, Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, that leads on the completion of this study

entitled “Semiotic Analysis Of Mural’s Denpasar”

Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Dr. Ni Luh Sutjiati

Beratha, M.A. as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Udayana University and I Gusti

Ngurah Parthama, S.S., M.Hum. as the Head of English Department, Faculty of

Arts, Udayana University.

Third, I am very grateful to Drs. I Gede Budiasa, M.A. and Putu Weddha

Savitri, S.S., M.Hum., as my First and Second Supervisor respectively for their

guidance, advice, encouragement and patience, so that I am able to finish this

paper.

Also all the lecturers of the English Department Regular Program, Faculty

of Arts, Udayana University, who have been teaching and educating me during

my academic years.

Next, I will not forget to express my gratitude to my parents and my

brother for the support, push, love and care. For all my supporters: KKN Family-

Irvan for his kindness in giving information about mural; Budi Juni as friend in

sharing in the same struggle; Underdog Gang – Teguh Baladewa, Agus, Gowinda;

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of my friends who cannot be mentioned one by one, thanks for the support and

spirit.

Finally, I present this final project to all the readers and wish that it can be

useful.

Denpasar, June 2016

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iv ABSTRACT

This study entitled “Semiotic Analysis of Mural’s Denpasar” focused on

verbal and visual signs of the mural around Denpasar City. The aims of the study are to describe the verbal and visual that are illustrated in the mural and what they signify, the relation between verbal and visual sign and the ideology contained on the murals.

The data was taken from the mural around Denpasar City. This study included the method of library research and documentary technique in taking picture of the mural. The qualitative method was applied to analyze the collected data. Furthermore, the technique was analyzed descriptively and qualitatively, applying The Dyadic theory proposed by Ferdinand de Saussure and Order of Signification proposed by Roland Bhartes.

The result of the analysis shows that the mural found in Denpasar City consist of verbal and visual sign. The murals shows text and picture that makes the relation between them to convey the messages to the readers, so that visual and verbal sign are support each other. The second meaning or connotative and ideology is trying to create what is the creator want to share the phenomenon that happens in society nowadays.

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1.5.2 Method and Technique of Collecting Data ... 4

1.5.3 Method and Technique of Analyzing Data ... 5

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURES, CONCEPTS, AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 6

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3.1.1 The Analysis of Denotative Meaning ... 20

3.1.2 The Analysis of Connotative Meaning ... 22

3.1.3 The Relationship between Verbal and Visual Sign ... 25

3.1.4 The Analysis of Ideology or Myth ... 25

3.2 Data 2 ... 26

3.3 Data 3 ... 32

3.4 Data 4 ... 38

3.5 Data 5 ... 45

CHAPTER IV CONCLUSION 51

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1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

The development of the conception by human mind is based on perception

on meaning to what it refers. Oftentimes, we see something that we already know

then it could presume the name of the thing easily. It can be illustrated by our

everyday activities on the way, we see the traffic light with red light then we

immediately stop the vehicle. In this sense, it is called as a sign in which is refers

to our concept of mind.

In communicating our feeling or condition, signs can be form of code to

each other. Such as saying a love of a man to his beloved woman, he gives her

beautiful stem of rose. If the signs itself can be drawing, photographs, painting

extend to area like art and photographs section. So that, the signs we see could be

considered as “visual sign”.

Then, what if mural takes as a part of signs, since it comes a long time ago

to represent their aspiration from creation of arts to criticize against something

that cannot feel right in that situation. According to (Hornby, 2010: 972), mural is

a painting, usually a large one, done on a wall, sometimes on an outside wall of a

building. Most of the people, consider mural as visual art or as a part of act of

vandalism. It is popular art. Unfortunately a majority of people are ill-informed

and do not understand what the culture is about. It is about self-expression. We

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admire. It may not be fully appreciated at the moment, but in due course it will be

recognized as an art form.

In interpreting signs around, it needs knowledge about how the way of

signs could be interpret as well as what it interpreted. The study about sign and its

meaning is known as semiotics. Saussure (cited in Chandler, 2001) defines

semiotics as the science of signs in society.Semiotics focuses with anything that

can be taken as a sign. Therefore, signs of the mural that takes a meaning can be

incorporated in the study of semiotics. On the other way, mural can interpret its

meaning to represent human life and social activity. The aspect of understanding

in this mural is based on society point of view.

Based on the previous explanation, it seems that mural is very interesting to

discuss. This study expands to the variation of data source in form of mural that

no one has used mural as a data for study. Therefore, this study analyzes the mural

in the visual and verbal aspects that can be more interpreted deeply in representing

human life and social activity.

1.2 Problem of the Study

Based on the elaboration of the background above, the problems of this

study can be formulated as follows:

1. What verbal and visual signs are illustrated in the Muralin Denpasar?

2. How the mural relate between verbal and visual signs in creating message

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1.3 Aims of the Study

The aims of this study can be divided into two. They are general and

specific aims.

1.3.1. General Aim

Generally, the aim of this study is to apply semantic theory that has

been learned in the English Department, Faculty of Arts, Udayana

University. Moreover, the academic aim of conducting this study is to give

contribution to the improvement of linguistic study in particular the

Semiotic study.

1.3.2. Specific Aim

The study specifically aims are:

1. To identify the verbal and visual signs are illustrated the mural in

Denpasar.

2. To related between the verbal and visual signs of mural in Denpasar

and ideology.

1.4 Scope of Discussion

To limit the analysis, the discussion of this study focused on:

1. Verbal and visual signs on the murals

2. The relationship between the verbal and visual signs of mural in

Denpasar and the ideology on the murals

1.5. Research Method

There are some steps being done for showing that this study belongs to

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collecting data, method and technique of analyzing data and the last method and

lastly are technique of presenting analysis. This study applied field research as

method to collect and to analyze the data.

1.5.1 Data Source

The data was taken from some murals around Denpasar city. The

authors of those murals are some community of mural in Denpasar city of which

the time of producing the murals is unknown. The data was chosen based on its

content. Only mural that contains images and texts are selected. Moreover, the

mural found in public places that were used as the data, in this case, the public

places includes school, university, traffic light, etc.

Murals around Denpasar city were chosen since the content behind

these are interesting to serve as a social message or critique of society for the past

or nowadays. In addition, these murals represent the phenomenon that still exists

in society.

1.5.2. Method and Technique of Collecting Data

The data were collected by using documentation method,

particularly taking photos. The techniques in collecting the data were done in

three steps. First, murals that contain images and texts were searched and

collected by visiting public places around Denpasar. Furthermore, the selected

murals were captured by camera. Finally, the data was identified and sorted based

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1.5.3. Method and Technique of Analyzing Data

The collected data were descriptive-qualitatively analyzed. The

reason behind of this choice because the data of this research is words and picture

and would be describe qualitatively. In order to analyze the data, some theories

were applied. Those were semiotics theories proposed by Saussure (1983) and

Bhartes (1957). Meanwhile, there were some techniques applied in analyzing the

data. Firstly, the theory of Saussure is used to find the signifier and signified of

verbal and visual signs of the murals. To get the signified aspects, first the

signifier aspects should be explained. Then, by using the theory of Bhartes, the

order of signification was analyzed deeply into denotative, connotative and myth

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6 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURES, CONCEPTS AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter presents some literatures that have similar topic with this study.

It is important to review some related literatures in order to support the analysis of

this study. The weakness and strength can be found in the present reviews.

Moreover, there are some concepts are explained on next chapter. Then, the last

subchapter presents the theoretical framework, which explains Saussure‘s Model

of Signs and Bhartes ―Order of Signification‖.

2.1 Review of Literatures

The first review by Putra (2015), in his study entitled ―Verbal and Non

-Verbal Signs in Gastrode sports Drink Advertisement‖ intended to find out the

messages and the relationship between the verbal and non-verbal signs in

Gastrode Sport drink advertisement. In this qualitative study, he found that the

verbal and non-verbal signs used in Gastrode Sports drink advertisement under

study convey messages such as: victory, confidence in facing any challenges in

life and the fame of popular athlete. The messages can persuade readers so that

readers want to buy and consume the product. The verbal signs and the non-verbal

signs are also related using anchorage or relay to ease readers to understand the

message of the advertisements. In general, this study has the relevance with the

present study. This study and present study analyzed verbal and non-verbal and

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―myth‖ as analyzing the data. It was different from the previous study, which

merely applied denotative and connotative in analyzing data.

The next review entitled ―Visual and Verbal Signs of Memes Based on

Movies Character‖ by Kresna (2015). This study discussed about classifying and

finding the relation between signifier and signified of the verbal and visual signs

of memes. This qualitative study applied Saussure theory to find signified and

signifier of verbal and visual signs of the memes and Dyer theory of types of

Visual Communication. The relevance to this study is both are using a theory of

Saussure about Signified and Signified and the relation between visual and

non-verbal the data. The difference between this study and the present study is the

previous study used internet memes as data source, however the current study use

mural as data source and the present study analyzed the ―myth‖ of the data source.

Thirdly, the undergraduate study entitled ―Semiotic Analysis of Character‘s

Motions in Marvel‘s Comic Iron Man 3 Prelude – Iron Man Extremis‖ by

Wibawa (2015) mainly focused on the analysis of the meanings of the character‘s

motions and the relationship between the character‘s motion and textual devices in

creating the event in the five pages of the comic. The data of his study were taken

from Marvel Comic’s book entitled Iron Man 3 Prelude – Iron Man Extremis

edition (2013) written by Chisto Gage with Will Corona Pilgrim. The theories

applied to support his paper are theory of semiotic proposed by Saussure (1983) to

analyze the first problem about meaning of the signifiers and signified of the

character‘s motions, and theory of relationships in comic from Scott McCloud

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motions and textual devices in creating the event. The data of his study was

descriptively analyzed by using qualitative method. The result of his study was

the character‘s motions which consist of signifiers and signified were illustrated

truly similar like people or human‘s motion in real life. For example, a picture of a

person who does a wrestling move looks like what it happens in real life. Also, it

proves that the clear events of each panel in the comic book were produced by the

relations between the character‘s motions and the textual devices – speech

balloons or sound effects. In his study, he analyzed the signifier and signified in

visual sign in appropriate way, however, the way he analyzed the signifier and

signified in verbal signs does not explained detail and clear. Besides, the way he

used main theory proposed by Saussure are similar with this study.

An article on International Journal entitled ―The Semiology Analysis In

Media Studies: Roland Barthes Approach‖ by Feyrouz Bouzida focused on the

application of semiology in media studies according to Barthes approach, in the

way that emphasizes the nonverbal communication, the visual image, the

photograph as a sign system. Additionally, the process of semiology in this field

refers to signs in all their manifestations, linguistic or nonlinguistic, which involve

the signifier and the signified as the main components of media signs according to

the cultural phenomena including: films, photographs, fashion, advertising... etc.

On the other hand, Barthes semiological approach is highly applied in media

analysis as a qualitative approach that can be applied to media texts in which the

readers/receivers as a key aspect plays an important role in the construction of

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cultural background. Thus, Barthes works makes valuable contributions in

understanding media signs that are expressed by two messages the first is denoted

and the second is connoted in the process of significance.

The last is an article on Journal of Media and Communication Studies

(2015) named ―Reinterpreting Some Key Concepts in Barthes‘ Theory‖. This

journal makes clear some basic concepts in semiotic studies like signifier,

signified and referent and core concepts in Roland Barthes‘s theory restudied with

new developments especially in connotateurs, meta-language and meaning

transfer, which play a key role in understanding how myth constructed with the

two mechanisms of naturalizing and generalizing. With the new understanding,

the paper studies the representative signs from television and their semiotic

function and concludes that meaning transfer is the fundamental way for media

signs to construct new meanings.

In accordance with the previous studies and article on international journals

related to the verbal and visual signs, this study focused on the description of

verbal and visual sign on mural. However there were some differences to the

present study. Then, this study also has strong point in analyzing the third

meaning known as the ideology of murals in Denpasar. All of the previous studies

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2.2 Concepts

The concepts used in this study including the concept signs, the concept of

meaning, visual signs and verbal signs.

2.2.1 Concept of Signs

Signs take the form of words, images, sounds, colours, gestures, acts or

objects. According to Fiske and Hartley (1978: 37), ―the central concerns of

semiotics are the relationship between a sign and its meaning; and the way signs

are combined into codes‖.

In the discussion of study of sign, the framework is summarized into three

fields of study:

1). The sign. This entails the study of the various types of signs, and the

different ways they have of conveying meaning, and the way they relate

to the people who use them.

2). That to which the sign refers. In other words, the codes or systems into

which the signs are organized.

3). The users of the sign. The culture within which these codes and signs

operate. (Fiske, 1982: 43)

Saussure (1916: 16) describes a language as a system of sign, which has

meaning by virtue of its relationship to each other. He defines the linguistic sign

as a two sided psychological entity consisting of a concept (signified) and a

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image) and the signified refers to the mental concept. The relationship between

the signified and signifier is called signification.

Saussure (1916: 113) stresses that the signifier and signified were as

inseparable as the sides of a piece of paper. He also emphasizes the arbitrariness

of the sign. In the context of natural language, he stresses that there is no

necessary connection.

2.2.2 Concept of Meaning

According to Hornby (2008: 920), meaning is (1) ―is the things or ideas that

somebody wishes to communicate to you by what they say or do‖ (2) ―the thing or

idea that a sound, word, sign, etc. represents‖ i.e.:

Utterance Meaning

Turn off the lamp! Ordering to turn the lamp off

The denotative meaning of the sentence above is ‗understand what you

mean to say‘.

Meaning is the idea that is represented by a word, phrase, etc. Meaning can

be defined as a characteristic attributed to signs in a very wide sense of the word,

including not only linguistic expression, such as markings on map, road signs,

smoke signals, and the other various signals. Further, meaning of the pictures of

human gestures in mural is the idea of an event that wants to be illustrated by the

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2.2.3 Concept of Mural

According to Hornby (2010: 972), mural is a painting, usually a large one,

done on a wall, sometimes on an outside wall of a building. Some murals usually

consist of images only, and the other consists of images and texts.

2.2.4 Visual Signs

Visual signs of semiotics that analyses the way visual images communicate

a message. Visual signs can be a picture, piece of film, or display used to illustrate

or accompany something.

2.2.5 Verbal Signs

According to Webster (2011), Verbal is consisting of or using words only

and not involving action. In verbal signs, word not only describe thing, also to

communicating feelings, association and attitude they bring ideas to our mind

designed to convey the message.

2.3 Theoretical Framework

Theoretical framework can be a guideline of the research. This study is

conducted based on Dyadic theory and semiotic theory proposed by Saussure

(1916). The theories were applied to analyze signifier and signified of visual and

verbal that illustrated in mural. In addition, the supporting theory of semiotics

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2.3.1 Saussure’s Model of Signs

The first theory comes from Ferdinand de Saussure named Dyadic theory

and semiotic theory. Saussure‘s bilateral or dyadic sign model comprises three

terms; the signs and its constituents that are signifier and signified. It means that

every sign consists of a signifier and a signified. Signifier refers to the form which

takes (mental image) while the signified refers to the concept it represents (mental

concept). A sign has to have both a signifier and a signified. A sign is a knowable

combination of a signifier with a particular signified. The relationship between the

signifier and signified is called ‗signification‘.

Saussure (1974: 65) defines a sign as being composed of signifiers and

signified.

a. A signifier (signifiant): a form which the sign takes. It is something that

can be touched, listened, or seen that used to represent what people

want to express in communication.

b. A signified (signifié): a concept it represents. It is an abstract concept of

what the signifier means. It can also be interpreted as the concept of the

meaning of what people want to express in communication.

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Saussure suggested that the sign must have both a signifier and a signified.

For example, ‗there is an ice cube in the glass of water‘. The signifier is ‗ice cube‘

and the signified is: it is a cold drink. It means the sign is a combination of these

two components. Therefore, it will be:

Signifier + Signified = Sign

2.3.2 Signification

For Saussure, signification is the relationship of a sign or sign system to its

referential reality. Barthes makes much more of the concept, and uses it to refer to

the way that signs work in a culture: he adds the dimension of cultural values to

Saussure's use of the term.

Barthes (1974: 9) identifies two orders of signification: the first is that of

denotation (which is what Saussure calls 'signification'), the second is that of

connotation and myth and occurs when the first order meanings of the sign meet

the values and established discourses of the culture.

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2.3.3 Order of Signification

a. The first order of signification: denotation

This refers to the simple or literal relationship of a sign to its referent. It

assumes that this relationship is objective and value-free—for all their differences,

the words 'horse', 'steed' and 'nag' all denote the same animal. The

mechanical/chemical action of a camera in producing an image of what it is

pointed at is denotation. The concept is generally of use only for analytical

purposes; in practice there is no such thing as an objective, value-free order of

signification except in such highly specialized languages as that of mathematics: 4

+ 8 = 12 is a purely denotative statement.

First order of signification (Denotation):

(a) We see a photograph, word or symbol, on a film poster,

for example.

(b) We recognise what it is.

E.g. the number 18 on a red

background in the shape of a

circle.

b. The second order of signification: connotation

This occurs when the denotative meaning of the sign is made to stand for

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expressive, attitudinal or evaluative shades of meaning. In photography the

mechanical/chemical process produces denotative meanings, but the human

intervention in the choice of features such as focus, framing and lighting produces

the connotative. The form of the signifier, then, determines connotation: changing

the signifier while keeping the same signified on the first order is the way to

control the connotative meanings. Examples are: two photographs of the same

girl, one in sharp focus, the other in soft; the same word spoken in different tones

of voice, or printed in different typefaces; or the choice between 'horse', 'nag' and

'steed'. Connotation works through style and tone, and is concerned with the how

rather than what of communication.

Second order of signification (Connotation):

This is the ‗meaning‘ of the photo, word or symbol. It is what is

suggested by what we see. It is ideas we associate with it.

It means ―This film is only suitable for people aged 18 and above – you can‘t watch it, if you‘re younger!‖

c. The third order of signification: myth

Barthes's rather specialized use of the term myth refers to a chain of

concepts widely accepted throughout a culture, by which its members

conceptualize or understand a particular topic or part of their social experience.

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such as it is good, it is natural, it is spiritually refreshing, it is peaceful, it is

beautiful, and it is a place for leisure and recuperation. Conversely, our myth of

the city contains concepts such as unnaturalness, constriction, work, tension,

stress. These myths are arbitrary with respect to their referents, and

culture-specific. In the eighteenth century, for example, the city was mythologized as

good, civilized, urbane, polite; the countryside as bad, uncivilized, rude. A typical

twentieth-century advertisement shows a happy family picnicking in a meadow

beside a stream, with their car parked in the background. The mother is preparing

the meal, the father and son are kicking a football, and the daughter is picking

flowers. The ad acts as a trigger to activate our myths of countryside, family, sex

roles, work-and-leisure, and so on. To understand this ad we must bring to it our

‗ways of conceptualizing‘ these topics (or our myths): if we do not have these

myths, the ad will mean something different to us, or may not mean very much at

all. The term myth, then, is not to be used in the layperson's sense of a 'false

belief', but in the anthropological sense of a culture's way of conceptualizing an

abstract topic'. Myths are conceptual and operate on the plane of the signified;

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Third level: Myth or Ideology

This is what the photo, word or symbol says about society - or the meaning of life!

Myth or ideology is the ‗big picture‘

It is the wider significance of the photo word or symbol.

Fiske and Hartley (1978) suggest that the connotations and myths of a

culture are the manifest signs of its ideology. The way that the varied connotations

and myths fit together to form a coherent pattern or sense of wholeness, that is, the

way they ‗make sense‘, is evidence of an underlying invisible, organizing

principle—ideology. Barthes identifies a similar relationship when he calls

connotators (the signifiers of connotation) 'the rhetoric of ideology‘; Fiske and

Hartley suggest that it may be helpful to think of ideology as the third order of

signification.

If it‘s classified as an 18 certificate – there must be a reason for it.

The content of the film must include sex, violence or drug use.