Eco extends semiotics to a general theory of cultural behavior, which Bettetini
(1986: 307) characterizes as follows: "semiotic methods seemed applicable
to the whole sphere of the human activity, and at the same time, any semiotic
practice seemed to be a part of a general and holistic semiotics of culture."
Eco's studies in popular culture and the mass media, such as advertising,
comics, film, television or detective novels seem to have been a rich source
of inspiration for his own successful semiotic novels. His own position
towards popular culture is neither that of the 'apocalyptists,' who deplore
the decline of culture in the mass media, nor that of the 'integrationists,'who
passively fall victim to the illusions generated by these media (Eco1964).
Instead, he recommends a critical attitude whose foundation is the semiotic
analysis of the form of culture.
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