Better Safe Than Sorry

This chapter focuses on cancer prevention media campaigns, concretely on the construction of the persuasive message. Methodologically, semiotic analysis is used, exploring the verbal and visual dimension of 19 international ads linked to the five most deadly cancers, in order to understand and deconstruct the message and the communication tactics used. The results reveal the diversity of resources and tactics. In the verbal dimension, it presents the use of rhetorical tactics (e.g., statistical and factual evidence and stimulation of emotions), the popular vocabulary, cues to action/motivational content, the phatic, poetic, and appealing functions, stylistic resources, credibility of the source, evocation of good causes, originality and distinction, anecdotal approach. In the visual dimension, it observes the use of three languages' functions, isotopy, stylistic resources, personalization, symbolical approach, polychrome, diversity of phenotypes, the credibility of the source, a pedagogical component.

Indian Culture and Music as a Source of Inspiration for French Opera Composers

"The current paper strives to discover and reveal the influences of Indian culture and classical Indian music in French operas. At first, the evocation of India was obtained through the subjects of the operas and stunning scenic designs, fulfilling the requirements of exoticism. Gradually, the composers attempted to include in their musical discourses exotic rhythmic and melodic elements, in some instances inspired by Indian classical music, thus aiming to evoke a genuine image of India. At the same time, the use of elements pertaining to Indian music (rāgas, rhythmic patterns, timbres) offered the musicians the possibility to create novel sound discourses. The analysis focuses on several operas, composed between the eighteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, following the evolution of Indian representations in several dimensions: dramatic (libretto), visual (scenic representations, dance), and musical (melody, rhythm, timbre). The present paper investigates the way Indian themes influenced the conception of the libretto, and at the same time the visual dimension of the works (setting, costumes), observing how these visual elements were gradually absorbed into the musical discourse (analysis of the melodic structures), through the incorporation of Indian rāgas in works conceived according to the rules of Western music composition. Keywords: exoticism, orientalism, India, French opera, rāga "

A Night at the (Imaginary) Opera: The Visual Dimension in Hector Berlioz's Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La Damnation de Faust

<p>In keeping with the spirit of Romanticism, Hector Berlioz has always been something of a rogue figure. Works like Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust, which Daniel Albright refers to as 'semi-operas', occupy an uncomfortable place within the concert hall. The intersections between song, symphony, opera and the spoken word that form these works immediately pose questions concerning musical unity, narrative interpretation, issues of genre, and performance style. While the musical and literary aspects of the three compositions have been the subject of scholarly attention, this study turns its gaze onto the various visual dimensions that are present within Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust. By emphasising the presence of spectacle in Berlioz's compositions, questions soon arise concerning the implications of these visual elements for performance. Berlioz's relatively early work, Lelio, illustrates the extent to which the composer is already concerned with how the visual suppression of performing bodies can create and change narrative meanings. Romeo et Juliette raises the curtains that hide Lelio's musical forces. Rather than simply distilling Shakespeare's drama into music, Berlioz relies instead on a visual memory of Romeo and Juliet to replace the absence of physical characters within his 'symphonie dramatique', thus creating an aural rendition of a past theatrical event. Through an exploration of the spectacle within Lelio and Romeo et Juliette, we see how Berlioz has constructed a visually detailed imaginary theatre that resides within the score. An understanding of this imaginary theatre is integral in the subsequent analysis of Berlioz's controversial and wonderfully diabolical La damnation de Faust. This work is performed as often in the opera house as it is in the concert hall. However, an in-depth analysis of the libretto and score reveals curious and occasionally contradictory visual implications. The impact that these contradictions have on the visual dimension in the performance of La damnation de Faust will be explored through a reading of two ground-breaking productions: Raoul Gunsbourg's La damnation de Faust from 1893 - the first production to treat Berlioz's score as an opera; and Robert Lepage's mixed-media production of La damnation. The work of these two directors serves to highlight, perhaps inadvertently, the problematic effects of Berlioz's imaginary theatre on the necessarily more concrete realisations of La damnation when confined within the opera house. However, the cinematic approach of Lepage suggests another avenue of performance that has the potential to reveal new dimensions of Berlioz's unique dramatic-symphonic works. Ultimately, it may be that the supreme technicolour nature of Berlioz's music always functions to transport us beyond our own mundane experiences and forever challenges us to seek something beyond the limits of the possible, however much those limits might change.</p>

A Night at the (Imaginary) Opera: The Visual Dimension in Hector Berlioz's Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La Damnation de Faust

<p>In keeping with the spirit of Romanticism, Hector Berlioz has always been something of a rogue figure. Works like Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust, which Daniel Albright refers to as 'semi-operas', occupy an uncomfortable place within the concert hall. The intersections between song, symphony, opera and the spoken word that form these works immediately pose questions concerning musical unity, narrative interpretation, issues of genre, and performance style. While the musical and literary aspects of the three compositions have been the subject of scholarly attention, this study turns its gaze onto the various visual dimensions that are present within Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust. By emphasising the presence of spectacle in Berlioz's compositions, questions soon arise concerning the implications of these visual elements for performance. Berlioz's relatively early work, Lelio, illustrates the extent to which the composer is already concerned with how the visual suppression of performing bodies can create and change narrative meanings. Romeo et Juliette raises the curtains that hide Lelio's musical forces. Rather than simply distilling Shakespeare's drama into music, Berlioz relies instead on a visual memory of Romeo and Juliet to replace the absence of physical characters within his 'symphonie dramatique', thus creating an aural rendition of a past theatrical event. Through an exploration of the spectacle within Lelio and Romeo et Juliette, we see how Berlioz has constructed a visually detailed imaginary theatre that resides within the score. An understanding of this imaginary theatre is integral in the subsequent analysis of Berlioz's controversial and wonderfully diabolical La damnation de Faust. This work is performed as often in the opera house as it is in the concert hall. However, an in-depth analysis of the libretto and score reveals curious and occasionally contradictory visual implications. The impact that these contradictions have on the visual dimension in the performance of La damnation de Faust will be explored through a reading of two ground-breaking productions: Raoul Gunsbourg's La damnation de Faust from 1893 - the first production to treat Berlioz's score as an opera; and Robert Lepage's mixed-media production of La damnation. The work of these two directors serves to highlight, perhaps inadvertently, the problematic effects of Berlioz's imaginary theatre on the necessarily more concrete realisations of La damnation when confined within the opera house. However, the cinematic approach of Lepage suggests another avenue of performance that has the potential to reveal new dimensions of Berlioz's unique dramatic-symphonic works. Ultimately, it may be that the supreme technicolour nature of Berlioz's music always functions to transport us beyond our own mundane experiences and forever challenges us to seek something beyond the limits of the possible, however much those limits might change.</p>

L’Archive Dionysos: une approche méthodologique à l’iconographie théâtrale

"The Dionysos Archive: a Methodological Approach to Theatre Iconography. The article illustrates the Dionysos Digital Archive of Theatrical Iconography, created by the research team of the University of Florence directed by Renzo Guardenti. The Dionysos Archive collects more than 22,000 images accompanied by cataloguing files, relating to the history of Performing Arts from Greek theatre to the first decades of the 20th century. The cataloguing of the images contained in the archive is based on criteria aimed at highlighting their theatrical specificity and responds to a historiographic perspective that privileges the visual dimension of the Performing Arts, of which iconographic documentation constitutes a source of primary importance. Keywords: theatre iconography; history of theatre; performing arts; digital archive; cataloguing "

The Age-Impunity Rhetoric in Trials for Crimes Committed during the Argentinian Genocide (1975–1983)

Since the reopening of the trials for the crimes committed by the last military dictatorship, new aspects have emerged on the scene, one of them being the age-impunity rhetoric. In its visual dimension, we understand this rhetoric to mean the representation of the perpetrators that has been taking shape in recent years, enabling them to be exempted from guilt and responsibility for the crimes committed by virtue of their advanced age. We argue that the visual configures a certain aesthetic that provides a scaffolding for impunity and its naturalization. In order to enter into the construction of this representation, we will put in tension the pair seen-unseen through photographs and editorials in the written press.

A Trans-Disciplinary Vocabulary for Assessing the Visual Performance of BIPV

It is widely acknowledged that the visual dimension of photovoltaics (PV) is fundamental for social acceptance. In this sense, the so-called Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) is a possible catalyzer, as PV is hidden (integrated) into building envelope morphologies that are familiar to the public. It is crucial to be able to design and assess a BIPV system so that its visual performance is optimal. Many studies exist in this regard, but still they do not deliver a clear theoretical organization of the concepts used for defining the visual performance of BIPV. This paper elaborates a trans-disciplinary systemic formalization of BIPV and proposes a vocabulary focusing on the formal perception of BIPV as a part of the building’s envelope system. The proposed vocabulary is based on a set of 11 visual keywords; as the proposed method unifies the formal and the cognitive information contents. It will facilitate the dialogue among different stakeholders (e.g., architects, clients, modules manufacturers, and public authorities) and, in general, the visual performance assessment of BIPV. In consequence, it allows for objective comparison and thus informed decision-making.

THE IMAGE OF RUSSIA IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE CIVIC CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE YOUTH: A VISUAL DIMENSION

В статье исследуются психологические и социально-политические особенности молодого поколения россиян, определяющие основные черты, пути и способы формирования гражданского самосознания молодежи. Категория «гражданское самосознание» понимается как комплекс ценностных, когнитивных, рефлексивных, мотивационных и эмоциональных особенностей личности, определяющих ее устойчивую и осознанную самоидентификацию в качестве гражданина и выражающихся в ее взаимоотношении с государством и обществом. Структурно-содержательные характеристики образа России в сознании молодежи даны с позиций теории политического восприятия и разработок политических психологов в области изучения политического сознания молодежи, различных положений теории идентичности в аспекте понимания гражданской идентичности как основы политического самоопределения индивида. Присущий современной молодежи образ России (комплекс представлений о ней как стране и государстве) исследуется в его визуальном измерении – через рисунки молодых людей, репрезентирующие их представления о России в виде изображений. В исследовании использована проективная рисуночная методика «Россия в виде дома», которая, как и любая другая подобная диагностическая техника, направлена на выявление глубинных и слабо осознаваемых особенностей восприятия окружающей действительности и себя в этом мире. Основное внимание уделено смысловому содержанию представленных в рисунках сюжетов, их символическому наполнению, эмоциональному знаку изображений. Обобщение данных осуществлялось по параметрам когнитивной сложности и конгруэнтности образов. Целевую группу исследования составили молодые российские граждане в возрасте от 15 до 30 лет в рамках трех возрастных групп: 15–17 лет, 18–23 лет, 24–30 лет. В ходе исследования было собрано и проанализировано 540 рисунков (по 180 рисунков респондентов каждой возрастной группы) в Москве и Санкт-Петербурге, в Краснодарском и Приморском краях, в Московской, Тверской, Липецкой, Омской областях, в республиках Крым и Северная Осетия – Алания (не менее 50 рисунков в каждом регионе). По результатам исследования выделены как общие тенденции восприятия страны, определяющие гражданскую идентичность молодежи, так и особенности образа России у разных возрастных групп в структуре молодого поколения. Выделены несколько взаимосвязанных направлений (контуров) структурирования образа своей страны, включающих в себя разные аспекты представлений о России молодых россиян: личностно-эмоциональный, властно-государственный, цивилизационный. Отмечено, что наибольшие сложности формирования гражданской идентичности проявляются у младшей возрастной группы исследуемых россиян. Рассмотрение образа страны в структуре гражданского самосознания молодежи на визуальных данных – материалах проективных рисунков – позволило подтвердить наличие зависимости гражданской идентичности от соотнесения молодыми людьми себя с воспринимаемой общностью – Россией как социокультурным и политическим образованием. Сделан вывод о том, что использование визуальных методов в исследованиях молодежи представляется перспективным в том числе в силу особого «клипового» характера восприятия ею социально-политической реальности и значительной роли визуальных средств в ее коммуникации в социальной среде и виртуальном пространстве. The article examines the psychological and sociopolitical features of Russia’s young generation, which determine the characteristics, ways and means of forming the civic consciousness of the youth. The category “civic consciousness” is understood as a complex of value, cognitive, reflexive, motivational and emotional characteristics of a person that determine their stable and conscious self-identification as a citizen and are expressed in a person’s relationship with the state and society. The structural and substantive characteristics of the image of Russia in the minds of young people are given from the standpoints of the theory of political perception and developments of political psychologists in the field of studying the political consciousness of young people, various aspects of the theory of identity in terms of understanding civic identity as the basis of the political self-determination of the individual. The image of Russia, which is a complex of ideas about it as a country and a state, the modern youth has is explored in its visual dimension through young people’s drawings representing their ideas about Russia in the form of images. The study used the projective drawing technique “Russia in the form of a house”, which, like any other similar diagnostic technique, aims at identifying deep and poorly perceived features of the perception of the surrounding reality and oneself in the world. The main focus is on the semantic content of the plots presented in the drawings, their symbolic content, the emotional sign of the images. Data were generalized according to the parameters of the cognitive complexity and congruence of the images. The target group of the study consisted of young Russian citizens aged 15 to 30 within three age groups – 15 to 17, 18 to 23, and 24 to 30 years. In the course of the study, 540 drawings were collected and analyzed (180 drawings by respondents of each age group) in Moscow and St. Petersburg, in Krasnodar and Primorsky krais, in Moscow, Tver, Lipetsk, Omsk oblasts, in the Republics of Crimea and North Ossetia-Alania (at least 50 drawings in each region). Based on the results of the study, the authors identify general tendencies of the perception of the country, which determine the civic identity of young people, and the distinctiveness of the image of Russia in different age groups in the structure of the younger generation. Several interrelated directions (outlines) of structuring the image of their country are also described, including different aspects of young Russians’ ideas about Russia: personal-emotional, power-state, civilizational. The authors note that great difficulties in the development of civic identity are manifested in the younger age group of the studied Russians. The analysis of the image of the country in the structure of the civic consciousness of youth based on visual data, particularly materials of projective drawings, made it possible to confirm the existence of the dependence of civic identity on how the young correlate themselves with the perceived community – Russia as a sociocultural and political entity. The conclusion is made that the use of visual methods in youth research seems to be promising, including due to the specific “clip” nature of the youth’s perception of the sociopolitical reality and the significant role of visual means in the youth’s communication in the social environment and the virtual space.

300 years of bodies and corsets in their rhythmic manifestations

The article reflects on a research project analysing 300 years of the practice ofconstraining the feminine torso, aiming at presenting the theories supporting the investigationto expose how their intersection and articulation could become a method for analysing fashionobjects. Stemming from the semiotics works concerned with the plastic of objects, mainlythe theories proposed by Greimas and further developed by Floch and Oliveira, we present anaddress of Fashion beyond its visual dimension, exploring the manners in which the relationsbetween the body and its dress are problems of discourse and narrative interactions, returningto Greimas’ Standard Semiotics and Landowski’s Socio-semiotics. The combination of theoriespresented in this piece was used to examine a corpus of feminine apparatuses utilised to reshapea woman’s silhouette throughout history, from the 18th century to the present, such ascorsets and crinolines, as well as various other types of shapewear, in combination with theanalysis of supporting texts, such as Artworks, literary works, pieces of popular culture andadvertisement. The work presents the steps of the investigation taking place between 2012and 2014 – the selection of the corpus and its analysis – and the future developments stemmingfrom that first exam, bringing about a reconstruction of the work and its results as a methodologicproposition that can serve the analysis of sartorial objects but is equally pertinent to theanalysis of any other manifestation that is subjected to rhythmic changes.