Semiotic Analysis of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Abstract

Everything is a sign. We can consider the words we use, the texts we write, the movies or TV series we watch, photos or any content used in social media as a 'sign'. These signs are constantly telling us something as a representation. When considered from this point of view, it is inevitable that cartoons prepared for children will also be an sign. Based on this, it has been thought that the cartoon called 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles', which has been broadcast all over the world for more than thirty years, both on television and in cinemas without losing its currency, may also be signs. For this reason, the aim of the study is to analyze the narrative of the cartoons and animations called 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' through the representations in this narrative, the characters and their names in the cartoons and animations, the weapons used by the characters, the food they eat, their clothes, the colors and places they use. In addition, what the subject discussed in Mutant Ninja Turtles in general represents was analyzed through the relevant characters. In the study, it has been seen that each sign examined semiotically is produced with a certain cultural meaning. The cultural heritage from the Renaissance to the present reflects the culture of a particular society. Therefore, the culture spread by mass media can influence different cultures from itself.