QUESTIONS TO SHARPEN YOUR FOCUS

1		What are the signifier and signified of a favorite item of clothing or jewelry? Can you think of a way that this sign has already been stripped of history?
2		Why did Barthes think it was crucial to unmask or deconstruct the original denotation of a sign?
3		Identify at least one similar nonverbal signifier popularized through the television dramas ER and Friends. How do their signifieds differ?
4		"It's not over 'til the fat lady sings." What are the denotative signifier, signified, and sign to which this statement refers? What connotative shift has altered the meaning of the original sign?