Language Use in Movies: The semiotic conditions

of possible understandings

Meti, Mallikarjun,
Sahyadri Arts college,
Kuvempu university,
Shimoga.
metimallikarjun@yahoo.com

This paper intends to focus the understanding of a language use in movies in terms
of ‘social semiotics’. The concept ‘social semiotics’ is a concept of the ‘multi-
accentuality’of the sign at the centre of semiotic theory and it also tries to apply the
other key concepts like ‘style shifting’-Anti-language and Anti-groups’ (Halliday:
1978) and ‘the transformation of experience in narrative’ (Labove: 1978) of the
semiotic theory. These concepts usually draw another semiotic system to express the
basic set of meanings.

The focus of this paper is the development of ways of understanding the

characteristics of multi-modal texts. That concern entails two independent but
related projects. One is the analysis of the major modals of representation, through
which a particular text is realized, and which it is produced. The second is an
attempt to understand the culturally and historically produced potentials of any one
semiotic mode for making meaning. Our assumption is that specific modes- the
visual, the gesture, musical sound, images, Metaphors”etc,-have potentials for
making meanings and have limitations.

In film, “DHWEEPA”1, the character, Nagi-is the representation of feminist

projected character. The film at the surface level, it might depict the story on
ANECUT and its related story. However, the real concern of the implicit
representation of the story of screenplay, to show a feminist message to the
audience. The other mode is insensitive to the realities of the Indian context. It is
feminism without a history. “DHWEEPA” is very much a product of the men-
dominated society she lives in. In fact, as she tries to protect her family and family
members from the dangerous events. At the same time, at the end of the film her
husband “GANAPATHIYAPPA” says that ‘niinu neap maatra, ellaa deevara Daye’
(everything happens, because of god’s grace, you are just namesake), this particular
discourse tend to suggest, the way in which men-domination plays an important
role in order to build an oriental discourse. The strength of the film lies in its patient
unhurried exploration of the experience of ‘Naagi’ from an appendage to the men-
dominated set up to an individual. ‘Dhweepa’ also confronts other things which
need to look into; such as the problem of sexuality, in the sense, Naagi’s husband
Ganapatiyappa suspects‘Naagi’ ,with Krishna in sexual relation. This is what
Kasarvalli makes a subtle feminist discourse. On the one hand, the image /
metaphorical discourses. Such as the Mantapa, which creates a myth in this
particular film, which Sita- Rama used to stay here and share their feelings.
Consequently, Naagi and her husband often go there and share their feelings.
Metaphorical discourses are becoming very important to punctuate the possible
understandings of the movie. It is very much obvious to note at this point, in the
film, ‘TABARANAKATHE’, the dialogue, “surya huTTataanoo muLugutaanoo
goottaagatilla -whether sun rises or sun sets”, it reveals several possible meaning
potentials or conversational involvement. i.e.Tabar, is in confused state of mind,
whether freedom has come or not. In the sense, even after independence, the
struggle for justice is still going on beyond the capacity. In this way, the film depicts
the flash back in order to understand the society, the system, the bureaucracy, this is
one these metaphorical extensions. It also confronts us to derive another possible
meaning, whether this lights up or not in his life. Every film depicts images,
metaphors, in multi accentual manner, which create a lot of meanings and meaning
potentials in order to understand the particular texture. The structuralism of the
filmic structure is, are which reveals different possibilities of understandings of the
given discourse. In the sense, “Tabarana Kathe’’ is a protagonist film of a system of
society, government, and bureaucracy. The mode of representations of the
“Tabarana Kathe” are persisting in, moral evaluation of on occurrence, on action, or
a psychological stance related to a set of events of the system.

Multi-modality is a phenomenon; it has always been the case that a text was
realized through a number of modes of representation and communication. The film
is now much more prominent as a form communication that it has been for several
decades, the film, as text, is producing texts, which are Multi-modal. That is,
producers of texts are making greater and more deliberate use of a range of
representational and communicational modes, which co-occur within, are text. It
has become impossible to know texts reliably by paying attention to speech language
alone; it exists as one representational element in a text, which always multi-modal
and it has to be understood in conjunction with all the other semiotic mode of the
text.
‘Taayee Saheba’ reveals the process of the past, being rendered into the present in
a manner that does not convert the past into a remote. Static entity that we have to
represent in representations of in it (Manu: 2003) in fact, the past comes through in
the film with a life of its own and actually portrays a vibrant cultural dynamics in its
scheme that seems to suggest a movements into the future. The cultural landmark
that helps are traces the growth of feminist awareness in our context. This “Taayi
Saheba” is greatly enhanced by the kind of ambivalence they display towards social
institutions and historical situations and not because of the resolutions they offer-in
any case this film does not resolve anything in simplistic terms. The common sense
has come under sustained attack from two sources, one theoretical and, an empirical.
The form originated in the broad field of post-modernism, with the writings of
Derrida(1976) particularly important ‘Feminist-Theory’ has lunched a sustained
attack on ‘logo centrism’ as a major effects of support for the structures of
patriarchy representation of the ‘Taayisaheba’,brings a feminist awareness.
‘Taayisaheba’ extrapolate an experience of ‘reality’ from out of the world of ‘realism’
stated differently; it means that empirical reality is transformed into an
‘experimental reality’. Meaning potential is defined not in terms of the mind but in
terms of the culture; not as what the speaker knows, but as what he can do- in the
special sense of what he can do(abstract) linguistically(halliday:1978). Meaning
potentials are very significant features in understanding the texture of a given film.
In the film, ‘Taayisaheba’, ‘Waade’ (a palace) signifies the realities of the role of
NARMADA, the way in which she suppresses her motherhood and sexuality, in the
sense, APPAASAAHEBA has fathered by CHANDRA of a female child, MANJULI.
This oriental discourse is the symbol of masculine authority and famine sexuality of
feudal-world system. The irony of situation cannot be missed. APPAASAAHEBA
has a mistress, and there by, an out let for his desires, where as NARMADA, the
woman in a patriarchal setup, can only have a haranguing from the same man when
she attempts to fulfill her physical needs(Manu:2003). Potential, what he can do, in
the special sense of linguistics, what he/she can mean and avoiding the additional
complication of a distinction between doing and knowing. The meaning potential
can then be represented as a systematic option in meaning which may be varied in
the degree of their specificity-in what has been called delicacy.

Considering the images, metaphors in its social context, then, we can describe
them in broad terms as a behavior potential; and more specifically as a meaning
potential, where meaning is a form of behaving. This leads to the notion of
representing the experience of persons, regional and cultural identity, consequently,
rich local text. This given rich local text depicts the individual experience in
transforming the universal experience. The narrative structure of ‘TAAYISAAHEBA’
is unfolding the historical conflicts in order to understand the interplay between the
past and present. In the post-structuralism’s point of view, the notion decent erring
becomes very important for interpreting the feminist insights of the modern time. In
the sense, ‘TAAYISAAHEBA’ could be a symbol of cultural and political freedom.
The symbolic representation of the images and metaphors, are very much relevant in
this film. The creativity, which underlies the sensibility of modern time in this film,
is very relevant.
This paper’s focus is on textuality, on the social origins and production of text
as much as on the understanding of text\film. We call this practice social semiotics
to draw attention to all forms of meaning as a social activity, set in the field of
politics; in structures of power; and subject therefore, to the contestations arising out
of the differing interests of the markers of texts. This leads to one telling difference
between social semiotics and conventional forms of semiotics. These interests of the
marker of a sign lead to a sign to a motivated relation between signifier and
signified, and therefore to motivated signs in this sense, in the film
‘TAAYISAAHEBA’, BAALASAAHEBA, the representative of the last generation
tries to wash away the smell of perfume by washing his hands in the pond and then
increasing desperation tries to rub damp soil on his hands hoping it would erase the
perfume. However, it clings like the tangled web of money, power and masculinity,
which constitutes the feudal-world. Defeated, he curls up in a foetal position, like a
tired and helpless child. The other image is the smile, which light up
‘TAAYISAAHEBA’s face when the lawyer tells her about the possibility of freeing
BAALASAAHEBA from the curse of his feudal inheritance (Chenni: 2003).

In a response, style shift, there is a regular association between language and

social situation. The entry of outsiders to a local group, for example in a particular
film, the character, and cook speaks a variety of language that reflects the attitudes
of udapi\mangulerian, bhatts. However, this style signifies the derogator’s attitudes.
In the film, Chamandudi. The dialect, which is spoken by Chena and his community,
is representation of the Dalita community where as in the fiction; the sub-standard
dialect is being used. This style shift takes place in this movie in order to bring out
the linguistic, cultural\ethnic identity. This identity is something to do with the
attitudes of anti-group and anti-language (Remember, sangybyala and ondandondu
kaaladalli).

In understanding the cinemas’ communication in a particular language,

the first task is to define at least tentatively the speech repertoire to be studied,
attempt to gain some understandings of its social organization and other salient
aspects of the culture, and formulate possible hypotheses concerning the diverse
ways these socio-cultural phenomenon might relate to patterns of communication. It
is crucial that the filmic description of communicative events and speech acts are
discussed based on semiotic conditions in understanding the film. Because film is
not a story-telling process, it is a constriction of metaphors, images and discourse
building.