Semiotic philosophy for the visually stimulated

Gee, how long has it been since I've admonished my reader(s) to consider the virtues of including a little non-fiction in their film-viewing diets? It's just sad that, unless Michael Moore makes it, documentaries rarely acquire a theatrical release. And really, folks! There are some great pieces out there, just awaiting their addition to your NetFlix queue. And speaking of which...

Every time I've mentioned to folks how excited I've been about the DVD release of Helvetica, the film about the font, not only have I received looks askance, but I've been told that my enthusiasm for this films officially cements my status as a dork. Even really dorky people have called me a dork. *sigh* Well, there IS the exception of the time I mentioned it to one of our graphic designers at work--she promptly pulled out a full-size publicity poster (see below) for the film (I particularly like this girl because she has a "No Comic Sans" bumper sticker tacked to her bulletin board. Here, here!).



So, I like fonts. What of it? When I worked for the UofA Poetry Center as an all-around grad student grunt, my favorite part of the job was designing all the posters for our readings. Matching font to visiting poet *almost* made it OK that I was making $7.50/hour. That said, I've always been something of a Garamond girl. Sadly, my font of choice is not an option here on Planet Blogger. I love it's little feathery serifs. I love that it's romantic in a Paris-is-the-City-of-Love kind of way. It's bookish and antique-y. It's ladylike. And ladylike-ness, by its very nature, contains the suggestion of its opposite. Like me wearing my Garamond t-shirt (yes, I own such a thing-- I wouldn't lie to you, my faithful flock) sans bra. Clearly, it's a great font.

Now, Helvetica, in and of itself, will never be a style to which I gravitate. It's Target, Crate&Barrel and though Ikea itself uses some other sanserif, it certainly embodies the Ikea ethic. It's ubiquitousness is, in fact, the very subject of the film. Moreover, though, the film discusses the ways in which a simple typeface can carry a pretty hefty emotional load. At its inception, the font was meant to denote an accessible, egalitarian, highly functional ideal. It's a little like a typographical outcropping of Bauhaus architecture. It's clean, simple and declarative. However, as it's every-freakin'-where, it quickly became associated with the fascism of American corporate culture-- a culture primarily responsible for its wide-ranging dissemination. Hence, Helvetica has both advocates and dissenters galore. Yes, friends, there is a great underworld of warring factions of typeface designers and graphic artists about which we can only imagine. Not only that, but all these folks speak in a manner wondrous colorful and metaphoric about the deeply subjective and associative qualities of any given font. Oh! Can I just tell you how much people who are both passionate and articulate about their chosen fields turn me on? And a liberal hand has spiced this film with bunches of just that sort of typographical expert.

Aside from all of the above, I think the real value of this film is that it offers a crash course in how the sign-signifier relationship works. And not just because we're looking at written language, which is, basically, a graphic representation of temporal sounds-- the basic fundament of the semiotic argument as a whole. To deny that there is a difference in meaning between the word... oh, I dunno, let's take "courtesan"-- written in Helvetica and the same word written in Garamond would denote a distinct lack of visual sensitivity on the part of the deny-er. And that difference only occurs because typeface, undeniably, bears some of the weight of meaning-making. Hence, the film becomes a mini-lesson-for-the-non-philosopher in aesthetic theory. And who among us DOESN'T wish we'd had more time to take philosophy of aesthetics classes when we were undergrads?

Jesus. I AM such a dork.

I leave you with this: participate in the non-fiction filmmaking renaissance TODAY! You'll be so glad you did.

I should be getting paid for these plugs.