Monday 10 October 2011

Roland Barthes Theory

Barthes is famous in media for suggesting that narratives work with five codes

The enigma code is the most famous as we use this to make guesses as to how the narrative of a film will finish, therefire providing pleasure for the audience. 
Hermeneutic Code
This is when parts of the story are not fully explained. They exist as enigmas or questions that the audience wishes to be resolved. Detective stories (e.g. Sherlock Holmes) have narratives that complies with this code - a criminal act is shown and the remainder of the narrative is devoted to answering questions raised by the initial event. 
In order to maintain interest, the final truth is not revealled until the end and some devices are used to conceal it:
The snare  
Partial answers 
Equivocation 
Proairetic Code
The proarietic code is a series of actions that imply further action/reaction. For example, a character may have an argument and the audience wonders what the resolution or outcome of this argument will be. This creates suspense and tension as the audience wonders what the outcome will be and begin to make their own guesses.

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