Dezheng Feng

The multimodal representation of emotion in film : integrating cognitive and semiotic approaches

Abstract This study provides a semiotic theorization of how emotion is represented in film to complement the cognitive approach, which focuses on how film elicits emotion from viewers. Drawing upon social semiotic theories and cognitive theories of emotion, we develop a multimodal framework in which filmic representation of emotion is seen as combinations of semiotic choices derived from cognitive components of emotion. The semiotic model is employed to investigate how emotive meaning is realized through verbal and nonverbal resources. At the discursive level of film, the choices available in the shot organization of eliciting condition and expression are examined. The paper demonstrates how the social semiotic approach, combined with cognitive theory of emotion structure, is able to provide a comprehensive theoretical account of how various film techniques represent emotion. It is also significant for the study of viewer emotion, which to a large degree stems from character emotion.

Intertextual voices and engagement in TV advertisements

By analysing multimodal TV advertisements, this study aims to show how intertextual voices are exploited in advertising discourse to enhance persuasive power. Taking as their point of departure the assumption that all discourses are intertextual recontextualizations of social practice that draw on external voices from both specific discourses and discursive conventions, the authors identify two types of intertextual voice in TV advertisements: character and discursive voice. This article illustrates the multimodal construction of voices and demonstrates that the choice of voices is closely related to the ‘domain’ of the product. It is argued that the intertexual voices contribute to the advertising discourse through multimodal engagement strategies. Character voice endorses the advertised product through such resources as lexico-grammar, intonation, facial expression and staged narrative, while discursive voice endorses the advertised product through contextualization and intertextual discourse structure. It is hoped that the study will shed light on the understanding of the heteroglossic nature of advertisements, the interaction between intertextual voices and the advertised message, and multimodal construction of voices and engagement.

Promoting moral values through entertainment: a social semiotic analysis of the Spring Festival Gala on China Central Television

Abstract The China Central Television (CCTV) Spring Festival Gala not only entertains hundreds of millions of Chinese on their most important holiday, but also promotes a national spirit and positive social values. This article proposes a social semiotic framework to elucidate discursive strategies for the construction of moral messages. It presents system networks to model specific strategies for constructing articulated and embedded moral values in the Spring Festival Gala shows. The framework provides an explicit metalanguage to guide a systematic analysis of edutainment discourse.