Semiotics...

'Idiot' ... Ollie Moore in cop helmet at riot

MORE violence will erupt as students step up their fight against tuition fees, London's top cop warned yesterday.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said his officers were ready to get tough with students.

He admitted the Met had been caught off guard by the first protest on November 10, which ended with £1million of damage to Tory Party HQ.

He told the Metropolitan Police Authority: "We had dealt with student organisers before and we based it too much on history. Regrettably, the game has changed and we must act."

MPs will vote on the proposed rise in tuition fees before Christmas - heaping pressure on the Lib Dems.

The party's deputy leader Simon Hughes yesterday condemned protesters after they tried to storm his office in Bermondsey, South London, calling the tactic a "foolish mistake".

Meanwhile, Labour MP David Winnick described the student violence as "marvellous", claiming it gave a lead to others campaigning against cuts.

 By NEIL SYSON

Semiotics

Semiotics is the 'science' of studying signs and their meanings. It

focuses on how things mean, not what they mean.

The signifier:

A signifier is simply what is there, like when you see an image, it

is what it is.

The signified:

The signified is what is being signified by the signifier, so in terms of

an image the signified would be what the image is showing us.

The denotation:

The denotation is the simplest 'meaning' or sign of the image, for

example an image of a dog's denotation would be that its a four

legged creature that we know is a dog.

The connotation:

The connotation is the deeper meaning behind the sign, with the 

dog the connotation would be loyalty and companionship.

I have found the signifier, signified, denotation and connotation of

this newspaper article from The Sun, showing rioting at the student

demonstration about education cuts.

The signified: image of the teenager with his finger up in front of a 

vandalised police van.

The signifier: the vandalised police van and stance of the teenager

signifies violence, hooliganism and war.

The denotation: the photo is representing a hooligan teenager.

The connotation: the teenager is angry because of the rise in 

student fees and the cuts being made to education by the new

coalition government. He is standing in a powerful stance with 

his middle finger up and a sarcastic, smug look on his face. 

His body language is reflective on the police vehicle behind him,

he vandalised an abandoned police van and is looking proud of

doing it. He is also wearing a found police helmet, which is 

helping to represent the power he feels he now holds after

destroying the police van.

Published: Today

A TEENAGER who gave cops "the finger" during student rioting in London should have been at a JOB interview.

Ollie Moore, 17, struck the one-digit pose wearing a police helmet and with a twisted sneer of contempt on his face.

He was photographed standing in front of a smashed-up police van amid waves of snarling protesters during clashes in Whitehall.

But far from being there to oppose tuition fee hikes, the smartly-dressed teen had gone to the capital from his parents' Surrey home to try and get his first proper employment.