Roland Barthes Egnima Codes

 

Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist and semiotician, which is the study of cultural symbols and signals.

His theory suggests a text (television,film, a poster) portrays a mystery to draw an audience in,pose questions and to become intrigued in the piece. For example, a murder mystery will often not reveal the identity of the murderer until the end of the story, which posts the question, 'Who is the murderer?'. 

Narrative/Enigma Codes 

Barthes theory of the five codes is a way of grouping signifiers according to the role they play in the text.

These are caterogised as =

• The Hermeneutic Code - Voice of Truth
• The Proairetic Code - Voice of Empirical
• The Semantic Code - Voice of the Person
• The Symbolic Code - Voice of the Symbol
• The Cultural Code - Voice of Knowledge   

The Hermeneutic Code
This code refers to the mystery within a text, clues are dropped but with no clear answers are given.The enigmas within the narrative make the audience members want to know and find out more, unanswered enigmas tend to frustrate and annoy the audience.

The Proairetic Code
It is the way the tension is built up and the audience is left to guess and presume what will be the next step.

The Semantic Code 
The semantic code points any element within a text that suggests additional meaning,the elements of the semantic code are called, semis. The seme has a connotative function in the text and has an extra meaning to its literal meaning.

The Symbolic Code
Symbolic code is about the symbols in a text.It highlights the opposites to show difference and create greater understanding and meaning, this is done to create tension,character development and drama.

The Cultural Code
This code looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge,morality and ideology.

An example of Barthes enigma code theory is in the title sequence of ,'Catch Me If You Can' the whole title sequence through animation tells the whole story of the film within the space of under 3 minutes. However the audience would not recognise this until the film had finished and then would understand the meaning of the animation and the story reveals.

Lastly this is a famous quote by Roland Barthes:
 “This book has two determinants: on the one hand, an ideological critique of the language of so-called mass culture; on the other, an initial semiological dismantling of that language: I had just read Saussure and emerged with the conviction that by treating “collective representations” as sign systems one might hope to transcend pious denunciation and instead account in detail for the mystification which transforms petit bourgeois culture into a universal nature.”