Semiotic Representation of Gender in Pakistani TV Drama Posters

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the representation of gender in Pakistani TV drama posters and titles. The posters are always symbolic. Every sign has double layers of meanings, denotative and connotative. Connotative meanings unearth the hidden dimensions of ideologies prevalent in society. This study investigates the semiotic presentation of gender existing in selected Pakistani TV drama posters to exposé the ideological basis of gender portrayal. This study also analyzes how far gender presentation in the drama posters subverts the traditional gender depiction. The researcher has chosen the semiotics model of analysis formulated by Gillian Dyer (1982) for this research. This research is qualitative and descriptive as it deals with the semiotic analysis of TV drama posters.  It decodes the signs used by the producers to instigate different ideologies. This research is multi-model as it analyzes both verbal and visual signs. The researcher has taken a convenience sampling technique and selected 3 posters of dramas. These posters are specifically those are female-oriented, containing a male as the main character. The drama posters taken as a sample for the analysis of gender representative status in the Pakistani context do not seem to subvert the orthodox gender power narratives. This concludes that Pakistani TV drama posters contribute to stereotypical gender structures where males/females are conventionally presented while executing their traditional roles within their socially assigned domains. Drama posters, being an influential source, make such representation appear natural, thus stimulating the patriarchal ideological system.

Keywords: Semiotics, Gender, Posters, Ideology, Connotation, Denomination, Subversion, Analysis