Semiotics of the city: bodies, spaces, technologies

Abstract

Cities are made of spaces, bodies and technologies. Semiotics has been working for a long time on these phenomena of meaning. However, the semiotic study of urban spaces have rarely met both semiotics of technical objects and semiotics of body. Dealing with these three fields as this paper aims to do, seems to be an urgent and necessary theoretical move. In its pages an old Walt Disney’s cartoon is analyzed; the main character is Goofy, who changes his passion and action programs depending on he is pedestrian or driver. One actor, two actants and, as a consequence,two meaning spaces.