Political Discourse, Sociosemiotics, Discursive Contagion, Film Poster, The Smell of Camphor, the Scent of Jasmine, The Snowman
Subject Areas : sociologyUkabed Arefi 1 , Hamid Reza Shairi 2 , Parastoo Mohebi 3
1 - PhD student in Art Research, Department of Art, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Art, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Professor, Department of French Language, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Art, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Art, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: Political Discourse, Semio- semantics, Discursive Contagion, Film Poster, The Smell of Camphor, the Scent of Jasmine, The Snowman.,
Abstract :
Discourse, in any society, is an influential force in shaping concepts and emerging topics, extending into various domains, including politics. Political discourse, as a system of semiotic-meaning production (linguistic and non-linguistic), generates meaning and contributes to the reproduction of semantic and cultural structures by guiding audiences' perspectives. Cinema, as a cultural phenomenon reflecting social structures, is influenced by dominant political discourses. To convey ideology and narratives, cinematic works rely on promotional tools—among which film posters are among the most effective, using visual language to reflect the discursive structures behind the production and distribution of films. Sociosemiotics, as an analytical approach, offers a framework for studying internal processes of meaning-making within discourses. This study, based on discursive sociosemiotic analysis and drawing on library and audiovisual resources (such as film posters), conducts a comparative examination of the posters for The Smell of Camphor, the Fragrance of Jasmine and The Snowman. It analyzes how these works were influenced by the political discourses of the second half of the Seventies (1370s in the Iranian calendar) and investigates the mechanisms of transfer and mutual use of discursive elements. Findings show that while each poster aligns with its favored political discourse, it also employs signs from the opposing discourse to more effectively express its intended meanings. This process, accompanied by the weakening of discursive boundaries, illustrates semiotic contagion and meaning transfer—shifting from oppositional structures to interconnected, cross-utilized systems and creating a shared, fluid semantic space within the realm of cinematic poster design
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