Jennifer Gee
Comm. 175
Dr. Wood

My family upholds the "spring cleaning" tradition every year in April. We scrub the house from top to bottom and throw away all unnecessary junk that has accumulated over the year. This year, it was my turn to clean out the horrific basement. Boy, was I in for a surprise! I discovered three boxes of picture frames that had my old baby pictures in it, some I have never seen before. As I looked at the photographs, I reminisced about my childhood and realized how so much has changed over the course of 20 years. One thing that has changed dramatically is my room. This paper will describe the bedroom I still live in at my parents' house, upon which a first level analysis will be conducted, followed by a second level analysis, both of which follow Griffin's (1997) "yellow ribbon" model of semiotics. This analysis allows me to examine how the ideological meaning of my room has changed from when I was a young girl to the woman I am today.

When you enter my room, you will probably notice the two dozen picture frames hung up beside each other along the rectangular perimeter of the wall. The rest of my room looks like any other bedroom. In the corner is a twin-sized bed. Draped over the mattress are four fleece blankets, along with my favorite white, fluffy pillow. Beside the bed is a cube-shaped nightstand. On top of it is a ceramic lamp, my Bible, and the purple alarm clock my dad gave me for Christmas when I was ten-years-old. Across the way is a full-wall closet where I store my clothes and shoes. It is not filled to capacity but is meticulously organized by color, occasion (casual, work, dressy), and clothing type (pants, jackets, etc.). Perpendicular to the closest is a medium-sized, rectangular window. On nice days, sunlight is cast onto the white wooden desk underneath it. My desk is home to my computer, some scratch paper, pencils, and a few textbooks. Within arm's reach of the desk is a halogen lamp, and beside it is a wooden dresser where I keep my socks and undergarments. My radio and CD collection sit on top of the dresser. These are all the elements that compose my room. I will focus on three of them in particular to discern the room's first level semiotic meaning when I was a child.

The three signs I have chosen for the constellation are the bed, the desk, and the walls of my room. The denotation of the bed is a wooden rectangular frame that has encased cotton and coiled metal springs on top of it for sleeping and playing on. The connotation is "playfulness and fun" because when I was young and my mom said, "It's time to go to bed," believe it or not I got excited. I wasn't reluctant to go to sleep at nine or ten o'clock like most children my age; instead I saw it as an opportunity to extend my playtime. My parents may have thought that when they tucked me in bed, I would soon be in dreamland, but little did they know that I never really went to sleep on their command. When the lights went out, I took out the stuffed animals on my bed and played things like "house" or "school." Most of it was enacted in my head, though, since I couldn't see anything and I didn't want to get caught by my parents, but either way, I was still having my fun. The next sign is the desk. The denotative meaning is a flat piece of painted wood set on two wooden posts on either side of it. I associate feelings of "freeness" to this sign because I used to draw pictures there when I was a girl. What's strange is my creative juices wouldn't flow unless I was sitting at this desk. When I did, my imagination would just open up and I got all of this inspiration to draw. Certainly this was one of my favorite hobbies as a kid, for I would sit at this desk for hours at a time and I wouldn't even notice. The third sign of the constellation is my walls. The definition of these walls is upright structures of wood and drywall that help set off an area distinct from others. From the connotative dimension, the walls mean "entertainment." I have always seen my walls as part of a design element to my room, so at a young age I chose to decorate them with posters. Sure they were of Mickey Mouse, Barbie, and the Jetson family, but back then, these were my heroes. What they did on TV, in the movies, or even in my imagination brought me a lot of enjoyment. So by plastering their pictures all over my bedroom wall, I was able to see them and be reminded of their greatness. Now that I have explored the denotative and connotative meanings of each of these three signs, the ideology can be determined.

The ideology of my room as a kid is: "To have fun, one must be creative." I came to this ideology because when you're young, all you think about is having fun. Well, that was the only thing on my mind. I just wanted to play, have a great time, and play some more. I didn't have to worry about "adult stuff" like doing the laundry or paying the bills. In fact, my biggest worry probably was not having enough toys to play with. That was it. As you can tell from how I chose to use the signs in the constellation, I was quite a creative kid. I was very imaginative when it came to playing. I liked making things up and inventing games to play. Things like having no one to play with or even being in the dark couldn't stop me from having fun. All I needed was my imagination. After all, it was my creativity that moved the stuffed animals around my bed at night, gave me ideas as to what pictures to draw while on my desk, and let me dream about the characters from the posters on my wall. If I didn't incorporate my creativity into things like this when I was young, I am certain my playtime would have gone by slowly and it would have been very dull and boring.

Since the ideology of my room has been identified in the first level analysis, I will now see how the semiotic meaning changes when I manipulate the constellation. For the second level analysis, I will explore how the same three signs are used in my room today. For the most part, the denotative meanings of the bed, the desk, and the walls have remained the same over time. What these objects were back then is still mainly what they are today; their purpose is just different now. For example, the bed is still a wooden rectangular frame that has encased cotton and coiled metal springs on top of it, but now the stuffed animals are gone. I don't play on the bed anymore; I only use it to sleep on. This alters the connotative meaning to "rest and relaxation" because I lay on the bed when I am tired, and after I wake up, I usually feel better and am more at ease. The addendum to the dictionary definition of the desk is my office. Rather than have it as a place to draw pictures (which I have absolutely no time for these days), I sit at my desk to read or use my computer so I can get my schoolwork done. Thus I attach this sign to feelings of "efficiency." The denotative meaning of my walls has also been altered somewhat. In addition to what I attributed to this sign earlier (in the first level analysis), the walls are a personal museum. The kiddy posters have since been replaced with a bunch of picture frames showcasing black and white photographs I've taken over the course of two years. The collection contains photos of my family and friends, beautiful scenery, and other captivating images. For me these walls bring a personal sense of "pride and satisfaction" knowing I took these professional looking pictures myself. Also, when I look at them, I realize just how amazing life is - to have such great people in my life, to appreciate the beauty of mother nature, and the simple things in life: a smile, a hug, laughter. My heart is glad I was able to be a part of these spectacular moments and "freeze" them in time for others to see. With the shift in meaning of these signs, the constellation reveals a different story about my room.

Now the ideology of my room as an adult becomes: "To relax or reap the benefits of a reward, one must first work hard." The altered sign system tells a story about how my life has changed since those pictures (the ones I found in my basement) were taken and the type of lifestyle I have today. Since I am a full-time college student, I am very busy. I am usually in my room doing either of two things: my homework or sleeping. If I'm not studying, I'm resting and vice versa. Since I take school very seriously, I work hard to ensure that I get the good grades I want for myself. I honestly believe that you get what you put into things, like the amount of time and effort you invest in papers and projects. This is why I am always at my desk, in front of my computer. My Type-A behavior won't let me be satisfied unless I give an assignment my all. Only then can I let myself indulge by plopping down on my bed to catch some "z"s. The peace and satisfaction I get when I look at my walls is the same feeling I have knowing I worked hard and did my best. My accomplishments in life (academic, personal, etc.) have been governed by this rule, and it is no wonder this ideology is currently reflected in my room.

It is interesting how the constellation first told a certain ideology and yet a completely different meaning was promoted by manipulating the usage of the same signs in the second level analysis. The rule of my room went from having fun and being creative to taking things seriously and working really hard. These principles of behavior are age appropriate. Ten to fifteen years ago, I was only concerned about playing because of course I was just a kid. Now as an adult, my playtime days are over. I can't be consumed with toys and cartoons for the rest of my life. I have to focus on what is real, and right now it's my education. I want to be better prepared for my future career, and in doing so I'm working hard to get my degree. By performing these analyses, I was able to see what Argyle (1975) meant when he said that physical locations such as rooms have the power to nonverbally dictate its intended meaning and how people should act or behave while inside. But these types of messages aren't static. My room may have been around for over two decades, but this doesn't mean that one meaning will be attached to it forever. Over time, it's inherent that people grow because they experience more out of life. They may not do or see things the way they once did. Even the meanings people associate with signs and symbols they encounter may be different than before. Coinciding with the article we read in The Economist (1998) earlier in the semester, our culture has an enormous effect on how we perceive things in this world. Ultimately this includes physical places and what these places mean.

References

Argyle, M. (1975). Bodily communication (2nd ed). London: Methuen & Co.

Griffin, E. (1997). A first look at communication theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Staff. (1998, November 28). Sociobiology. A beauty contest. The Economist, p. 86.

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