Semiotic interpretation of an image Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Semiotic interpretation of an image - Essay Example With the signs in photos open for interpretation, an observer can be able to appreciate the denotative and connotative signification. The caption that has been provided is a photo of the Olympic event. It captures the moment where the participants involved are awarded with medals after victory in the sports they had participated. When awarding the Olympic participant, the protocol is that the winner is awarded with a gold medal then the first runner up is awarded with silver followed by brass for the second runner up. After receiving the medals, the next stage involved playing of the national anthem in front of everyone. Only the person who takes the gold is awarded the chance of having his or her country’s national anthem played. From the background of the picture provided, there is a possibility of stating that the event is not a recent one and may have taken place somewhere in the middle 1900s. An aspect that brings out the background of the photo is the ‘black power’ salute that the two of the participants posed. During the 1960’s, there were many instances where the black Americans fought against what they believed to be racism from the original citizens in the country. From this, it is clear to deduce that the time the Olympic event in the picture is taking place might be the 1968 summer Olympics. This aspect then is possible to award the photo with both the denotative and connotative values (Bathes, 35). There is a connotative value that the ‘black power salute’ poses awards the photo. This value is in the unity of the black Americans. The two Olympic participants can be said to be sending a message to the other black people. The message here is not only directed to the black Americans but to all the black people all over the world since Olympics is an international event. The first African country to participate in the Olympics was South Africa in the year 1904; this was under the

A Humanitarian Mission Outside of the United States Research Paper

A Humanitarian Mission Outside of the United States - Research Paper Example This paper will deal with an assumed scenario involving the deployment of troops to assist in a humanitarian mission outside of the United States. An earthquake has hit Guam on July 17, 2012, around 0200 EST. The earthquake has had a devastating effect on the entire country. Initial reports suggest that around 1,000 people are dead while hundreds of other people are missing. It is expected that thousands more are now homeless and will require food, immediate medical attention as well as rehabilitation. The situation in Guam resembles a humanitarian crisis in the making. The government of Guam has notified the United States government regarding the earthquake and has asked for humanitarian assistance. The country is currently in a state of emergency and any help is welcome. The President of the United States is expected to shortly get to the airwaves to address the situation in Guam. Meanwhile, a decision has been made to send in troops from the United States Marine Core (USMC) and the United States Navy in order to help the people of Guam. There is little doubt that the situation in Guam is a humanitarian crisis. All efforts need to be made to ensure that this humanitarian crisis does not turn into a humanitarian disaster. There are a number of different problems that must be tackled simultaneously in order to deal with the situation in Guam. On the one hand, troops must be mobilized along with their equipment for short-term measures while, on the other hand, long-term planning such as rehabilitation has to be initiated as well. One method of dealing with this situation could be to take action as needs become apparent. However, this approach would be wasteful in terms of costs as well as repeated tasks. The real method of dealing with this situation is to initiate Crisis Action Planning (CAP).