Media Journal Document

Names: Lê Nguyễn Diệp Thụ y, Trầ n Lê Hả i My, Trầ n Đình Tườ ng

Phú c, Phan Thanh Tù ng
Title of Text: Grave of the Fireflies

Media Form (e.g. Film poster

film poster):
Link to text (if https://drive.google.com/file/d/
available): 1_jvsVq5JWwHUXN5chLsA4uVCMC45pytl/view?usp=sharing

Things to note:
o Your answers to these media journal questions do not have a word
limit but they should be clear and concise (dot points can be used
throughout).
o Use correct terminology wherever relevant.
o The completed media journal document must be submitted to
Canvas before your tutorial presentation.
o All group members must submit the exact same document.
o All group members must contribute equally to the analysis and
presentation.
o Be sure your presentation addresses all the points you identify here.

What is the denotative meaning of your chosen text? That is, identify/describe
its denotations, its 'literal' meanings (just what you actually see).

- The subject of the picture is the image of two children playing in the
field. Both of them are wearing white T-shirts but the boy is matching
his T-shirt with dark pants while the little girl is choosing red ones. In
contrast to the girl’s innocent look demonstrated via her smile, the boy
looks quite mature with a haggard face, a thin body, and affectionate
eyes looking at his little sister.
- The sparkling spots cover the night sky, which makes the poster
brighter and therefore more attractive. In addition, looming in the
night sky, the flying plane appeared. This detail reminds the audience
of the depredation of The Second World War.
- The title “Grave of the Fireflies” (translated from Japanese to English)
stands out with its red font color. Respectively below the title, there
exists “Director: Isao Takahata”, its screenplay, and the text “When 4
and 14 years old, I choose to live ” (translated from Japanese to
English) - which runs vertically in the middle of this picture.
What are some connotative meanings of this text? That is, the feelings and
ideas it evokes, its personal and socio-cultural associations.

- In the first place, the audience can quickly realize that the kids are
siblings since they take after each other. However, the poster can imply
the misfortune of those children because their parents do not appear in
the whole picture.
- Covering the night sky, the sparkling lights, which resemble the fireflies
connote the sparks coming from exploded bombs. The flying plane
represents a warplane used in the war.
- The images used in the poster reflect the devastation of Japan in World
War II. The aircraft modeled after the Boeing B29 Superfortress
symbolizes the cruelty of America when they use nuclear weapons,
which causes many painful losses and horrifying consequences,
especially for innocent children enduring the war.
- The image of the two kids playing represents the innocence of children
not only in Japan but also in the whole world. Moreover, the portrait of
the kids’ rudimentary clothes implies the weak economy of Japan at
that time.

What iconic, indexical, and/or symbolic signs are present? What is its level of
modality? Does it have an implied narrative? Does it rely on intertextuality to
construct meaning?

1. Iconic signs: Based on a real-life event in Japan, the illustrations of the

flying plane and two kids represent the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, an
American heavy bomber used in World War II, and two Japanese kids
respectively.
+ Symbolic signs: Based on the context, the illustrations of the
sparking lights standing out from the night sky connote the exploded
atomic bombs.
+ Indexical signs: The illustrations of the warplane and sparks from
atomic bombs connote the agony of war.

2. Level of modality: These signs all have high modality since this poster
is designed based on a real story happening to two kids in Japan during
World War II.

3. Implied narrative: Due to the war, these two kids lost their cheerful
lives and suffered from permanent sorrow, loss, and even death. The
contrast between the naive smile from the kids and the agony from
bombs, and warplane conveys the optimistic spirit, as well as
interpersonal love in war. Therefore, this poster reflects the harshness
of war as well as the devastating loss considered.

4. Intertextuality: This poster is drawn on the event that Japan faced

many obstacles during World War II, encompassing economic crisis,
increasing Japanese militarism, and detrimental atomic bombs, which
led to its extreme poverty. The image of the two kids is depicted based
on a real-life event of two Japanese kids when the boy carried his
younger sister to the grave for burial.
Does it have captions that function as anchorage? How does it position or
address the audience? How does context influence its meaning? Does it use
metonymy?

1. The media text does have a caption function as anchorage. It is “Grave

of the Fireflies” (translated from Japanese to English), which stands at
the top of the poster.

2. The title “Grave of the Fireflies” written in large font size and bright red
tone makes it stand out on the poster with many profound meanings.
The word “Grave” evokes a lot of pain and loss but by standing next to
the word “fireflies”, it reflects optimism and hope. Last but not least,
the red of the caption implies the color of innocent children’s blood in a
brutal war. This caption strongly affects the audience's emotions and
perceptions. The miracle of this poster is that depending on the
audience’s age and life experience, they would have diverse viewpoints,
such as pleasure or sorrow.

3. In this case, the poster “Grave of the Fireflies” is set in World War II - a
war that is meaningless but causes much pain for humanity. The poster
was released at a time when Japan and the whole world were in the
process of trying to recover their economy after the losses from World
War II. This made the audience more aware of the losses caused by
World War II.

4. The anchorage “Grave of the Fireflies” uses metonymy. While fireflies

often represent children's joy and innocence, the image depicted by
“Grave” reminds the audience of death. To sum up, the anchorage
reinforces the blurring boundary between death and life.

What ideologies are present in the text? Does it resist and/or reinforce these
ideologies? Be sure to observe what and how specific signs (signifiers +
signifieds) in the text convey these ideologies.

- There are two ideologies present in the text:

+ Pacifism: Via the sorrowful image depicted through contrasts in words and
illustrations, the poster “Grave of the Fireflies” reflects the strong desire for
peace of the Japanese in detail and of humans in general. Moreover, it also
represents humans’ hatred and opposition to war.
+ Antiwar: Based on the agonizing concept of Japan, the Japanese propelled
themselves against war and worked their best to have a peaceful life.

- The media text reinforces the mentioned ideologies since:

+ The image of two children sitting peacefully functions as a signifier to
signify Japanese kids during World War II.
+ The kids’ innocent nature works as a signified since it is implied by the
illustrations of the two naive kids.
+ The illustrations of the flying warplane and sparkling dots function as
signifiers to signify military means of transportation and falling bombs.
+ The harshness of war functions as a signified since it is implied by the
illustrations of the flying warplane and sparkling lights.
+ The title “Grave of the Fireflies” functions as a signifier to connote the
gloominess and felicity via the intense contrast in the image depicted by
“grave” and “fireflies”.
+ The sacrifice of people functions as a signified since the word “Grave” in the
title works as a signifier to imply the death of people.
=> All things considered, pacifism and antiwar are strengthened via the
contrast between war and peace, beatitude and sorrow implied in the poster.

Sample reference list. Finally, please include full citation/s of the reading/s
from this unit you have used to help you address these questions. Be sure to
use correct Swinburne Harvard style (this is good practice for your
upcoming essay).

1/O’Shaughnessy, M., Stadler, J., & Casey, S. (2016) ‘Chapter 8 Semiology’.

Media & society. (Sixth edition / Michael O’Shaughnessy and Jane Stadler with
Sarah Casey.). Oxford University Press. pp. 122–132.
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/swin/detail.action?docID=5402098

2/O’Shaughnessy, M., Stadler, J., & Casey, S. (2016) ‘Chapter 9 Reading Images
and Advertisements’. Media & society. (Sixth edition / Michael O’Shaughnessy
and Jane Stadler with Sarah Casey.). Oxford University Press. pp. 134; 140;
146.
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/swin/detail.action?docID=5402098

3/Chandler, D. (2022) ‘Chapter 1 Models’. Semiotics: the basics (Fourth edition.).

Routledge. pp.42-48 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003155744

4/Brian Ashcraft. (2018). Grave Of The Fireflies’ Movie Poster Has A Hidden
(And Depressing) Secret.
https://www.kotaku.com.au/2018/04/grave-of-the-fireflies-movie-poster-
has-a-hidden-and-depressing-secret/