REPRESENTATION
Woodward goes on to say representation works symbolically to classify the world and our relationships within it and therefore helps give an understanding to the formation of identity and difference that mark out communities. Hall supports this by proposing it would be out of the question to take on identities, or in fact deny them, without signifying systems, he claims we would not be able to construct or maintain a common culture.
Hall declares language is the medium through which we make sense of the world; and in which meaning is produced and exchanged. He goes on to say language operates as a representational system. Hall talks about ‘language games’ when explaining that, “things ‘in themselves‘ rarely if ever have any one, single, fixed and unchanging meaning.”. The meaning of things change depending on the context in which they are used, Hall uses the example of a ‘stone’, and he says a stone can be just a stone. Alternatively, it can be a boundary marker or a sculpture depending on which language games are being deployed; in this example: language of boundaries or the language of sculpture.
Hall describes Semiotics as the ‘science of signs’; the semiotic approach refers to semiotics and their role as acting as agents of meaning in culture. Signs and symbols are used to represent our concepts, ideas and feelings; as Hall suggests these can include sounds, written words, images, musical notes and objects. It makes sense to say these can all act like a language, as they all have the ability to communicate meaning, which is fluid depending on the context.
It is the shared meaning in culture that binds a community, and this meaning is shared through the practices of representation.
