Semiotic Analysis of The Sopranos

      The study of semiotics offers a different technique for analyzing media texts and thus making sense of them. Semiology is primarily concerned with the social effects of meaning in such media texts, by examining the signs and symbols of any given text we are able to demonstrate the way a media text works on both the connotative and denotative level. In other words, semiotics allows us to decipher the surface meanings as well as the implied meanings of a text. By employing cultural and social constructs one is able to decode a text and display its meaning by analyzing the signified and signifiers of a text and what they represent. A semiotic analysis of the critically acclaimed TV series The Sopranos, will offer just what we need to determine the meanings of the content of the show as well as the marketing images that are used to promote the show.

        In any instance where the title of the show is displayed, that is any type of marketing demonstration, The Sopranos is always displayed in the colour red. The colour red connotes many different meanings such as a red rose symbolizing love. However, in the title of The Sopranos the colour red immediately conjures the idea of blood and violence. We usually associate blood with a wound, but in this show blood represents more than just images of lacerations, it represents a trusted brotherhood in which a blood oath must be taken and in which blood must be shed in order to maintain the brotherhood/business. This brotherhood/business is of course the Mafia. And the Mafia is one thing that we usually associate with violence and death. Furthermore, violence is an integral aspect of the series and this seems apparent to any viewer even before one begins to actually watch the show. In the title, the ‘r’ in The Sopranos is a gun pointing downwards, acting as the ‘r’. The gun represents the violence that should be expected in this series, also, it represents a symbol of power. The gun has always been a symbol of power and for The Sopranos it represents a way of life. Live by the gun, die by the gun. It also represents the way Tony Soprano and his associates handle business, by way of the gun and thus violence.

                                                                                       Next >>>                   

Michael Mandarino