Semiotics

Signs and Meanings

Morris's theory involves human action, and says we have three different stages when it comes to signs and their meaning:

The perception stage - the person becomes aware of a sign.
The manipulation stage - the person interprets the sign and decides how to respond to it.
The consummation stage - the person responds.

Denotation

The literal meaning behind something, and the definition which is likely to appear for it in a dictionary.

Connotation

The connotation is the idea or meaning behind something, which isn't explicit and usally requires further looking to realise. They are the associations and emotional suggestions related to the word and exist together with denotations. One example is the connotation of the colour red being love or danger.

JAY Z & Kanye West - Otis

This video is from the 2011 single 'Otis' by JAY Z and Kanye West. The video doesn't feature any significant narrative with the basis of it being the duo taking apart an expensive Maybach and driving it around with girls in the back. This reflects the genre's ideology by featuring both expensive cars and attractive girls which are almost cliche in rap videos, and reflects the artists as they often rap about luxury items with the theme behind the album this was from (Watch the Throne) being about their fame and wealth. They express this through their braggadocio lyrics found in the track above and others on the album.

The cover of the single features the American flag image from the video, which is the iconography behind this song's release as it was also used as a back drop in live performances of the song. The reasons for this link could be to create an image behind the song, and make it recognisable so people think of the song when they see the American flag which is often for American consumers. It would earn the two artists more money through purchases of the song as well as the image being placed on t-shirts which have been sold.