A semiotic analysis of representations of maids in Greek movies of the 1950s and 60s

Abstract

A  variety  of  semiotic  codes,  for  example,  proxemics,  kinesics,  dress  code, verbal code, usually construct specific representations in audiovisual culture. This paper explores the semiotic systems in synergy which seem to lead to consolidation of the social representations of maids in pop culture texts, such as Greek movies in the 1950s and 60s (the old Greek cinema era). The research questions explore the social representations which have been constructed and the ways in which the verbal and non-verbal signs of the maids can lead to the consolidation of their social image or even to a myth construction based on specific ideological perspectives. So, how do maids act  in  Greek  movies  in  the  1950s  and  60s?  What  does  their  performance  signify? A semiotic analysis will  examine all these questions through semiotic codes in those multimodal texts (Greek movies), selected from the field of the historically Greek pop culture texts. These verbal and non-ver-bal codes work coherently to translate the depiction of Greek society and culture and to convey connotative meanings.