Introduction
The Signs: Exploring and Exploiting
The sign is the communication phenomenon, which will be the focus of this essay. Though used commonly on a regular basis in practically any conversation, a sign is rarely identified consciously; however, when used as the means of promoting a certain idea or enhancing specific moods, it exposes its numerous meanings, including both the obvious concepts and the underlying innuendoes. Traditionally defined as a graphical means of representing an action (Cobley, 2014), a sign is a very basic, yet at the same time very powerful means of attracting the attention of the people, who can relate to the signs in question.
C. Morris’s Theory: Signs and Values
C. Morris’s theory of signs will be used as the basis for the analysis of the signs chosen for the given essay. Linking logical positivism and behavioral empiricism, the theory in question views the subject matter from the perspective of aesthetic semiotics as opposed to the semiotics of aesthetics (Zolait, 2012). In other words, Morris views semiotics as an opportunity for discovering the relationship between syntactic, semantics, and pragmatics.
The Use of the Crescent and the Star: The Signs and Values Theory
The conflict between the Arabs and the Israeli for Palestine has been taking place for long enough to become notorious for people all over the world. As a result, the perception of some of the symbols, which are traditionally related to the Arab culture, has become quite complicated over time due to the bellicose moods surrounding the Arab Israeli conflict.
Nevertheless, the sign works within the specified context on several levels, as it links the syntactic and the pragmatics of the subject matter in a very direct manner. The symbol makes a very powerful statement by referring to two of the most recognizable elements of the Arab culture; represented in tandem, they become all the more recognizable, thus, affecting the audience on both cognitive and emotional levels (Archer, Aijmer, & Wichmann, 2012).
The Dove: Locating the New Layers of Meaning
While the above-mentioned symbol, which is represented by the crescent and the star, could be viewed as a touch politicized, the sign-in general looks rather convincingly and lacks any kind of threat due to the fact that it coexists with another sign representative of the Arab culture.
It is quite remarkable that the image of a dove is, in fact, a universal symbol, which serves as the means to appeal to the European and American audience by addressing their emotional perception of the sign in question. Indeed, the image of a dove, which is a commonly known graphical synonym for peace and love, pacifies the viewers, distracting them from the troubling and rather alien notions represented by the aforementioned crescent and star.
From the perspective of Morris’ theory, the conflict of perception of the above-mentioned symbols occurs at the stages of the moral and the behavioral identification of the meanings that the signs in question convey. To be more specific, it is the lack of compatibility between the behaviorist interpretation of the crescent with a star and the cognitive perception of the dove that triggers the cultural shock and, therefore, tricks people into reconsidering their opinion regarding the subject matter and the role of Arabs in the conflict.
To be more specific the behavioral rendition of the crescent and the star can be viewed as the identification of the characteristics that are traditionally associated with the Arab people (Cobley, 2014). Particularly, the Islamic faith and the related concepts are immediately brought up in people’s minds. In the light of the recent instances of terrorism, a series of rather unappealing images are likely to emerge in one’s brain. The image of the dove, in its turn, subverts the aforementioned ideas on the cognitive level. Traditionally rendered as the sign of love and peace, the image of the bird allows one to view Arabs from a different perspective and, therefore, empathize with them and their social, cultural and political concerns.
Conclusion
The analysis of the aforementioned signs, which are used widely whenever the issue of the Middle East conflict is addressed and the Arab people are mentioned, has shown that the incorporation of these signs into the stream of information that is directed at the European and American audience has a major effect on the latter because of the associations that these signs trigger in people’s mind. As the first sign (i.e., the dove) is considered universally to be the means of rendering the ideas related to pace, and the second one triggers an immediate association with the Asian culture, the audience perceives the information concerning the conflict and its effects on the Arab people rather personally.
The blend of the obvious element of the Arab culture and the international symbol of peace sends a very powerful message to the audience, making people relate to the conflict personally and become deeply engaged into the situation on a personal level.
Reference List
Archer, D., Aijmer, K. & Wichmann, W. (2012). Pragmatics: An advanced resource book for students. New York, NY: Routledge.
Cobley, P. (2014). Introducing semiotics: A graphic guide. New York, NY Icon Books.
Zolait, A. H. S. (2012). Knowledge and technology adoption, diffusion, and transfer: International perspectives: international perspectives. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.