Textual Analysis

1. Barthes enigma
theory- Luther

2. Background information
 The creator of Luther is Neil Cross.
 The genre is a psychological crime drama.
 The original networks are BBC One and BBC HD.
Plot
 John Luther is a Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) working
for the Serious Crime Unit in series one, and the new
Serious and Serial Crime Unit in series two and three. A
dedicated police officer, Luther is obsessive, possessed,
and sometimes violent. However, Luther has paid a
heavy price for his dedication; he has never been able to
prevent himself from being consumed by the darkness of
the crimes with which he deals.

3. The Hermeneutic code.
 In the series Luther, Barthes enigma theory is used and it
includes an open text due to many key parts of the film
being unravelled in a lot of different ways. An example of
a code used is the hermeneutic code. The hermeneutic
codes used in Luther were: the murder of Luther’s lover
Alice Morgan and him trying to find the suspects involved;
the serial killers strike, which was distracting Luther from
his investigation. Also, another was the private life of
Luther as he was planning to run away with Alice Morgan.
 These elements of the story are not fully explained and
then becomes a mystery to the audience. The purpose of
the author in this is typically to keep the audience
guessing, until the final scenes reveal all the loose ends
which are tied off and closure is achieved. An example of
this is when Emily and Luther find the serial killer and
stop him from murdering another family, which is shown
at the end of the clip.

4. The Proairetic code
 Furthermore the proairetic code is also included, such as Luther
knocking on George's door and gets threatened by George's son.
This builds tension, which then gets the audience guessing as to
what happens next.
 Another proairetic code is when Luther kidnaps George after
knocking out his son after the threat. This creates tension due to
Luther acting as the antagonist as he is kidnapping someone, which
portrays the stereotypical protagonist characteristics.
 In addition, George is then interrogated by Luther about the death of
Alice Morgan as George is a well-known hitman, which makes
Luther question if he was there when it happened. Also the main
action code is when George says to Luther “you're in trouble”. This
indicates that something else is going to happen as it was left at a
cliff hanger, and makes the audience wonder what will happen next.
 The director uses this on purpose to imply a further narrative action,
which is George hiring other hit men to murder Luther himself.
 This code links with the hermeneutic code as they both develop the
story's tensions and keep the audience interested.

5. The Symbolic code
 The symbolic codes used in Luther were the dead
blackbird, which foreshadowed the woman's death
at the beginning of the clip when she is killed by the
serial killer. Stereotypically, a blackbird connotes
death due to the colour black, which signifies
emptyness and dullness. This links to the serial
killers emotions while murdering the innocent
woman, which also connotes that he is an
antagonist.
 Another was the exploding fridge which Theo
opened, which signified that the murderers secrets
have been unleashed and no longer private. This
was shown when Luther hesitated to pen the fridge
as it reminded him of Theo's death, then threw it to
the side.
 Furthermore, another symbolic code used was the
image of Alice Morgan, which Luther kept on him the
whole time. This signifies the love and passion he
has for her.

6. Binary opposites
 In addition, binary opposites are used
within Luther. Binary opposites are
essentially one thing can be defined in
relation to something it isn't. For
example, Emily (the detective) is only a
protagonist if there is a antagonist,
which in this case is the serial killer. This
is shown in the series Luther by her
saving a family before the serial killer
struck again.
 Another example is Luther being a
protagonist and George being an
antagonist. This is shown by Luther
trying to find answers about Alice
Morgan’s death, whilst George is
threatening to murder him. However, this
is only shown midway through the
episode as Luther took some actions
which portrayed the stereotypical
protagonist role which makes him a
false hero.