Media Theory

     My group and I have decided that the one media theory we want to incorporate into our opening is Semiotic Theory of Barthes. This theory explores how we portray meaning and emotion, through signs and symbols. Roland Gerard Barthes was a French literary theorist, his work consisted of analyzing many sign systems, mainly from Western popular culture. This theory is used quite often as you are interpreting what mis-en-scene represents in the "bigger picture". An example of this is a Jack in the box because, it it completely regular children's toy.

Ouija: Origin of Evil

    In this film a completely random board game, a Ouija board is turned in to something horrific. At first the girl in the short excerpt from the film used the board to talk to her dead father and maybe see him through the piece with the glass. It seemed strange but nothing horrific or terrifying about it, but later when a demon posses her through the board and take hold of her the completely normal Ouija board is something now horrific. This movie was so big that it even got the board banned in some places, for example The Netherlands, as it is seen as something that is satanic.

Anabelle

    Anabelle is another example of Semiotic theory of Barthes as a completely regular doll is made creepy. In the short excerpt from the film we see how the doll is paired up with other elements to bring horror. This was one of the first movies centered around a creepy doll and it paved the way for many other doll horror film, such as "The Boy", "Dead Silence", and "Childs Play".