A Semiotic Analysis of the Simpson’s Sitcom

Abstract

The current study is conducted to focus on the semiotic analysis of the American Simpson's sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It investigates the signs that Sampson's characters convey. It aims to show the messages that the concerned data have. The data is limited to 4 characters that are selected from the concerned series. Barth (1977)'s model is adopted in analyzing the concerned data. It is hypothesized that the concerned characters are full of messages that are used as tools to deal with certain cases in American society. To achieve its aim and verify its hypothesis, the study adopts the following steps: 1. Re-visiting concepts of semiotics and sitcom. 2. Presenting the basic elements of the sign system. 3. Following Barth (1977)'s model in analyzing the concerned data. 4. The main points are concluded.