The Meaning of Symbols in the House that Jack Built Film by Lars Von Trier

Abstract

This study aims to analyse the types of symbols found in the film The House That Jack Built and describe their meanings. Research method of this research used qualitative content analysis. In this research, the data source includes scenes in the film The House That Jack Built 2018. Meanwhile, the data for this research are 40 image screenshots or visuals from the scenes presenting symbols. The data collection used in this research is a document study, this research is done by choosing the scenes identified as symbols and containing symbols. The data display of this research is presented in description. The theory used in this research is semiotic that focused on triadic semiotic proposed by Charles Sanders Pierce. The research findings show that conventional symbols and personal symbols are found in this film. Conventional symbols in this include colours, famous figures, nature, acts and expressions, places or settings, clothing, and the last is objects. while for personal symbols the author found including negative colours, an illustration of a human shadow, the smile corpse of a child named "Grumpy",the bodies in the cold storage room ,an old man named “Verge” wearing black clothes,Verge serving as Jack's guide , then finally pose like in the painting The Barque of Dante . These symbols are not just carelessly put into the film, but these symbols have meanings that are connected to the plot of the film, including symbols that symbolize the characters in the film. Because these symbols sometimes confuse the audience about their meaning, the writer does this research so that readers can understand the meaning of the symbols in the film.