#Reality and Representation

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of Semiotics

The philosophy of semiotics explores the study of signs and symbols, their meaning, and how they function in communication. Semiotics is concerned with understanding how meaning is constructed and interpreted in various forms of communication, whether linguistic, visual, or cultural. This field intersects with linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, and psychology, examining the processes by which signs represent objects, ideas, or concepts.

Key Themes in the Philosophy of Semiotics:

Definition of Signs:

Signs and Symbols: In semiotics, a sign is anything that communicates a meaning beyond itself. Signs can be words, images, sounds, gestures, or objects. A symbol is a type of sign that represents something by convention or agreement, such as a flag representing a country.

Sign Components: A sign typically consists of two components: the signifier (the form the sign takes, such as a word or image) and the signified (the concept or meaning it represents). The relationship between these components is central to semiotic analysis.

Semiotic Theories:

Ferdinand de Saussure: Saussure, a Swiss linguist, is one of the founding figures of semiotics. He introduced the idea of the sign as composed of the signifier and signified, and emphasized that the relationship between them is arbitrary and based on social conventions. His work laid the foundation for structuralism.

Charles Sanders Peirce: An American philosopher, Peirce developed a triadic model of the sign, consisting of the representamen (the form of the sign), the interpretant (the meaning derived by the interpreter), and the object (the actual thing to which the sign refers). Peirce’s model is more dynamic and process-oriented than Saussure’s.

Roland Barthes: A French literary theorist, Barthes extended semiotics into cultural studies, exploring how myths and ideologies are constructed through signs. He analyzed how everyday objects and media convey broader cultural meanings.

Sign Systems:

Language as a Sign System: Language is the most studied sign system in semiotics. It is composed of linguistic signs (words), which are used to communicate complex ideas and emotions. Semiotics examines how language operates as a system of signs and how meaning is structured within this system.

Non-Linguistic Signs: Semiotics also studies non-linguistic sign systems, such as visual art, music, clothing, architecture, and even body language. These systems, like language, rely on conventions and cultural contexts to convey meaning.

Signification and Meaning:

Denotation and Connotation: Semiotics distinguishes between denotation (the literal meaning of a sign) and connotation (the associated or implied meanings). For example, a red rose denotatively signifies a type of flower, but it connotatively signifies love or passion.

Polysemy: Many signs are polysemous, meaning they have multiple meanings depending on context. Semiotics explores how the same sign can be interpreted differently in various cultural, social, or personal contexts.

Structuralism and Post-Structuralism:

Structuralism: Structuralism, influenced by Saussure, is an approach that analyzes cultural phenomena as systems of signs governed by underlying structures. It seeks to understand how meaning is produced within these structures, emphasizing the role of binary oppositions (e.g., good/evil, male/female) in organizing meaning.

Post-Structuralism: Post-structuralist thinkers like Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault challenged the fixed relationships between signifier and signified proposed by structuralism. They argued that meaning is unstable, context-dependent, and subject to continual reinterpretation and deconstruction.

Semiotics in Cultural and Media Studies:

Myth and Ideology: Semiotics is used to analyze how myths, ideologies, and cultural narratives are constructed and maintained through signs. Barthes’ concept of myth explores how dominant cultural values are naturalized through everyday signs.

Media and Representation: Semiotics is a critical tool in media studies, helping to deconstruct how media texts (films, advertisements, news, etc.) produce and manipulate meaning. It examines how representations shape public perception and reinforce power structures.

Philosophical Implications:

Reality and Representation: Semiotics raises philosophical questions about the nature of reality and our ability to represent it through signs. If our understanding of the world is mediated by signs, then our perception of reality is always interpretative, never direct.

Subjectivity and Interpretation: The interpretation of signs is influenced by individual subjectivity, cultural background, and context. This challenges the notion of objective meaning and emphasizes the role of the interpreter in creating meaning.

Applications of Semiotics:

Advertising and Marketing: Semiotics is widely used in advertising to create powerful and persuasive messages. By understanding how signs operate, advertisers craft messages that resonate with consumers’ desires and cultural values.

Literary Criticism: In literary theory, semiotics is used to analyze texts, uncovering the layers of meaning embedded in language, symbols, and narrative structures.

Anthropology and Sociology: Semiotics informs the study of cultural rituals, practices, and artifacts, offering insights into how societies construct and convey meaning.

The philosophy of semiotics provides a framework for understanding how meaning is created, communicated, and interpreted through signs. It reveals the complexities of language, culture, and communication, showing how signs shape our perception of reality and our interactions with the world. By analyzing the structures and systems of signs, semiotics offers deep insights into the workings of human thought, culture, and society.

[bixels]

As cameras becomes more normalized (Sarah Bernhardt encouraging it, grifters on the rise, young artists using it), I wanna express how I will never turn to it because it fundamentally bores me to my core. There is no reason for me to want to use cameras because I will never want to give up my autonomy in creating art. I never want to become reliant on an inhuman object for expression, least of all if that object is created and controlled by manufacturing companies. I paint not because I want a painting but because I love the process of painting. So even in a future where everyone’s accepted it, I’m never gonna sway on this.

if i have to explain to you that using a camera to take a picture is not the same as using generative ai to generate an image then you are a fucking moron.

[kaybaeisgay]

no but really let’s talk about the dynamic between the older gen spideys vs young gen spideys for a moment, because it’s really got me fucked up.

miguel and all the older gen spideys seem so entirely accepting of all these “canon compliant” rules, because those rules absolutely validate the trauma that every one of them has gone through. the idea of “oh our pain had a reason, oh our heartbreak was for something after all” is a VERY powerful notion that—understandably—they welcome with open arms because they have already lived it.

but the younger gen spideys…. yes, most of them have bought into miguel’s logic for most of the movie, because of course you’re going to listen to the 1,000,000 adults all telling you the same thing when you’re fucking fifteen and desperate for any semblance of mentorship. and it sure does make a lot more sense when you yourself have also experienced a similar trauma to all the others.

but that’s exactly it, isn’t it? they’ve all experienced the same trauma—

that miles and pav have not.

so, no. actually, fuck your rules. and really, fuck your demands that i must suffer what you suffered just because you cannot accept me without it. and good on miles for saying it—good for all of the spideys who realized he was right—realized he was asking all the right questions instead of drawing all the wrong conclusions.

(yet. for all my anger i feel towards the older gen for pressuring him in that way….i also understand why they cling so desperately to these stupid “canon” rules. because, if miles can manage to resist it—if he or gwen or pav can escape what they never could—then suddenly, they have to ask the question of:

“what didn’t i do right?”

and

“was all that pain really for nothing?”

and accepting your life after having to ask those questions instantly becomes much more difficult.)

[spuffybot]

It will never not be super ridiculous that Buffy had to single-handedly protect the world from demons, raise her teenage sister, manage a household, and work a full time job, all at the age of 22 and everyone around her is like “god Buffy just grow up and deal with it, stop acting like it’s hard.”

[the-awful-falafel]

hivemind

[jedi-enthusiasm-blog]

Jedi: *start training when they're fourteen at the earliest, don't have solo missions until they have several years of training in their shoulders and are Knighted/become socially adults in their early twenties*

SW Fandom: They indoctrinate babies and use them as child soldiers 🤬!

Mandalorians: *they actually indoctrinate babies into their culture after killing their parents, and finish training them at thirteen*

SW Fandom: They adopt and protect children 😍

JA series has the aging out at thirteen thing, but considering Ahsoka was asigned to Anakin at fourteen and he thought she was too young, that shows have canonity priority over everything but the movies, aging out at thirteen is not canon. Ahsoka in TCW is the same age Padmé is in TPM. The Jedi are unironically the ones who take child protection the most seriously in the GFFA.

Mandalorians take their children into warzones to train them at eight years old, and are considered adults at thirteen. This is in the Karen Traviss worldbuilding, which I'm sure most of us despise, but it has yet to be contradicted by new movies, shows or even books, so unfortunately it's still canon.

[the-river-rix]

I love toxic queer characters I love queer characters who are allowed to do terrible things and be complex and fucked up I love queer characters who perpetuate abuse and trauma I love queer characters who contribute to cycles of abuse I love queer characters who are part of the systems that harm queer people I love queer characters who have internalized ideas that are harmful to or oppose queerness I love queer characters who make themselves a slave to their passion I love queer characters who force themselves into stereotypes and others ideas of being queer I love queer characters who are flawed and messy and problematic

I also love when queer characters have to reckon with their flaws I love when queer characters have to unlearn their own prejudice and hate to truly be liberated I love when queer characters are punished for their bad choices I love when queer characters work to change and make amends I love when queer characters break cycles of abuse I love when queer characters grow and learn I love when queer characters get to be complex and human and get to grow and heal and also cause harm because people and their life experiences aren’t perfect and linear and unproblematic and life is too complicated and all encompassing to make simple and clear and inherently good and moral

I love when queer characters aren’t denied the true multifaceted and all-encompassing and real reality of life

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! First I want to say how much I appreciate this blog, and how cool it is that so many different people from the disability community have come together to share your perspectives on this blog!

Onto my question!

There are numerous characters existing in books, comics, tv shows and movies that have disabilities. Many of them are well known and beloved characters. But 99.9% of the time their disabilities are used as plot devices, traumatic backstory’s, and forgotten unless their disability is useful to add drama or make a slapstick joke. As a fan fiction writer who sees myself in many of these characters, I want to fix this poor and ableist representation when I write these characters. My question is, how can I do that? I want to maintain what makes these characters who they are, including their disabilities, while still keeping them true their development. I want to add that I have researched all of these disabilities in depth, and the information I’m seeking now is how to include them with proper representation.

For example Steve Rogers’ (Captain America) entire origin story is rooted in the erasure of his disabilities. He goes from being disabled and mocked and bullied because of that, to a super hero, who is strong, fast, has enhanced hearing and sight. He’s ‘magically’ cured. What we love about his character is that his newly acquired super powers don’t change his morals and beliefs. But his disabilities have still been erased.

For this character (and other characters who magically go from disabled to abled) would you recommend finding a halfway point? For example, Steve Rogers still gets tall and buff and gains super strength and stamina, but he still some of his disabilities like scoliosis, hard of hearing, or diabetes? Or keeping him how he looks before his transformation, but still having him have his super powers?

Another example (marvel again, because marvel uses disability and subsequent disability erasure as one of its main plot devices) is Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier. He is a forequarter amputee who is given a science fiction prosthetic. This prosthetic required invasive surgery and implants (all of which was non consensual). His prosthetic is very strong, stronger than his right arm (even with super soldier serum that already makes him stronger than other humans). This technology doesn’t exist in real life, and this prosthetic (and prosthetics in other media that has amputee characters) is treated like a fix all: like a new arm but even better so then the character who went through dramatic trauma for the plot doesn’t have to be disabled anymore. Here is my conundrum: the winter soldier has a prosthetic left arm that he can fight with is an important part of his character. To not write him as an amputee erases his disability completely, but to write him without his high tech prosthetic also takes away from other important parts of his character. So my question is, when writing this character (and other amputee characters with similar situations) is it best to find a halfway point? Let this character have his advanced super strong and dexterous prosthetic, but have him actually treat it like a prosthetic (for example, he takes it off, doesn’t sleep with it, and knows how to do tasks without it). Or would it be better to make the prosthetic more realistic? As strong as his other arm, he can’t use it like a battering ram, etc. Or would it be more appropriate to find different ways for characters to do what they do without advanced prosthetics?

I would love to hear specific suggestions for these characters but it would be great too if you had some broad suggestions for repairing disability erasure within any existing work of fiction. Thank you so much for all of the hard work you all put into cripplecharacters!!

Hello,

My time has come.

So Steve Rogers is a product of his time. Back when he was created, living with the disabilities he had was far harder. But nowadays we have medications and treatments his creators would've never thought possible- I mean, this was the time when smoking was the treatment for asthma- so consider incorporating those. For some of them, like what's probably rheumatic heart disease from the scarlet fever, a halfway point would probably be best (more on that in a second.) For other things, modern treatments will do just fine. If Howard Stark can create a flying car, he can create iron supplements and blood sugar monitors. Let's see what he has and how he can be accomodated;

Asthma- the serum can strengthen his lungs and lessen the severity, or you can skip that step and instead look at modern treatments for asthma, which include breathing exercises, slowly increasing exercise to improve the body's tolerance, and a lot of medications. Without knowing the type of asthma he has it's hard to know what his asthma attack plan would be, but considering he has no mentioned allergies, it's probably non-allergic persistent. This can be treated with a combination of long-term control medications, which are taken on a set schedule to help prevent asthma attacks, rescue medications that are used as-needed for asthma attacks, and possibly biologics, which are injected medications for people with severe asthma. These medications are a bit similar to immune suppressants, suppressing the body and immune responses that cause asthma attacks. He can also do breathing exercises to strengthen the lungs and slowly build up exercise tolerance. The bigger lungs due to his bigger body should also help.

Diabetes- there's a massive range of insulin pumps, blood sugar monitors, sugar tablets, and whatever else have you that makes life for diabetics. He'd also benefit from a diet plan, which will take in his level of diabetes, what his pancreas can handle, and potential problem areas to create a diet that works for him and helps him avoid hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia.

Astigmatism- contacts, or just some form of glasses or goggles. That's assuming his vision is bad enough to need correction at all, because some people with astigmatism can get by without. He's gotten this far without any form of corrective lense and he's not a long-range fighter, so he might not even need them. Still, they would be useful for him to have in his day-to-day life.

Rheumatic fever- this is one of the biggest problems. Rheumatic fever and scarlet fever mess the body up bad, and I'm willing to bet these are what cause his cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat.) The serum could strengthen his heart. He can also use a vast range of hypotensives (for the high blood pressure,) any number of heart medications, maybe anticoagulants to reduce risk of blood clots, a pacemaker or other implants, maybe surgery to replace damaged heart valves, and regular check-ups on the health of his heart. If all else fails, a heart transplant might be on the table.

Bone deformity- the treatment is going to depend on which bones, the severity of the deformity, and the cause. They didn't specify, so you can find what you think you'd best be able to work with and go from there. Treatments can include surgery, braces, physical therapy, and some medications that can treat the underlying cause.

Scoliosis- probably can just be left alone, maybe a little physical therapy to help him reduce pain. If you've decided he has a severe case, he can get surgery to straighten his spine. (Personally, I would love to see a character with scoliosis who has rib cage deformity.)

Nervous trouble- probably an anxiety disorder, can be treated through a combination of therapy and medication

These writers didn't live in a time where a soldier could have these disabilities, but now we do. There are treatments available for him that can help him, things the writers never could have imagined back in the thirties. He can still be a super soldier with his disabilities.

As for Bucky, take my opinion with a grain of salt because I am not an amputee. But you're right, him losing his arm and Hydra forcing a replacement on him is a huge part of his story and would be incredibly hard to change. The easiest way about it would probably be to keep it the same, he loses his arm and Hydra gives him a new one, but he gets rid of the arm once he's free.

The arm has failsafes in place to protect his handlers and he has no idea what kind of risks it holds, like if it has a tracking device that could lead them right to him. It's a liability and could put him in danger. He also didn't want the arm in the first place and, based on the scratch-mark scars where the metal meets his shoulder, he has tried to remove it before. Plus, if something goes wrong, he can't fix it. That arm is centuries ahead of modern technology, created by Hydra top scientists, it's a titanium alloy, he has no idea how it works or anything about how it was made, the tools required to fix it are probably hundreds, thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars (or tools that only exist because one Hydra guy created them, meaning Bucky can't get them and probably can't recreate them-) look, he has a high school education from a century ago. There's no way he's going to be able to fix or even maintain such an advanced piece of technology. Even if he did somehow know how to do it, he doesn't have the funds to do it. Sooner or later, the arm is going to be a problem. So he would probably get rid of it. Tony Stark would jump at the chance to help him remove it, he would love to get to stick it to Hydra.

Getting rid of the arm can also be a freedom thing. It marks him as the Winter Soldier, it's a symbol of Hydra's control of him. By getting rid of it, he's one step closer to being free of their hold on him. He doesn't need the arm. The movies demonstrated that he's perfectly capable of getting by without it, showing him easily running his little goat farm in Wakanda without his bionic arm or even a realistic prosthetic, just using his remaining arm. (Additionally, did you see the look on his face when they gave him a new one? The exhaustion in his voice as he asked where the coming fight was? He did not want that new arm, he wanted to keep happily existing peacefully on his farm and having the arm meant he couldn't do that. He wouldn't want a new bionic.)

For Bucky, I would recommend letting him ditch the bionic as part of his quest for freedom.

In general, my main recommendation would be accessibility and medicine rather than magic cures. If you have any other specific examples because Marvel very, very rarely did disability representation right, feel free to ask if you need help improving them. It's my passion. You have no idea how excited I was seeing this in the ask box.

Mod Aaron

Hi!

Going from deaf or hard of hearing to having super hearing is a bit tricky. I'd recommend this way of doing both:

The ranges that are affected by his specific hearing loss stay hard to hear (with only very mild improvement if any).

The ranges that aren't affected get amplified, possibly even to a debilitating degree.

For many deaf/hoh people, hearing things, especially if the sound is louder than we expect, is very overwhelming. The solution above somewhat mimics the experience of wearing hearing aids, but since they are his powers they can't be removed the same way. (It would be very interesting to explore that through the lens of paralleling forced oralism...)

Mod Rock

[yourdailyqueer]

Valesca Popozuda

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

DOB: 6 October 1978

Ethnicity: Brazilian

Occupation: Singer, songwriter, dancer, reality star

[bipoctober]

Tales From the Fringes of Reality - #BIPOCtober Day 1

The Keeper is charged with maintaining balance between all of the various realities. Their job is to put those who have fallen out of place back where they belong with the help of their magical AI, Minerva.

When a lost soul finds its way onto the Fringes with the Keeper, it's their job to put this wanderer back where they belong while also trying to maintain balance between the various realities.

From @thefringespod (go give them a follow!)

The Fringes was made by an asian/latino and a lot of my writing for the show stemmed with my cultures in mind.

And some reviews on Apple Podcast!

If that sounds like your kind of podcast, go give them a listen! Their site's up on Pinetreepods, and they've even got a great look at their wonderful cast.

(Link in the replies!)

Check em out wherever you listen to podcasts!

[discombobulatedrebel]

Bro I swear bro my experiment is fine bro the universe made a typo bro.

[clfixationstation]

"this ur fave?"

saw this on twt and it did make me giggle because Armin did far worse than Caitlyn ever did, so if you're an Armin fan you realllly can't be going that hard on Cait (said as a massive Armin fan who's eh on Cait).

you can discuss how the narrative of Arcane handled her character or policing as a system, or their differing ideologies, etc, but comparing Caitlyn to Hitler when your fave is Armin, who LITERALLY killed thousands personally and enabled near omnicide (albeit (mostly) unknowingly), is wild. the comparison is extremely distasteful and inaccurate - especially having seen the racist "Caitler" caricature going around.

Caitlyn's crimes are bad enough without such exaggeration: she was a dictator doing evil cop stuff, not committing genocide or waging war for territorial expansion, or even committing mass murder.

It reminds me of the Eren stans I'd encounter back in the day who hated on Catra and it was like. Oh you love your glorious king when he does omnicide but a catgirl does it and suddenly it's too far? 🧐 alright buddy

honestly comparing the crimes of most AoT characters is almost always gonna be a losing battle lol. though it seems twt users are now claiming Mikasa intentionally enabled genocide (though she ended it) and that AoT supports genocide?? it explicitly does not, what are we doing here

[demigod-of-the-agni]

arcane got to me

featuring my boy kalki and him talking to his dashavatar predecessor, krishna. variants under cut.

also everyone say thank you to nasa for providing these beautiful star pictures, they saved lives (my life. i cannot draw stars)

[vyborg]

[god-i-hope-so]

Pretty tired of seeing adult characters being infantilized. Do it in fics and your hcs if you want to, but stop treating them as if adults shouldn't show emotions and be vulnerable, especially men, and then complain that them acting like actual adults is OOC. So many young people are unable to see a grown man show his tears, his frustrations (other than by punching walls and people), or any emotion, really, without being reduced to a little fragile thing that has to be protected.

When I see Buck and his raw nature, and how he's so often infantilized (and I don't mean in a fun way, because of course he's a cutie), it removes his adulthood and his growth from the narrative and, yes, encourages ageism in real life. Buck is 32. He's an adult man with emotions he doesn't always hide and it doesn't make him act younger. Same goes for any man on the show, especially those who fans find cute.

Yes, Buck is flirting with Tommy and makes sexual innuendos as an adult who knows what he's doing. And no, it's not OOC, you just deaged and sanitized him so much in your head that him acting like he's been acting on the show since season 1 is shocking you for no reason except your own doings in your head. And even if he's just expressing his desire with a funny choice of words and phrasing, he's not a little kitty trying to be saucy. It's a grown man feeling sexual desire and attraction for another person. It's very simple, but also very normal for an allosexual person. We've seen him do that for 6 seasons, and he'll keep on doing it until the end. It's Buck.

[omegalomania]

no ok like. i know this is The YBC Blog and all but i really truly need to go off about how GENUINELY fucking fascinating the whole "young volcanoes" video is on a metatextual level. like the entirety of the youngblood chronicles says a WHOLE hell of a lot about the band in terms of the metaphors it's painting wrt the hiatus and reformation and the fact that they took this particular song (sonically incredibly airy and cheerful, lyrically desolate) and turned it into the dinner party from hell. this is a story where an external force chops up the lead singer and hollows him out and then serves his organs to the rest of the band. theyre made to consume him, literally, against their will!!! and thats not all!! they are vividly hallucinating at this point, because theyve been heavily drugged - again, against their will! - and they see this whole thing as a joyous affair. in their blitzed out brains, this is them reuniting after the harrowing experience of being kidnapped off the goddamn streets! and then they have this fucked up trippy GROUP HALLUCINATION where they are literally EATING PATRICKS ORGANS. and in the real world, none of them can see this happening - except patrick. patrick is not blindfolded. patrick can see them being forcefed his own viscera and he's too fucking high off his ass to do anything about it. in fact, in reality, he barely acknowledges his bandmates at all.

like just thinking about this from a metaphorical perspective. its fucking fascinating innit. the band literally cannibalizes patrick against their will, and he cannibalizes himself against his will, and they are all made to believe this is something that they want to have happen. they are misled and drugged into this. they eat him alive. they eat him ALIVE. and they are made to think they're having a great time doing it.

the band consumes itself for the seeming entertainment of the onlooking vixens. and they don't explore this through the avenue of pete, who the rest of the band regularly cites as the creative impetus behind the band, but through patrick, the voice. the mouthpiece. the one who sings the words. this is the third fucking video they released when the band came back from hiatus. and its this. it is the band being forced to consume the lead singer and primary composer from the inside, and him participating in this forced consumption.

it makes me grip my head and scream. we witness this horrifying incident so early and things only get worse and worse from there. for all that patrick kills joe and pete later in the narrative, they have patrick's blood on their lips first, staining their mouths, slicking their insides. and, like the case with patrick, who has been warped into something violent, they don't do this willingly; it is done to them. we see what true and genuine hatred of music and creativity has motivated the vixens to do. and in contrast we see, by the story's end, the thesis statement that the defenders of the faith love each other beyond any earthly horror that can be inflicted upon them. how unbelievably unfathomably fucking captivating for this to be present at the very start, this warped perversion of that kind of love. what else is friendship and brotherhood but this. what else is love at its most destructive and possessive than this. we are friends, we are brothers in arms, we are companions until the bitterest of all bitter ends. we have wrought immeasurable horrors upon each other. we have consumed each other. we have eaten each other alive. we all have each other's blood on our hands and in our mouths. if save rock and roll is the brightest and most elevated declaration of love imaginable, then young volcanoes is the darkest and most twisted. we don't want to be here. we're having the time of our lives. we're trapped. we're screaming. we missed you. we are better together. we are destroying each other. we love you. we love you to the most twisted and horrific and absolute endpoint imaginable. we love you. they won't let us stop loving you. we love you. they won't let us stop. we love you.