Browsing by Subject "Greimas"

Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate how the goal of household activities; well-being, manifests itself in the comic series Calvin and Hobbes. The theoretical framework of the study examined the function of the household, well-being theories, and comics as part of culture. The research problems were structured using the components of Allardt's well-being theory: living standards, community relationships, and forms of self-realization. Previous research has shown that popular culture can be seen both as reflecting the world and as actively influencing the formation of perceptions of the world and ourselves. Perceptions of household activities are part of these processes. Methods. The material for the study consisted of Calvin and Hobbes, comics by Bill Watterson. Initially, the data was reduced according to the household view presented in the theoretical framework of the study. With the help of theory-driven content analysis, the material was further themed and delimited. The themes were cross tabulated with the components of Allardt’s well-being theory. The study material consisted of 26 strips. The analysis of comic narrative was performed using two parallel traditions of semiotics. An analysis by Peirce of the relationship of signs and objects, which represents pragmatic tradition, aided in revealing icons, indices, and symbols describing household activities from the strips. Using the actant model of Greimas, representing structuralist semiotics, the pictorial and verbal story presented in the comic strips was analyzed. Results and conclusions. Housework related to living standards was seen in the cartoon child’s eyes as annoying, boring, or to be avoided. On the other hand, housework represented care and love. Housework was mainly the responsibility of the mother of the cartoon family, so that the mother doing housework became an icon and a symbol of housework. In addition to everyday issues, the comic dealt with subjective matters of quality of life. Great stories were found in the cartoons about how the support of loved ones helped the child deal with difficult things and grow as a person. The members of the cartoon family longed for their own and shared time, as well as being valued, but these needs were not always met. The cartoon family could be defined using different family concepts. Looking at the standard of living, the family represented a familistic concept of the family. When describing relationships, the family instead acted as a team family. The manifestation of forms of self-realization was further characterized by an individualistic concept of the family. The conclusion of this study is that the comic series reflects housework as a producer of well-being, and an atmosphere of caring that covers all the areas of well-being