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BARTHES 
CODE THEORY
He describes a text as… 
 “A galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of 
signifieds; it has no beginning; it is 
reversible; we gain access to it by 
several entrances, none of which can 
be authoritatively declared to be the 
main one; the codes it mobilizes extend 
as far as the eye can read, they are 
indeterminable...the systems of 
meaning can take over this absolutely 
plural text, but their number is never 
closed, based as it is on the infinity of 
language..."
This means… 
 The text is tangled and it has to be unravelled 
 Once we have unravelled the text then we 
come across a huge range of potential 
meanings or messages 
 You can start by looking at a narrative from one 
viewpoint and create one meaning for that text 
 You can then continue unravelling the narrative 
from different angles and come up with 
completely different meanings. 
 Barthes said “texts can be ‘open’ or ‘closed’
He came up with 5 codes… 
 The Hermeneutic Code (HER) 
 The Enigma/ Proairetic Code (ACT) 
 The Symbolic Code (SYM) 
 The Cultural Code (REF) 
 The Semantic Code (SEM)
The Hermeneutic Code (HER) 
 This is the way the story avoids revealing all the facts or giving away the truth, clues are 
dropped in to the story throughout to help create a sense of mystery.
The Enigma/Proairetic Code (ACT) 
 This is where tension is built up and the audience is left guessing what is going 
to happen next.
The Semantic Code (SEM) 
 The semantic code points to any element in a text that suggests a 
particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation which the story 
suggests. 
 Connotation= cultural/underlining meaning, what it symbolises.
The Symbolic Code (SYM) 
 This is similar to the semantic code, but is on a wider scale. It 
organises semantic meanings into more broad and in depth sets of 
meaning. Usually this happens in the form of antithesis, which is 
where new meanings come about from opposing and conflicting 
ideas.
The Culture Code (REF) 
 This code looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge, morals and ideology.

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Barthes Theory

  • 2. He describes a text as…  “A galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds; it has no beginning; it is reversible; we gain access to it by several entrances, none of which can be authoritatively declared to be the main one; the codes it mobilizes extend as far as the eye can read, they are indeterminable...the systems of meaning can take over this absolutely plural text, but their number is never closed, based as it is on the infinity of language..."
  • 3. This means…  The text is tangled and it has to be unravelled  Once we have unravelled the text then we come across a huge range of potential meanings or messages  You can start by looking at a narrative from one viewpoint and create one meaning for that text  You can then continue unravelling the narrative from different angles and come up with completely different meanings.  Barthes said “texts can be ‘open’ or ‘closed’
  • 4. He came up with 5 codes…  The Hermeneutic Code (HER)  The Enigma/ Proairetic Code (ACT)  The Symbolic Code (SYM)  The Cultural Code (REF)  The Semantic Code (SEM)
  • 5. The Hermeneutic Code (HER)  This is the way the story avoids revealing all the facts or giving away the truth, clues are dropped in to the story throughout to help create a sense of mystery.
  • 6. The Enigma/Proairetic Code (ACT)  This is where tension is built up and the audience is left guessing what is going to happen next.
  • 7. The Semantic Code (SEM)  The semantic code points to any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation which the story suggests.  Connotation= cultural/underlining meaning, what it symbolises.
  • 8. The Symbolic Code (SYM)  This is similar to the semantic code, but is on a wider scale. It organises semantic meanings into more broad and in depth sets of meaning. Usually this happens in the form of antithesis, which is where new meanings come about from opposing and conflicting ideas.
  • 9. The Culture Code (REF)  This code looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge, morals and ideology.