Semiotics and Film: an Introduction

T, W, Th 13:00 – 16:00 (hybrid online course)

Aims to introduce students to the different approaches to studying film through semiotic analysis. The course explores how a society produces meanings and values in a communication system called semiotics, and specifically focuses on the medium of film. It familiarizes students with the industrial context of film production and film technology and examines film both as narrative and semiotic form. The course provides a brief overview of the language, the history and the reception of film through the examination of cinematic codes and conventions while considering a general theory of signs. By analyzing specific movies, students will learn to recognize different film movements and genres and discuss ideas of social, national, gender and politics representations.