One Dollar Symbolism Analysis

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By many aspects the one dollar note will just be a symbol of America and the American wealth, however we will see that it can convey way more than that. First and foremost, the one dollar note, is something judged to be common knowledge, everybody can approximately see what it looks like and they will not look in depth of what can be one of the most symbolic items of the United States of America. First printed in 1863, the dollar note was here to represent an abstract, yet know by everyone, money. Before then, coins were just the symbolic way of representing money. When we take a closer look at the picture, we are able to depict symbols that will means something to us, it is called the paradigmatic analysis. You are able to comprehend a …show more content…

As we said earlier, the sign is composed of two parts, the signifier and the signified which can be replaced by connotation and denotation. When we take the example of the one dollar note, the meaning of this piece of paper and what it convey is only understandable by what it represent. The signs are here to support representation. It is only when you put the signs together, and thanks to a semantic analysis, you manage to access to a meaning. The meaning or the ideology of that an image evokes is only reachable thanks to our knowledge of the different signs we put together. In my opinion, the one dollar note represent a good illustration of this comprehension because, when we look at all the sign separately we can then understand what this picture means. By gathering all the important figures of the United States, a strong patriotic feeling comes …show more content…

Indeed, money may be an abstract concept but it is also the foundation of capitalism. The dollar can connotes a strong patriotic feeling but it can also connotes a mean of wealth. In return of this piece of paper you can acquired different product, it then allows you to be a part of the capitalism system that is ruled by money. It gives you the illusion that you have a certain power because you are in possession of money, but in fact the society is constructed in order that you spend this money. This is the definition of ideology that gives Karl Marx. According to him, ideology is an illusory knowledge, a false consciousness. In a capitalism system, the power is detained by ruling class that will makes you think you are free, when in reality you are under their control. This theory has been illustrated in the movie ‘They live’, where they depict the capitalism society and its impact on the citizens. We can therefore draw the conclusion that meanings and ideologies are, indeed, produced through signs. By following semiotic analysis of the one dollar note, I am able to link those concept together. In a linguistic analysis, the dollar note doesn’t have a specific meaning, however as soon as values and signs are attributed to it, a meaning and ideologies come trough. All the symbols are here to represent what the United States represent and convey a strong patriotism. Nevertheless, the dollar stays a currency, it therefore takes

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