one of my first essays in uni...

“Meaning is constructed (made), not dis-covered”. Discuss this statement using at least three of the following concepts: signifier/signified, paradigm/syntagm, connotation/denotation, genre, intertextuality, discourse, representation, reading/writing.

According to Humanist theory, every text has one correct and true meaning, which is created by the text’s author. To discover the text’s meaning, the reader must decipher the author’s interpretation of the text. However, in this essay, I will argue that contrary to this Humanist belief, meaning is not derived from the author. Instead, every person reading a text will create his/her own meaning from it; there is no single, fixed and definite interpretation. To illustrate my argument that meaning is made and not discovered, I will use of the following concepts: genre, intertextuality and discourse; and a comic strip from ‘Non Sequitur’ by Wiley Miller.

In cultural studies, every object, be it living or inanimate, is considered a text. Each text has a meaning that changes all the time, depending on its interaction with other texts. While a text might be embedded with a certain original meaning that the author wants to convey, its meaning evolves and varies according to the text’s reader, who has already internalised various concepts that help him/her in the meaning making process.

Genre, which entails a system of classification and categorisation according to certain shared elements present in a number of texts, is one such concept. Although some texts may fit neatly into certain genres, most of them have characteristics that span an entire range of genres. The reader who usually expects a certain text in a certain genre to be constructed in a certain manner would be disconcerted. An example of the possible disorientation that could occur from relying on such an assumption would be having a romantic subplot in a text centring on the creation of the nuclear bomb, which is recognised to be in the realm of scientific discovery. Therefore, while genres help a reader easily gauge what a text would entail, they also set up boundaries that limit the possible interpretations of the text. Consequently, genres affect how the reader chooses reading strategies for different texts and thus how (s)he makes meaning from the text. Such an instance is shown in the attached comic strip.

Since their introduction, comic strips have entertained readers and made them laugh about a variety of subjects ranging from world issues to body parts. The comic strip is meant to provide respite from the day’s toils and put a smile on the reader’s face. Therefore, when the reader encounters a comic strip, (s)he expects to be amused by it and laugh. Through the concept of genre, the reader makes assumptions about the content of a comic and its potential meaning.

Interestingly, the ‘Non Sequitur’ comic does not contain the typical slapstick humour commonly found in the genre of the comic strip. Instead, by urging its reader to laugh at its wit, the ‘Non Sequitur’ comic can be further categorised into a subgenre of the comic strip – that of the parodic variety. However, as the comic has been recognised as belonging to the genre of comic strips, the reader immediately forms an impression of what the comic would entail and the potential meanings that could be ascertained from it. Thus a reader with the impression that all comic strips have obvious ‘ha-ha’ jokes would find difficulty in understanding the dry humour of the ‘Non Sequitur’ comic.

Genre also influences how we read language in a text and understand its meaning. One sentence can be interpreted in many ways, depending on the genre a reader thinks it belongs to. In the ‘Non Sequitur’ comic strip, the phrase “Another failed attempt in Ed’s quest to attain an aura of romance” can be read in different ways. In the satiric comic strip genre, it can be interpreted as being wry and witty. But if the phrase were thought to belong to the genre of romantic texts, Ed would just be seen as someone ignorant of the ways of rekindling a romance. Therefore, as the sentence can be read in many ways, the meaning made from it would also differ among readers. It is then evident that genres, while aiding in showing how meaning is constructed, also limit its possibilities.

The idea that a text consists of more than one genre is reflected most clearly in the concept of intertextuality. It involves juxtaposing texts against each other to reveal their “shared textual and ideological resonances”. This concept relies on the belief that “a text consists not of a line of words… but of …a fabric of quotations, resulting from a thousand sources of culture.” Therefore, meaning is constructed through this inter-relation of texts.

Intertextuality is evident in the ‘Non Sequitur’ comic strip through the phrase “Hark… what light from yonder doorway breaks? It is the east and Ed is the sun. Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon…on your way out with the trash.” The reader’s prior experiences with other texts and the associated learning strategies affect his/her reading of this comic strip. Thus, to fully understand the punch line of this comic strip, the reader has to read the text, or more specifically, the language used, beyond its literal meaning. (S)he must be aware that the author has paraphrased William Shakespeare from one of his most famous works, Romeo and Juliet. Therefore, the reader who is well-versed in Shakespearean literature would derive a meaning different from the reader unaware of the literary reference. Intertextuality thus comes into play here and aids in the meaning making process.

The reader can also construct meaning from the text through the discourses present in the comic strip. There are many differing definitions of discourse available, but for the purpose of the essay, discourse shall refer to the “network of statements, images, stories and practices by which certain beliefs or a set of ideas about a particular topic are circulated and sustained in order to naturalize these as self-evident or common sense.”

Through discourse, a reader is aware of the topics that can be discussed and those that should remain in the domain of secret conversations. In most cases, there are dominant discourses, held by the majority of people, affecting their interpretations of texts. Counter-discourses that subvert the perceived ‘normal and right way of thinking’ also exist, though to a lesser extent.

In the ‘Non Sequitur’ comic strip, there are several discourses present. The most obvious is that of romantic love. The comic strip clearly conveys the man, recognised through the woman’s ‘soliloquy’ as Ed, trying to keep the passion in his relationship alive, only to be rebuffed by her. She mocks his attempt at romance by paraphrasing the above-mentioned Shakespearean quote to include a request to remove the trash. The reader knows that the discourse of romantic love is being espoused through the following points – the use of lines from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, one of the most recognised romantic literary texts; Ed’s outstretched arms, which seem to be reaching for his partner and the presence of the male and female characters. The notion of romantic love is also expressed as being between a man and a woman, or in other words, through a heterosexual relationship. This is clearly a reflection of the perceived norm of relationships that is being exhorted in present-day society.

Discourses about gender are present in the comic strip. The man is always portrayed to be responsible for manual jobs, as evident when the woman asks Ed to remove the trash. The man, who is shown with his arms wide open, is the one who attempts to romance his partner. It perpetuates the commonly-held stereotype that the man does the wooing and not the other way around.

The comic strip also reveals the discourse regarding age. Romance is perceived to extinguish in a long-term relationship, especially when the two individuals are middle-aged. It is commonly regarded that people in this age group dress in a certain manner, as evident from Ed’s attire, which consists of a singlet and polka-dot boxer shorts. Women at this age also tend to be portrayed in a rather unflattering light, as the comic strip shows. They wear oddly-shaped spectacles and are bossy and are generally not very nice people. The woman in the comic strip epitomises this through her unwillingness to partake in Ed’s little romantic quest. Instead, she makes fun of the entire episode.

All these discourses have already been internalised in the reader who has been repeatedly exposed to such ways of thinking through the various media. These ideals are regarded as the norm and thus, do not strike the reader as being worthy of analysis. However, the reader, instead of accepting them unquestioningly, should query the origin of such discourses and their resultant effect on the texts and the meanings derived from them. Consequently, the construction of meaning from texts would be based partly on the discourses that are known to the reader.

Every reader has been through different experiences in different cultural contexts that shape his/her perception of texts. They use all this prior knowledge and learned skills to help them understand a text. No two individuals read a text in exactly the same way, because while their life experiences may be similar, they are not identical. Thus, the meaning intended by a text’s author might not be transmitted fully to the reader, who would only find certain segments relevant. Rather, the meaning of the text would be constructed differently by each reader. Therefore, meaning is made (by each individual reader) and not dis-covered.

Bibliography
Barthes, R., The Rustle of Language. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1986.
Giles, J. and Middleton, T., Studying Culture: a Practical Introduction. Massachusetts and Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1999.
Miller, W. 2002. The Non Sequitur Homepage. http://www.non-sequitur.com/index.php3?previous=1&inday=8&inmonth=8&inyear=2002 (16 Sep. 2002).
Payne, M., A Dictionary of Critical and Cultural Theory. London: Blackwell, 1996.
Pearson, W., Text, Image and Culture (Cul 100) Week Four: ‘Intertextuality and Genre’ lecture, Macquarie University, 23 Aug. 2002.
Sullivan, N., Text, Image and Culture (Cul 100) Week Three: ‘Humanism/Postmodernism’ lecture, Macquarie University, 16 Aug. 2002.
Sullivan, N., Text, Image and Culture (Cul 100) Week Four: ‘Reading’ lecture, Macquarie University, 23 Aug. 2002.