2. About Roland Barthes
Roland Barthes was a French literary
theorist, philosopher and critic. He
was well known for exploring a wide
range of areas including the study of
cultural signs and symbols. He was
born on the 12th of November 1915
and died on the 25th of March 1980 at
the age of 64. He was considered very
influential and was well respected.
3. Codes theory
Roland Barthes introduced the idea
that texts have the potential to
have a range of potential meanings
and can be interpreted in many
different ways. He felt that texts
such as narratives had multiple
meanings and that texts may be
‘open’ or ‘closed’
4. Five codes
Roland Barthes came up with five
codes which are integrated within
all narratives.
• The Hermeneutic Code
• The Enigma/Proairetic Code
• The Symbolic Code
• The Cultural Code
• The Semantic Code
5. The Hermeneutic Code
The Hermeneutic Code involves
withholding important
information and the prevention of
being entirely truthful with all the
facts so that a variety of clues can
be incorporated throughout, in the
hope that a mystery is created.
The Enigma/Proairetic Code
The Enigma/Proairetic Code involves
the accumulation of tension so that
the audience are left guessing about
what happens next.
6. The Semantic Code
The Semantic Code also
known as the voice of the
person, involves pointing to
any aspect within the text,
suggesting an additional
meaning through the use of
connotations.
The Symbolic Code
Similar to the semantic code the
symbolic code, which is also known
as the voice of symbols, organizes
semantic meanings into broader
and deeper sets of meanings. This
is typically done in the use of
antithesis.
7. The Cultural Code
The Cultural Code is also known as the voice of science. This looks at
the audiences wider cultural knowledge, morality and ideology.
8. Linking back to our opening scene
Our production could be considered to follow one of Roland
Barthes codes. In my opinion our production fits best with
the enigma/proairetic code as throughout our opening scene
we are trying to build up tension and suspense so that the
audience remain fully engaged. Also the fact that our genre is
a crime drama makes the creation of mystery ideal as it will
be expected by our audience.
