A SAUSSUREAN SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF THE VISUAL AND VERBAL CONSTRUCTION OF RACIAL IDENTITY IN SPIKE LEE'S BLACKKKLANSMAN (2018)

Abstract

This study examines the construction of racial identity in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman (2018) through Ferdinand de Saussure's semiotic theory. While previous studies have primarily focused on discourse, language, or the thematic portrayal of racism, this research investigates how verbal and visual signs work together to construct meanings of white supremacy and Black identity. Employing a qualitative approach, the study analyzes 20 scenes selected based on the research criteria, consisting of verbal and visual representations, using Saussure's concepts of the signifier and the signified. Data were collected through repeated viewing, scene segmentation, documentation, and note-taking, and analyzed using Miles and Huberman's interactive model. The findings reveal that verbal and visual signifiers collectively construct racial identity by representing white supremacy, institutional racism, Black identity, and resistance. The study concludes that BlacKkKlansman functions as a cultural text in which interconnected systems of signs construct ideological meaning, demonstrating the relevance of Saussure's semiotic framework for literary and film studies.