ABSTRACT

Departing from the synchronic trend dominant in social semiotics research, this study examines the diachronic interplay between semiotic cues governing power relations, and global political power dynamics. It examines thirty years of photographic coverage given to Iran in Time Magazine, focusing specifically on diachronic interaction analysis (Kress and van Leeuwen 2006, Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. London: Routledge). The significance of these discourses is examined with an interdisciplinary conceptual lens comprising of social semiotics (Kress and van Leeuwen 2006, Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. London: Routledge) and critical theory (Butler 1993, Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex. New York: Routledge). The analysis reveals the even amongst a routinely “othered” national community, some actors are rendered more “valuable” by the camera. Specifically, the interactive cues of gaze, camera angle and social distance accord more power to male dissidents, and female trailblazers, discursive choices serving as an indictment of Iran's socio-political systems. Furthermore, this paper extends van Leeuwen's (2008, “Representing Social Actors.” In Discourse and Practice, edited by T. van Leeuwen. New York: Routledge) work on visual “othering,” and suggests three new categories for examining how visual cues create “valuable bodies”: adjacency, subjectivation, and empowerment.

摘要

与社会符号学研究中占主导地位的共时趋势不同，本研究考察了控制权力关系的符号线索与全球政治权力动态之间的历时相互作用。它审视了《时代》周刊对伊朗的三十年摄影报道杂志，特别关注历时交互分析（Kress 和 van Leeuwen 2006，阅读图像：视觉设计语法。伦敦：Routledge）。这些话语的重要性通过跨学科的概念镜头来检验，包括社会符号学（Kress 和 van Leeuwen 2006，阅读图像：视觉设计语法。伦敦：Routledge）和批判理论（Butler 1993，重要的身体：论话语性的极限。纽约：Routledge）。分析表明，即使在常规的“其他”国家社区中，一些演员也被相机变得更“有价值”。具体来说，凝视、摄像机角度和社会距离的互动线索赋予男性持不同政见者和女性开拓者更多权力，话语选择作为对伊朗社会政治制度的控诉。此外，