de Saussure and Hefner...Who would have thought?

Ferdinand de Saussure said "the linguistic unit is a double entity, one formed by the associating of two terms" (61). "The linguistic sign unites, not a thing and a name, but a concept and a sound-image" (61). There are two elements to the sound of language.  The actual physical sound is the sound we hear. Then there is the impression the sound makes on our senses.  Saussure calls this the "psychological imprint of the sound"(61). The objective here is to understand that the sound or concept doesn't really mean anything until we have a mental picture to associate it with.

For example, when someone says "Hugh Hefner," It doesn't mean anything to us until we know that this sound is associated with the name of a man. It then helps to see a picture of him. Once we know what he looks like, the next time we hear the same sound we have its association. The image with the subtitle "I'm with Hef," is a picture of a strapping, young Hefner, smoking a pipe.  He is handsome, and his stare alludes his sexiness.  Once we are interested in the picture we learn that it is not entirely accurate.

Hugh Hefner is now actually much older, and quite wealthy.  On a good day he dressed fashionably in classic attire and looks more like the next image.

The more we learn about "Hef," as he is most commonly called, we learn about his love for sexy young women. He took this love and founded a magazine that would showcase beautiful young women posing nude. He calls it Playboy. This magazine has been circulated internationally and is most recognizable, along with its logo, the Playboy Bunny.

Hef is also well known for being in the company of many young ladies, no matter what his age. His inability to settle down with just one of them doesn't seem to affect his talent in recruiting women for himself, or his magazine.

There is now significance in the sound of the words Hugh Hefner.  The next time the sounds are heard we have more than one association. Hugh Hefner now can be associated with wealth, money, women, sex, and Playboy magazine.

Works Cited

de Saussure, Ferdinand. "Course in General LInguistics." Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin & Michael Ryan. Blackwell: Oxford, 2006. 59-71.

http://thenonconsumeradvocate.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/fp9142hugh-hefner-posters.jpg

www.playboyenterprises.com

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/famecrawler/2008/02/01-07/hugh-hefner-plastic-surgery.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Playboy-Bunny-Framed-Poster-Print/dp/B000G84CIC

http://www.alexshalman.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/hugh_hefner2.jpg

http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/images/gallery/kim-kardashian-playboy-cover.jpg