A Discursive and Codes Semio-semantic Analysis of the Shift in Meaning from a Closed to an Open System in the Novel “Shutter Island” and Its Film Adaptation

This study aims to examine the differences in the systems of meaning production between the novel Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane and its film adaptation directed by Martin Scorsese. The main issue of the research is how a single narrative in two different sign systems (written language and visual language) leads to two distinct experiences of meaning for the audience. The theoretical framework of the research is based on the integration of classical semiotics, with an emphasis on Roland Barthes' five codes (hermeneutic, action, semantic, symbolic, and cultural), and discursive semiotics; in such a way that at the first level, the denotative structures and distribution of codes in both texts are identified and at a deeper level, the discourse system governing each media is analyzed based on the concepts of closed discourse system versus open discourse system, tense space, and cognitive, sensory-perceptual, emotional, and aesthetic dimensions of discourse.

The research method is qualitative and descriptive-analytical, and with a comparative approach, signs and clusters of signs in both texts (including narrative elements in the novel and visual-auditory elements in the film) have been examined. The findings show that in the novel, codes are organized in the form of a closed discursive system and ultimately lead to the relative stabilization of meaning and the formation of a dominant reading. In contrast, the film, by rearranging the same codes in an open discursive system, keeps meaning in a state of suspension and instability and maintains the possibility of multiple readings.