Body & Cultural Text Essay

When a person has watched a film, advertisement or read a book, there argon unadorned elements that be app bent by extinct the work of device that seemingly communicate more than their get up meaning. This essay seeks to demonstrate how metaphor, connotation and metonym are usu eachy used in distinct cultural texts such(prenominal)(prenominal) as in books, film and others. It specific bothy applies the staple suppositions of intercourse guess to cultural texts, physical objects and images. Body Communication theory lays emphasis on exchange and production of meaning and information through symbols and signs (Littlejohn, 2002).It draws its argument from encoding and s terminaling of a specific content, where it is received and decoded by the recipient and synthesized for a meaning and information to be drawn out of it. What communication theory depicts is that communication does permeate all evels of human follow through eon being central to comprehending a certain(a) h uman demeanor (Griffin, 1997). Through metonym, metaphor and connotation, the main elements of communication theory are brought into focus, since they are figurative use of sending certain messages barely in distinct ways.Through them, cultural texts are deciphered and understood, where meanings are drawn beyond the surface meaning. Metonym Metonym, a figure of speech, is rhetorically used where a concept or entity is not called by its hear exclusively through the name of another thing that is associated intimately with it. It is the use of a single object or thing to identify another, which might be related. For example, in set III, scene II of Shakespeares Julius Caesar, (Lines 74-77) Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears (Pickering & Hoeper, 1982).Ear in this field of study represents attention, since it is the ears that we use to pay attention to speech. Once the lending ear (attention) has been heard, the basic understanding of lend (to borrow something) is stret ched to include nonmaterial things, in this circumstance attention. Washington might be the capital of the United States, but it is usually used as an obvious metonym for the U. S. government. In film, metonym gives meaning to distinct elements of plot, such as in the recent movie, Ameri end Beauty. It is a comedy where personal, inner(a) conflict is depicted through metonyms.For instance, the protagonist, Tootsie, shows signs of inner conflict when he lacks effrontery to carry out a scam. In another level of conflict, metonyms in the form of coworkers, boss, father, friends, TV audience and his love depict the protagonists social conflict. The movie is all about several(predicate) levels of conflict that are splendidly shown metonymically, through several(predicate) contexts. This is achieved through outward projection of different levels of conflict on other characters it is seen, creating a very dramatic impact. grumpy types of metonyms in substitution do influence our thou ghts, actions and attitudes.This is achieved through focvictimization on a specific aspect and suppressing another inconsistent with a particular metonym. For example, Lakoff and Johnson argue that when you think about Picasso, your thoughts move beyond a mo of art (1980). You start thinking of it in relation to the individual, his artistic conception, technique, art in history and other relations. Connotation Connotation in texts, expressions and in mere boys shows the expressed and emotive part of a language. Seemingly, all connotative signs and expressions lie vaguely midway mingled with ambiguity and symbolism.For instance, the word iron denotes a very tough metal but can connote that a man is a piece of iron since he has won a boxing match without a problem. Connotations form a major component of poetry, where its power of expression, suggestion and emotion offers parameters that gauge the literary capability of an author while the cultural text awareness of the lector is revealed. This means that connotation must be culture and text indentured to be of any significance. For instance, in Elizabethan times black was ilk to piracy, lust, infidelity and cruelty.This is shown in Shakespeares depiction of Elizabethan disgust of the connotation black in more vivid racial terms. In Othello, Iago expresses that an previous(a) black ram is tupping your white ewe and ariseor else the devil entrust make a grandsire of you (Pickering & Hoeper, 1982). This association of Othello shows the established historical connotation that westerly nations had concerning black as pure evil. The communicatory element of connotation is distributive and everywhere. It is expressed in all cultures and dwells across all ages in all literary styles, genres, cultural expression such as music, architecture and painting. harmony offers something more to people beyond the rhythm and stones, thus connotation end up being capable of having double meanings and creating euphemisms . In film, connotation makes a communicatory entry, as in the official poster of Ugly Betty, period 2. In the poster, there is a darker background that lies empennage Alexis, Amanda, Daniel, Marc, Cl origine and Willie, connoting Mode as being business and in that juncture, wealth and money equals evil and power. In the equal poster, there is a white and blue background behind Betty, Hilda, Henry, Justin, Christina and Iganscio.This connotes family, happiness, tranquility and deeper peace. In hair product advertisements, the portrayal of hair as free flowing and seemingly in motion in an bran- forward-looking style connotes a woman readying herself to socialize, in that the free-flowing hair connotes freedom, as elaborated by Williamson, (1978). Metaphor Metaphors are simply comparisons showing ii things, unlike in a major way, but importantly like in a certain way. Being an analogy, a metaphor lies between two ideas or objects and elaborated through the usage of a certain wor d, which communicates figuratively.In books, metaphors communicate a poetic imagination that enables authors such as Shakespeare to show a comparison between the world and stage, where humans make it and leave the stage, as seen in the drama As You Like It, while Robert Frosts poem, The Road Not Taken compares the life of a person to a journey. In film, metaphors elaborate issues figuratively, such as in a short film entitled The Unique Oneness of Christian Savage. In the film, a child loses a best friend who locomote from a tall tree where they had been playing.The child then runs away from the funeral and the actors line spoken, and starts beating the evil tree that killed the friend using a depleted branch. This is a visual metaphor introducing an element of conflict without the use of row but very powerful. In adverts, metaphors are used in associating products using semantic domains that have positive connotations. The truth in an advert appears like a law for advertisers to keep off from explicitly making such statements that might be either true or false. For instance, in an air freshener advert, it might be said in an advert that it will acquire a tropical breeze in your home.While it is obvious it cannot do this, what is metaphorically communicated is that your house will have fresh air. In addition, the communicative element of metaphors also takes a visual course, where it becomes a window of new thinking. These visuals give the individual a chance to escape while those who are creative can explain and interpret a novel world. In understanding the metaphor, the interpretation is on the world we live where we establish the relationship. In advertising, this is even clearer and true in the recent highly creative and digital images in advertisements.In fact, the smarter a metaphor is the more unforgettable and memorable the advert campaign. In some Ford Motors adverts, the car transforms itself in different terrains, into a metallic ape along a m ountain and a crocodile in a river. This is a visual metaphor for strength and safety. closely importantly, the more fun and creative the metaphor, the more unforgettable the message it conveys. It has been a major sell for adverts with figurative images. For instance, there are adverts on the campaigns on Aids by the French. It has images which are very captivating and fearful but communicate their intention.One is a naked man having sex with a gigantic venomous arachnid, while another shows a female doing the same with another, a metaphor for unprotected sex. It is disgusting and scary to say the least, but aptly effective. Such graphical metaphors depict the underlying element of communicative theory, where the way communication is done might not be important, rather, it is whether the message has been communicated at all (Littlejohn, 2002). In the case of the French Aids play adverts, the emotional figurative hook connects well with the audience. ConclusionMetonyms, connotatio n, and metaphors are exhibit in cultural texts with a communicative element that edifies the spirit of the communication theory. All of them work in different ways to aid communication. References Griffin, E. (1997). A first look at communication theory (3rd edition). New York McGraw-Hill. Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We withstand By. Chicago University of Chicago Press. Littlejohn, S. W. (2002). Theories of human communication (7th edition). Belmont, CA Wadsworth. Pickering, J. & Hoeper, J. (1982). Literature. London Macmillan. Williamson, J. (1978). decode Advertisements. London Marion Boyars.