Approccio Semiotico alla Comunicazione della Scienza in Tv

The main goal of the research is to verify how scientific themes are represented in Italian television, within different Tv format and genres: documentaries, fictions, cartoons. To carry out this analysis a semiotic analytic grid is applied to several audiovisual texts that deal with science. The research question is: How scientific themes are communicated within Tv programs, broadcasted from 1990 to 2019 in Italy? The theorical framework of reference for the elaboration of the research includes the following key concepts: a. A tv message is a system of signs transmitted by a sender to a receiver and it is codified/decodified according to a common code shared by both sender and receiver (cfr. Eco 2018: 98). b. A tv message – consists of pictures, sounds or noise and verbal utterances, is based on the use of three codes (iconic, linguistic and sonic ones) (cfr. Eco 2018: 107-108). c. Sender and receiver are not abstract technological agents without socio-cultural identity, but rather they are «anthropological subjects, whose identities is created during the act of meaning creation » (cfr. Fabbri 2018: 20-21). d. Each media experience is not a direct, transparent and spontaneous experience, rather than a designed, preconstructed and serial one (cfr. Eugeni 2010: 58). e. While analyzing an audiovisual text it is necessary to adopt a “binocular gaze”, that is to say to “read” forms and their meanings simultaneously (cfr. Fabbri 2018: 20). f. The communication of the scientific themes is arranged in tv programs on three levels: sematic, semiotic (that is the union between expressive forms and their meaning) and pragmatic ones, since the message tries to match receiver’s needs) (cfr. Tenoch Cid Jurado 2018: 78). The research project was developed thought the following phases: Phase 1. Definition of motivation, research question, theorical framework, methodology, semiotic grid for the textual analysis, timetable and deliverables of the project. Phase 2. Historical excursus on the several moments of intersection between science and communication across: ages, scientists and popularizers, cultural genres. The media tools and strategies used by Tv to communicate culture have been considered as well. Phase 3. Semiotic analysis of some tv programs that are explicitly informative about: a. Science: La scienza in gioco, 3 Scienziati al bar, La scienza matta con Nigel Latta; b. Astronomy: Moon Illuminati dalla luna, L’universo misterioso: le ultime scoperte; c. Computer science: Codice: la vita è digitale Phase 4. Semiotic analysis of some fictions for tv that are implicitly informative about: a. Science: Mr Robot, Complimenti per la Connessione, MucGyver; b. Medicine: La linea verticale, The Good Doctor, New Amsterdam; c. Astrophysics: Salvation. Phase 5. Semiotic analysis of some cartoons for tv that are implicitly informative about: a. Medicine and health education: storie di Anna, Manni Tuttofare, Capitan Kuk, La dottoressa Peluche; b. Psychology: Psicovip; c. Physics and Astrophysics: Alieni pazzeschi, Miles dal futuro; d. the scientific importance of Leonardo da Vinci: Grandi uomini per grandi idee, Leo da Vinci, Missione Monnalisa, L’arte con Matì e Dadà; e. Computer science: Sally Bollywood; f. Ecology: C’era una volta la terra. As far as the method of analysis is concerned, it has followed three different phases: • the first phase is characterized by the description of the sensorial materials as well as the report of salient shots, visual and audio contents form the texts chosen to be analyzed; • the second phase involves the interpretation of the perceptive material; • the third phase considers the synthesis among the several interpretative paths recognized behind the line of the medial texts. It considers four “layers” of an audio-visual text: thematic area, narrative area, representative area and function area. The tv programs considered are 25, representing different functions and genres. To conclude, the work of analysis has verified that: scientific tv programs adopts storytelling tools to popularize science, and non-scientific programs, through the serial engagement communicate scientific themes, underlining the spectacular and amusing side of science.