This paper is about conducting a semiotic analysis of the website The Dumbest Generation, which is a website about the book “The Dumbest Generation, How the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future (Or, Don’t trust anyone under 30)” by Mark Bauerlein.
Semiotics is the scientific study of signs and the way in which these signs construct and reconstruct meaning (Example essays.com). Put short it is the study of signs. A sign is a meaningful unit which is interpreted as “standing for” something other than itself (Chandler 2007, p 260). Signs can be words, sounds, images, flavours, odours etc. but they have no meaning before we give one to them. In Saussure’s model of signs he composes a sign into two elements, a signifier, which refers to the image, or sound that refers to the thing of concept, and the signified, which refers to the thing or concept itself (Chandler 2007, p 261).
This paper will look at the sites different discourses (which are socially constructed knowledge of reality (Kress and Leeuwen, 2001), the paper explains the discourses as modes because discourses can only be realised in semiotic modes which have developed the means for realising them (Kress and Leeuwen, 2001)). Furthermore it will see how the different modes operate as a semiotic resource. It will also look at the different elements to see how they work together to create meaning, and describe the site’s appearance.
The site’s main point is to promote the book “The Dumbest Generation, How the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future (Or, Don’t trust anyone under 30)” by Mark Bauerlein. The purpose is to make the book seem interesting so people will buy it.
In the book Bauerlein criticize the young Americans relationship to technology. He say they pay too much attention to technology instead of reading literature, learning American history and politics, go to museum etc. But who are Bauerlein really attacking? Is it teachers and parents or students? He argues that the digital technology has erased the boarder between space and time (Don’t trust anyone under 30?). Therefore a young Americans social life goes on constantly. Bauerlein asks the grown ups to take back control and make youth’s disconnect for an hour a day (Will generation Y be dumb or great?).
Bauerlein argues that the youth’s don’t write creative enough in their academic writing, they only get the facts and ideas straight. But in the digital world filled with social networks and blogs they are much more creative in their language. Bauerlein notes that the youth’s language comes in two flavours (REPN TRI to the FULLEST!!!). He uses this metaphor “two flavours” too underline his point about the different ways youth’s use to express themselves.
The first site to appear is the welcome site. It’s divided up in tree boxes. The header which shows the title, ”The Dumbest Generation”, the menu on the left side and the contents in the biggest box showing the book cover.
The menu helps you navigate the site. You can surf the sites to get information of the book, like reviews, articles and other news about it. In that way the menu gives you an overview of the sites contents. Since the site is made to get people to buy the book it obviously has a link for this in the menu.
There is a subtitle saying “50 Million Minds Diverted, Distracted, Devoured”, and under that you see a dynamic text going from red to black, which is the sites main colours. You may think this text just is annoying because it catches your attention, but it does not disappear on the screen for a long enough period of time so people are able to read it. Even a native English speaker is unable to read it. Why is it so? My opinion is that Bauerlein want to distract you with this text to emphasize his point above. The dynamic text reinforces the word distracted. And the words diverted, distracted and devoured reinforce each other because they all say the same. Seen it like this the two modes operate as a resource for each other.
The title “The Dumbest Generation” may be associated with another book called “The greatest generation” by Tom Brokaw, which is about men and women how fought under the World War II (Wikipedia).
The book cover displays the name of the book with an illustration. Bauerlein have used the word dumbest, not dumb or dumber, but the most extreme of these three. The est-ending helps to emphasize the word. And the words red colour helps intensifier its meaning. Because the red colour catches peoples attention, and it stands for hot, strong, violence and warfare (About.com). I like to think Bauerlein chose a red colour to create these feeling in people. To make them see and react to his book, to make them interested and provoked, so they starts to care about his concern.
The book covers illustration shows a group of robots holding an American flag. This picture looks a lot like the one from the World War II where six American men raise an American flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima (Wikipedia).
It seems that Bauerlein plays with this connection because he means the connotation of the picture isn’t available or obvious to everyone. One of his points is that the youth’s don’t see this connection even if they have collage education, they can’t see the historically aspect. They only see the denotation that in this case may be robots or transformers waving a flag. My thoughts to this is that Bauerlein tries to reach out to the youth’s with something that is familiar to them like this illustration who may look like it’s taking out of a videogame.
In the books subtitle “How the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future” Bauerlein uses the verbs stupefies and jeopardizes too point out the title. Verbs are important because they give a sentence meaning, and they help us understand the sentence. Bauerlein describes in a way what he means by “The Dumbest Generation” in the subtitle, why they are “the dumbest generation”. At the end of the subtitle Bauerlein has put a star which is explained in an asterix. The asterix say “Or, don’t trust anyone under 30” and may be seen in connection with the “don’t trust anyone over 30” slogan from the 1960s and Jack Weinberg, a leader of the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley (Bartleby.com). Yet another time Bauerlein refers to history. Again to point out that youth’s may not see this connotation. They only sees what’s there, not what’s underneath.
On the website’s home page they give you an idea of the books content. And they display some pictures of social network sites and games with an ironic comment. It also displays a link to buy the book.
In summary Bauerlein books website display its arguments through articles from news and media and reviews, written by him or others. It has the thesis that the digital generation is filled with ignorance. Bauerlein plays with a lot of metaphors too view his arguments. And in many of his arguments you find a disguised meaning. I feel the designers manages to give an idea of the book through the welcome and home site by showing the book cover and explain a little about the book. The articles and reviews also help to give an impression of the books content.
Words including references: 1328
List of references:
• The Dumbest Generation
• Example essays.com
• Don’t trust anyone under 30?
• Will generation Y be dumb or great?
• REPN TRI to the FULLEST!!!
• Pencils, schmencils, I need a laptop
• OMG! Experts says today’s kids are stupid
• Wikipedia – The greatest generation
• About.com
• Wikipedia – Raising the flag on Iwo Jima
• Bartleby.com
• Daniel Chandler, 2007: Semiotics: The Basics, 2nd edition
• Anne Cranny-Francis, 2005: Multimedia
• Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen, 2001: Multimodal Discourse
