Our discussion of semiotics and signs in class on Thursday made me think about the importance of context when interpreting signs. For example, when we were shown the BP insignia, our minds automatically jumped to the infamous oil spill, an event that happened a few years ago and most of us were fairly familiar with. Oil spills didn’t cross our minds when we were shown the Exxon sign, because the Exxon oil spill happened before we were born. It was context that we didn’t have. After class, I was thinking about when you watch something you enjoyed as a kid, you tend to notice jokes and references that went over your head. Watching as an adult gives you more context that you didn’t have as a child. That led me to thinking about one of my favorite narrative conventions, the plot twist, and how often signifiers in a work can be re-contextualized when a well-executed twist is at play. Quite often, the reader won’t even notice any signs until they’re aware of the twist and they go back for a second look. For a specific example, let’s take a look at Agents of SHIELD. In episode 17 of the show, it’s revealed that one of the main characters had been a mole for Hydra the entire time. Upon first viewing, the twist will come as a shock. But if one were to go back and watch the earlier episodes with the twist in mind, it’s easy to notice signs and foreshadowing that didn’t cross the mind on the first viewing. The twist gives the viewer extra context and another lens through which to look at the earlier episodes. How much context a viewer has will greatly affect how they interpret a sign.
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