myth.msft.ivan

6.

Barthes discusses myth as being created by second-order semiotic systems. His principles apply well to the Microsoft ad I have chosen to analyze, in which myth is the essential component of the signifying process. In the advertisement, there are myths of prosperity, individuality, the "American Dream," productivity, technology and progress. These are both cloaked and exposed; the themes of the ad are evident, but the myths which support them are not.

The first-order signifier in this ad is Microsoft business software, and the signified is the small town with cars zipping through it. The unmistakable message in this ad is that Microsoft software helps all businesses, especially small ones, thrive, become easier to manage, and make rapid progress, because they listen to their users. This would be like any other pitch if it weren't so heavily stabilized by the myth element of the second order.

When taking the ad as a sign, and allowing that sign to be the meaning at the end of first-order signification, we see the sign's fullness as contrasted with its emptiness if we take it as form, the signifier at the beginning of the second-order signification. But the form fulfills itself by adding the concept, the second-order signified. This is a vague notion, visibly "deformed" in Barthes' words. The concept here complex. We have the authoritarian yet benign corporation which lends a helping hand to those beneath it, sort of a corporate father figure if you will. We have the "small-town" America idea working, complete with blurred cars to indicate speeding progress. We have, in the copy, the personal corporation that listens to its customers, one really no different from the hardware store. As mentioned, unreal, unformed images of loyalty, progress, and other connoted terms are signified by the form. So in the second order, our myth, composed of form (the first order sign /second order signifier) and concept (the second order signified), appears. Microsoft understands the ideas, inspiration, and needs of businesspersons, and these are firmly rooted in American ideals of independence, community, prosperity and the rest of it.

One can see how unstable and formless the myth is. The form drains meaning from the first-order sign, giving more power to the myth. The signifying process in the first order may seem minor, but it is given far more energy when sucked into the engine of the myth. Yet the meaning is full while the form is empty, the ad is solid while the myth-forming element is not. This tension allows the myth to cloud the reality of corporate imperialism while not so obscuring it that the message of what it can do for you is lost. This tension gives the ad power and legitimacy. The myth is neither true nor false; it just is. The myth knowledge is tenuous at best, but this instability allows Microsoft to tread in a world of truth/non-truth.

Barthes finds the myth, unlike the first-order sign, always motivated. The photograph particularly shows this. This is clearly a picure of a present-day old town, as indicated by the contrasting signs of old buildings and new, blurred cars. The myth is intentionally created by this contrast; time is the concept that stems from the oscillation of form and meaning, as the stillness of the old town is melded with the speed of today. History is also an obvious concept which is attached to the form as well, and it is naturalized in the photograph's placelessness and timelessness.

Thus in this ad we can see myth transferring meaning to form. Meanings in the sign are fueled with culturally stolen meanings to create mythic obscurity which supports signified clarity. Our notions of traditional American business flow seamlessly into modern technological imperialism. When Barthes talks about "depoliticized speech," he means what we have here; communication nearly disconnected from its politcal content in its self-referentiality. Myth swallows up whatever political, empirical and universal aspects that exist of the company whose Chief Executive Officer is the wealthiest person in America.

6.	Barthes discusses myth as being created by second-order semiotic systems. His principles apply well to the Microsoft ad I have chosen to analyze, in which myth is the essential component of the signifying process. In the advertisement, there are myths of prosperity, individuality, the "American Dream," productivity, technology and progress. These are both cloaked and exposed; the themes of the ad are evident, but the myths which support them are not.
	The first-order signifier in this ad is Microsoft business software, and the signified is the small town with cars zipping through it. The unmistakable message in this ad is that Microsoft software helps all businesses, especially small ones, thrive, become easier to manage, and make rapid progress, because they listen to their users. This would be like any other pitch if it weren't so heavily stabilized by the myth element of the second order.
	When taking the ad as a sign, and allowing that sign to be the meaning at the end of first-order signification, we see the sign's fullness as contrasted with its emptiness if we take it as form, the signifier at the beginning of the second-order signification. But the form fulfills itself by adding the concept, the second-order signified. This is a vague notion, visibly "deformed" in Barthes' words. The concept here complex. We have the authoritarian yet benign corporation which lends a helping hand to those beneath it, sort of a corporate father figure if you will. We have the "small-town" America idea working, complete with blurred cars to indicate speeding progress. We have, in the copy, the personal corporation that listens to its customers, one really no different from the hardware store. As mentioned, unreal, unformed images of loyalty, progress, and other connoted terms are signified by the form. So in the second order, our myth, composed of form (the first order sign /second order signifier) and concept (the second order signified), appears. Microsoft understands the ideas, inspiration, and needs of businesspersons, and these are firmly rooted in American ideals of independence, community, prosperity and the rest of it.
	One can see how unstable and formless the myth is. The form drains meaning from the first-order sign, giving more power to the myth. The signifying process in the first order may seem minor, but it is given far more energy when sucked into the engine of the myth. Yet the meaning is full while the form is empty, the ad is solid while the myth-forming element is not. This tension allows the myth to cloud the reality of corporate imperialism while not so obscuring it that the message of what it can do for you is lost. This tension gives the ad power and legitimacy. The myth is neither true nor false; it just is. The myth knowledge is tenuous at best, but this instability allows Microsoft to tread in a world of truth/non-truth.
	Barthes finds the myth, unlike the first-order sign, always motivated. The photograph particularly shows this. This is clearly a picure of a present-day old town, as indicated by the contrasting signs of old buildings and new, blurred cars. The myth is intentionally created by this contrast; time is the concept that stems from the oscillation of form and meaning, as the stillness of the old town is melded with the speed of today. History is also an obvious concept which is attached to the form as well, and it is naturalized in the photograph's placelessness and timelessness.
	Thus in this ad we can see myth transferring meaning to form. Meanings in the sign are fueled with culturally stolen meanings to create mythic obscurity which supports signified clarity. Our notions of traditional American business flow seamlessly into modern technological imperialism. When Barthes talks about "depoliticized speech," he means what we have here; communication nearly disconnected from its politcal content in its self-referentiality. Myth swallows up whatever political, empirical and universal aspects that exist of the company whose Chief Executive Officer is the wealthiest person in America.