Semitoics 2

I had the opportunity to hang a camera around my neck and capture some pretty cool moments while I spent some time across the big pond.  For this assignment, I chose to look through my own pictures to make the task more personal to me. What could I analyze from my own photos? What semiotics had I not noticed before in my own work? 

So I began debating between an array of pictures.

What could I say about this Robert Downey Jr. look alike turned rockstar?

What could I say about the people who make a living on the street? 

What do they treasure more than music and their pet cat?

What about this pair of lovers outside the train? 

Did she just come home? Is she about to leave?

What could I interpret from this keyhole?

What could I say about this contrast in lifestyle?

You got a lot more than you bargained for reading this post.

Congratulations.

 I decided to analyze this picture of an afternoon lunch in Spain. Resting on a table with mineral water and little sandwiches, these Spaniards laugh and smoke together. They take their time eating their food and order the hors d'oeuvres one by one. After a good two hours of lighthearted conversation and love life updates, they will retire to their apartments for a siesta. Why did these people decide to go out to lunch this time? Why just the three of them? How do they know each other? I assume that they chose to sit outside because they sought a break from their reality. Perhaps they work in business and those walls and numbers tend to close in on them in the morning. When they choose to sit in the fresh air, they have the liberty to take up as much free space as they would like.
From 3:00-5:00pm, all shops and stores will close. The Spaniards will leave the streets vacant and will close the curtains in their homes. For the next two hours, Spanish culture accepts and encourages nap time. 1) Why in the world don't we have a socially acceptable nap time in the U.S.? and 2) How did Spanish nap time come to be?

Nap time, or siesta, is a part of Spanish culture. They say that they nap because of the heat in the afternoon. However, it gets much hotter in southern Texas and you don't see any people sleeping on the job. Spaniards smoke. Spaniards eat meals for at least more than an hour. Spaniards sleep later and wake up later. Spaniard drivers are very courteous of pedestrians. Spaniards don't form lines in public settings.

How did all of those generalizations come to be? 

WHAT FORMS A CULTURE?

As defined by the Oxford dictionary, "culture" is "relating to the ideas, customs and social behavior of a society." But, who creates those ideas, those customs and that kind of behavior? Who creates an accent or a societal ideal? It's fascinating! I feel that it is important that we recognize what aspects of our culture that we want to keep and promote and what aspects we should stop. Just as a pair of newlyweds chooses which family traditions they will continue, we must choose what positive culture behaviors we want to imbed in the future generations.