Semiotic Analysis of Television Show Dexter

Semiotic Analysis of Television Show Dexter

Semiotics is the study of meaning. There are many aspects that go into developing a semiotic analysis. They include signs, a signifier and signified, codes, opposition, code confusion, intertexuality, paradigms, and syntagyms. Before delving into the analysis, the meaning of each of these terms and their relation to semiotics must be made clear. A sign could be anything that stands for something else. A signifier is the physical object that represents something else, while the signified is the image the object relays. Codes are a set of rules that govern everything. Opposition, or binary opposition, which is used in this analysis, is when two things or people are used as opposites against one another. This further elevates each person's role or meaning. Code confusion is when rules or codes are deliberately broken, often in order to generate humor. Paradigms are a collection of codes or signs that are put together in a certain manner to induce meaning. A syntagym deals with order, how and why a show (in this analysis Dexter) is ordered a certain way. Now with the basic semiotic terms understood it is possible to delve into the semiotic analysis of Dexter.

Dexter is a fictional television show that airs on premium cable, Showtime, and it is usually about an hour in length. The episode used during this analysis was episode eight, Shrink Wrap. The main character is Dexter Morgan, who by day is a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Police Department's Homicide Unit, but during his off-hours he is a serial killer who murders other serial killers. He is very skilled at ensuring that his murders are left a mystery, however, another serial killer called the Ice Truck Killer is stalking him. He leaves Dexter notes and at times a disassembled Barbie Doll that resembles the way the Ice Truck Killer murders his victims, by freezing them, draining their blood, and slicing them up into clean cut and blood free pieces. Dexter is intrigued by this killer and thinks they may share much in common even though Dexter strictly murders other killers, and the Ice Truck Killer appears to harm even innocent civilians.

In analyzing the show, there are various signs that are found. Right from the start, the show's title is a very telling sign. The title Dexter is written with bloodstains spewed across it. This represents Dexter's job, a blood spatter analyst, as well as his hobby of murdering. It also sets a tone of violence, which is a major characteristic of the show. The show's introduction also serves as a sign. The introduction follows Dexter through his normal morning ritual, breaking an egg and frying meat for breakfast. Also he is shown slicing into various fruits with a sharp knife and grinding his coffee. Although this may sound normal, the way in which he is portrayed doing this provides the audience with an eerie feeling. The enjoyment Dexter gets out of cutting into objects and cooking things that could have been alive represents the enjoyment he has for murder. Dexter anxiously looks for people who have done wrong to others, usually regarding another person's death, and eagerly sets out to kill them. He even keeps a file full of blood samples from each person he has murdered.

The title of this episode, Shrink Wrap, also serves as a sign. In this episode Dexter goes to a psychiatrist whom he believes may be connected in the deaths of three women that his homicide unit was examining. Although they ruled the deaths out as suicides, Dexter felt something was suspicious with all three women having the same psychiatrist, Emmet Meridian, which was his reason for scheduling an appointment with the same therapist. Eventually after a few sessions and some snooping around, Dexter learns that Emmet counseled those three women and many others into committing suicide. This discovery led Dexter to murder the psychiatrist. Psychiatrists are often referred to as "shrinks". The title Shrink Wrap was a sign and form of foreshadowing of Dexter's next murder victim. Like all his victims Dexter wrapped Emmet down to a table, which this time was in Emmet's own office, and covered the room with shrinkwrap which is used to prevent dust or in this case blood from spattering onto the floor or couches. Then he took a blood sample to save for his file and proceeded to murder Emmet in the very place he counseled others into returning home and killing themselves.

Codes are another important aspect of this semiotic analysis. The main set of codes this episode deals with is between good and evil. These codes can also be viewed at times as paradigms because of the way the codes are setup. The idea of good versus evil is apparent in the battle Dexter wages against serial killers. Dexter sets out to kill those, such as the therapist, who are