Narrative theory - Barthes

Texts- Narrative theory Barthes

Learning objective:

You will watch and deconstruct a music video (Ed Sheeran) and apply Barthes’ codes.

·         Key Terms: Unravelled. Open. Closed texts. 5 Codes.

Roland Barthes has argued that every narrative has multiple codes. Typical features are used in narrative but can have several different meanings and interpretations depending on the viewer's own experiences and these meanings are suggested by Barthes codes.

Barthes argues that every narrative is interwoven with multiple codes. 

Any text is, in fact, marked by the multiple meanings suggested by the five codes.

Barthes theory on Media-Codes is important to us in structural terms as well as helping us to consider the positioning of audiences.

The Hermeneutic Code (or Enigma code)This refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and which creates questions that need to be answered. The purpose is typically to keep the audience guessing until the part of the text when all is revealed, loose ends are tied off and the questions are answered.

 Most stories hold back details in order to increase the effect of the final revelation.

The Proairetic Code (Action code) This builds tension; any action or event that suggests something else is about to happen. An action that prompts the reader to predict what will happen next and will result in increased interest and excitement.

For example, a gunslinger draws his gun on an adversary and we wonder what the resolution of this action will be. We wait to see if he kills his opponent or is wounded himself. Suspense is thus created by action rather than by a reader's or a viewer's wish to have mysteries explained.

Barthes is basically saying is that a text is like a tangled ball of threads which needs unravelling so we can separate out the colours. Once we start to unravel a text, we encounter a lot more potential meanings.

We can start by looking at a narrative in one way, from one viewpoint, and create one meaning for that text. We can continue by unravelling the narrative from a different angle, by pulling a different thread if you like, and create an entirely different meaning.

And so on. An infinite number of times. If you wanted to.

All you need to say, very basically, is that texts may be ´open´ (ie unravelled in a lot of different ways) or ´closed´, there is only one obvious thread to pull on, one meaning.

To recap:

Enigma codes; a theory that suggests a text (whether that be television, film, a poster etc) portrays a mystery to draw an audience in, pose questions and, as such, become intrigued in the piece. 
For instance, a murder mystery will often not reveal the identity of the murderer until the end of the story, which poses the question "Who is the murderer?" "Will they be brought to justice?"

Action codes: what will happen next?


Task 1: Watch the Ed Sheeran music video and consider Barthes' codes.
Write down examples of action and enigma codes that you can find and why they fall into these categories.