PAPER

THE ANALYSIS OF SEMIOTIC SQUARE

IN “WARM BODIES” MOVIE

Compiled by :
1. Mega Setyarini (170511100053)
2. LailatunAnisa’ (170511100055)
3. Nurul Fauziah (170511100057)
4. Zakiyatul Arofat (170511100065)
5. Icha Balqis Iswanto (170511100069)

UNIVERSITY OF TRUNOJOYO MADURA

FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND CULTURAL SCIENCE

ENGLISH STUDY PROGRAM

2019
 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Background
Semiotics is an investigation into how meaning is created and how
meaning is communicated. Its origins lie in the academic study of how signs
and symbols (visual and linguistic) create meaning.
It is a way of seeing the world, and of understanding how the landscape
and culture in which we live has a massive impact on all of us unconsciously.
Many semiotician proposed theory related to semiotic, one of which is the
“semiotic square”.
The semiotic square, developed by Algirdas Julien Greimas, is a means of
refining oppositional analyses by increasing the number of analytical classes
stemming from a given opposition from two (life/death, for instance) to four
(for example, life, death, life and death (the living dead), and neither life nor
death (angels) to eight or ten.
1.2 Formulation of problems
a. Does Warm Bodies movie apply Semiotic Square ?
b. Is any binary opposition shown in Warm Bodies movie ?
1.3 Objective Study
a. It is used to know whether the movie applies Semiotic Square.
b. It is used to know some binary opposition shown in the movie.
 Chapter 2
Discussion

2.1 The Semiotic Square

According to Algirdas Julien Greimas, the semiotic square is the
elementary structure of signification, marking off the oppositional logic that is at
the heart of both narrative progression and semantic, thematic, or symbolic
content. The semiotic square has proven to be an influential concept not only in
narrative theory but in the ideological criticism of Fredric Jameson, who uses the
square as "a virtual map of conceptual closure, or better still, of the closure of
ideology itself"

Greimas' schema is useful since it illustrates the full complexity of any given
semantic term (seme). Greimas points out that any given seme entails its opposite
or "contrary." "Life" (s1) for example is understood in relation to its contrary,
"death" (s2). Rather than rest at this simple binary opposition (S), however,
Greimas points out that the opposition, "life" and "death," suggests what Greimas
terms a contradictory pair (-S), i.e., "not-life" (-s 1) and "not-death" (-s2). We
would therefore be left with the following semiotic square (Fig. 1):
 As Jameson explains in the Foreword to Greimas' On Meaning, "-s1 and
-s2"—which in this example are taken up by "not-death" and "not-life"—"are the
simple negatives of the two dominant terms, but include far more than either: thus
'nonwhite' includes more than 'black,' 'nonmale' more than 'female'" (xiv); in our
example, not-life would include more than merely death and not-death more than
life. Indeed, in a given narrative, alternative terms will often suggest themselves
for -s1 and -s2.

An example of a semiotic square

  Masculine + Feminine    
 "androgyne"
"hermaphrodite"

  Masculine Feminine  
   
"man" "woman"
Feminine + Not-
Masculine + Not-
masculine
feminine    
"ultra-feminine",
"real man", "macho"
"vamp? "
Not-feminine
Not-masculine
"mannish",    
  "effeminate"  
"macha"

Not-feminine + Not-masculine
       
"angel"

The words in quotation marks are examples of concepts that can be classified
under a term or a metaterm. These concepts may be represented by the words used
here or by others (for example, the concept 'androgynous' could be manifested in a
text by the word "androgynous", but also by the expression "he was as masculine
as he was feminine").

2.2 The analysis of ‘Semiotic Square’ in warm bodies movie

a. Synopsis of the movie

About eight years after a zombie apocalypse, R, a zombie, spends his days
wandering around an airport which is now filled with his fellow undead, including
his best friend M. R and M achieve rudimentary communication with grunts and
moans and occasional near-words. As a zombie, R does not have a heartbeat and
constantly craves human flesh, especially brains, as he is able to "feel alive"
through experiencing the victims' memories when he eats them.
While R and a pack of zombies are hunting for food, they encounter Julie
Grigio and a group of her friends, who were sent by Julie's father from a walled-
off human enclave to recover medical supplies. R sees Julie and is drawn to her;
his heart beats for the first time. After being shot in the chest by Julie's boyfriend,
Perry, R kills Perry while Julie is distracted and eats his brain. Perry's memories
increase R's attraction to Julie. He rescues her from the rest of the pack by wiping
some zombie blood on her face, masking her scent, and takes her to an airplane he
resides in to keep her safe.
Julie is terrified of R and suspicious of his intentions. She starts trusting
him after he rescues her during a failed escape attempt and finds food for her. R
insists that Julie stay with him for a few days, until he deems it safe enough for
her to leave. The two bond, listening to LP records and playing games to kill time,
causing R to begin to come to life; his heart starts beating and he is slowly able to
communicate with more words. After a few days, Julie gets restless, and tries to
return home, yet attracts swarms of zombies. After fending off a group including
M, who is confused by R's actions, R decides to return her to the human enclave.
On the way, R reveals to Julie that he killed Perry, prompting her to
abandon him and return home alone. R begins making his way back to the airport,
heartbroken. He discovers that M and other zombies are also showing signs of
life, making them targets for the Boneys – skeletal zombies who, having lost their
humanity, have shed their flesh and prey on anything with a heartbeat. R and M
lead a group to the human enclave, where R sneaks inside the wall.
R finds Julie and meets her friend Nora, who is shocked to see R in the
territory and notices R's growing humanity. When R reveals that the other corpses
are also coming back to life, the three of them attempt to tell Colonel Grigio,
Julie's father and leader of the survivors. Colonel Grigio dismisses them and
threatens to kill R, stopping only when Nora pulls a gun on him. Julie and R
escape to a baseball stadium where the rest of R's group is waiting, but find
themselves under attack by Boneys.
While M and his gang of zombies square off against the Boneys, Julie and
R run, but find themselves trapped. Taking the only escape route, R jumps with
Julie into a pool far below, shielding her from the impact. After Julie pulls R from
the bottom of the pool, they kiss. Colonel Grigio arrives and shoots R in the
shoulder without warning. Julie attempts to persuade him that R has changed,
when she notices that he is bleeding from his wound – revealing that he has
completely revived and is human once more. The humans and zombies combine
forces and kill most of the Boneys while the rest perish from starvation, as the
zombies slowly come back to life and assimilate into human society. Later, a fully
human R and Julie watch the wall surrounding the city being demolished,
signifying the end of the apocalypse.

b. The Application of ‘Semiotic Square’ in warm bodies movie

First case, from this movie we use concept of “life and death”. And here,
we can find the combination of concept“ Life and Death” gives new
species that we can call “zombie”, because zombie is life and death at
same time.
Based on the movie, from minute 00:05:03 shows that the main character is “R”
(the young zombie that wears the red jacket). He has bestfriend and they oftens
talk with make a sound of a siren, because they can not make conversation like
real human.

Second case, from concept “life and death”, there is combination that “ not death
is implication of life” then show new word “human or real life”.

Based on the movie, from minute 00:02:19 shows that “R” be in the middle of the
real human. Then, he thinks what makes them different, because they look same
with him, life but not talk each other. They seem life in their death, because they
only focus on their own activity and gadget.

Third case, from concept “life and death”, there is concept that “death is
implication of not life” then it shows a new word “corpse”.
Based on the movie 00:08:54, there is a human that has just died, and it calls
corpse.

Fourth case, from concept “life and death” in de greimas teori, the contrary of
“not death” is “not life”, and this shows new word or new species of zombie. The
name is “boney”.

Based on the movie 01:23:38, here we can see that there are another kind of
zombie, the name is boney. Actually, they are zombie that have been
downhearted. They peel their skin untill seem as skull walking. However, they are
more dangerous than usual zombie, because they hate everything that have
beating heart and eat flesh or organs of human.
Based on the movie , this scene explain that R wants to save the girl from other
zombies. He gives his blood in her skin, so that her human smell is not smelled.

Based on those scene, this movie end with story that zombie can be human and
also life together like usually.
 Chapter 3
Conclusion

The semiotic square, developed by Algirdas Julien Greimas, is a means of

refining oppositional analyses by increasing the number of analytical classes
stemming from a given opposition from two (life/death, for instance) to four
(for example, life, death, life and death (the living dead), and neither life nor
death (angels) to eight or ten.
In analyse of Warm Bodies movie, we can find some new words that
show. Those words are zombie, human, corpse and boney. They show because
there is concept of “life and death”. So, from this teory, de greimas wants to
explain that many signs can show only from two words. But those words have
to has concept binary opposition.
 Refrences
Bukurefrensidarimaamzaki
http://www.signosemio.com/greimas/semiotic-square.asp

https://signsalad.com/our-thoughts/what-is-semiotics/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warm_Bodies_(film)