Analysis # 2

Same Canvas but They All See a Different Picture
To those who have some knowledge of the catholic religion, it makes sense that the writer wrote that it was a saint that saved the boy. However, to those that have no knowledge, it might not be a saint. How is it that you could have a group of people standing in front of the same picture, but they all see something different? The answer is in what Ferdinand de Saussure calls Semiology. Although Saussure is speaking in terms of language, the theory can also be applied to the visual. What a viewer sees when he or she looks at a picture is also influenced by the social system that they were raised in.
The writer assumes that the large image of the man dressed in white, is a saint. The assumption comes from the large yellow circle that was placed above his head. For those that were raised or have knowledge of Catholicism, they know that all pictures of saints come with a similar halo type circles around their heads. However, one must remember that it is a halo, if being looked at by the social system that is the Catholic religion. If someone who has no knowledge of saints or Catholicism is analyzing the picture, they might say that maybe it is the sun or the moon. Even then, based on people’s social make up, the circle can represent many things.
The writer also assumes that the other person in the picture is a small child. A child would be something that many would say that they could identify because many have seen a child. They know that a child is smaller than an adult, so small that one could probably carry it in their arms. So, the child in the picture cannot be an adult because it is not small, it is not as big as the other man in the picture, and it is not impossible to carry. Many words or in this case pictures are “constituted not by its material substance but by the differences that separate,” (Saussure 69). Who is to say that the larger person in the picture is not a giant holding an adult? To many, it is because of the oppositions that are seen between the small person and the large person that reflect the same oppositions as adult/child.
The way that people view this picture is based on what one knows based on their social background. To some there might be a saint with a halo and death squad helicopters trying to put out a fire. Others might see a man carrying a child away from the large sun while the helpful helicopters try to put out the fires. Interpretations are also based on binary relationships. To some, helicopters mean good because they do not hurt people, they do not cause fires, and they do not cause harm. To other, the helicopters are bad because they do not save people, they do not bring peace to their communities, and they do not put out fires. Overall, everything goes back to the social, it is the most important thing when it comes to making signs and symbols.

Works Cited
De Saussure, Ferdinand. "Course in General Liguistics." Literary Theory, an Anthology (Blackwell Anthologies). 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Blackwell Limited, 2004. 59-71.