Roland Barthes was born on the 12th of November 1915 and died on the 26th of March 1980.He was a French philosopher,literary theorists and critic.He has explored a diversed range of fields and has a large influence.
In media studies class,we learn about Barthes theory in media on codes.He states that there are five major codes within a story that are interwoven in order to create a meaning.The five codes are:
Enigma Codes
Action Codes
Symbolic Codes
Semantic Codes
Cultural Codes
Enigma codes
Also known as Hermeneutic codes, it is the way the story avoids telling the truth, in order to drop clues in through out to help create a mystery.For example in the 'Kiss Of The Vampire' film poster, Why did the bat bite the woman's arm? or Why did the male vampire looks terrified?
Action Codes
Also known as Proairetic codes, it is the way tension is built up and the audience is left guessing what happens next. For example in one of the Harry Potter film poster when Voldemort is holding a wand and staring into Harry Potter's eyes with a serious face.
Symbolic Codes
Image which appears to represent something else in media text. For example a green cross symbol could symbolize a pharmacy or a first aid kit.
Semantic Codes
It have a hidden meaning behind it.For example by colours,red could mean blood or danger.Black could mean dark,mystery or horror
Cultural Codes
Codes that are only understood by those who belong to a cultural group and not understood by people who are outside the cuture.For example only a specific culture would know how a vampire looks like such as their clothes;black capes or their sleek hair and also their fangs just like in 'Kiss Of The Vampire'.
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