Q1: What are the key signs? What other signs cluster around them? What associations and dissociations are invited by the clustering of signs? What is strategically absent from the text?
A: I think the key signs in the video are the soldiers. Or we can go more specific that the key signs are the military uniforms and the equipments of the soldiers. Of course, when the soldiers are in the war, they need to wear uniforms and be equipped. But different soldiers have different missions, like the troops, navy and so forth. The unity of the soldier has lots of similarities which protects the nation and the like. But they stand for different individual as well. I think the strategically absence from the text probably is the government. As we know, soldiers battle for the country. However, they accept the demand from the government. Thus, in some cases, soldiers stand for an attitude of a government. Another strategically absence probably is the country, which the soldiers fight for. As an essential element of a country, soldiers stands for the safety of a country, which means the soldiers stand for the existence of a country.
Q2: What formal appetites does the text create? How are they resolved?
A: When the audience see a video about the soldiers. I think the form will be that the audience appetites to see the proud, braveness, and reponsbility. Moreover, the audience appetites to see the relationship between the country and the soldiers, especially what the soldiers could do for the citizens. From the video National Guard, we can see at the very beginning of the video, it shows that the soldiers save citizens from some diasters. In this case, citizens rely more on soldiers and respect soldiers more.
Q3: Identify three other messages that share at least some structural similarities with the video. What are the similarities? What expectations do that foster?
A3: The similariies in these videos all talk about how the soldies protect the nation and the citizens. It is from the what they do in the video. We can see soldiers hold the gun, runs a tank or helicopter. We can see they are disciplined.
Q4:What is the story being told in the video? What are its main characters and events? What do you notice about the specific discourse being used in the video? What are the characteristics of the narration?
A: The story is telling about the American soldier. It is talking about what American soldiers look like and what's the goal of them. The main characters in the video of course are the American soldiers. I think the specific discourse is the line which the soldiers speak. It is inspiring. The narration is terse, but the lines show the proud, responsibilities, missions of the American soldiers.
Good post, Haoyi. Absolutely right about the government being the absent signifier. The other absence is the daily reality of being a soldier: boredom. And then there's actual fighting and death also absent. Also, do you get a sense of any specific place? (like Afghansitan or Ohio?)
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