Looks That Defamiliarize!

This photo is a group of demonic men ready for a satanic ritual. The candles are very cryptic as is the room where this is taking place. The skulls are victims past. The smoke billowing from beneath them is a devils cauldron. They have sword drawn at the throat. There is a Satanic pentagram on the wall. The demeanor of the men is aggressive and violent. They are trying to frighten the victim with their gaze. The next step is sacrifice.




Semiotics at the Devil!

This photo with it's pentagrams, skulls, swords and cryptic black candles, by symbolism alone,is evil according to Northrup Frye's "Essay on Myth". To Frye there are many signs and symbols that tell the story of the demonic in this photo. First there is the pentagram, which today is seen as a sign of Satanic evil. There are also skulls on lances which signify victory according to Shakespeare's Macbeth. There are also cryptic black candles. The black again signifying the dark or the evil. According to the signs alone there appears to be a victorious celebration of evil.

The Ferdinand Saussure Essay "A Course in General Linguistics" states that "the linguistic sign is arbitrary and is not related by any inner relationship. There is no natural relationship between the signifier and the signified." (Rivkin 62) Sometimes advertisers will link that relationship to sell products. Sometimes it is done to capture a moment in time. Whatever the reason; language and linguistics, according to Saussure, doesn't put the two together. We do that after the fact.


Works Cited

Rivkin, Julie and Ryan, Michael.Literary Theory: An Anthology. Eds. 2nd Ed.
Blackwell Publishing: 1998.

Frye Lecture. Wexler, Steven, Semiotics and Frye. 07-21-09. Major Critical Theories.CSUN

Frye, Northrop . Anatomy of Criticism. 1957.

(photo) motleymuseum.com/wanted.htm