Abstract
The theoretical framework for this paper is provided by Juri Lotman’s concept of semiosphere. Within this, the concept of boundary defines the intersections between different semiotic systems. Within this general frame, the paper attempts a reading of Victor Sjöström’s Hollywood film A Lady to Love (MGM, 1930), produced in two versions, one American and one European, and based on a script by Sidney Howard, which in turn was based on Howard’s Pulitzer-Price-winning play They Know What They Wanted (1925). The analysis reveals several intersecting semiotic structures in the film as well as in its immediate contexts. A number of linguistic or dialogic structures enter into play: universal vs peripheral, theatre vs cinema, American vs European, silent vs sound. Across these complex and intertwined semiotic systems and boundaries, new meaning-making processes are also made possible.
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