Barthe's Theory

Barthe's Theory
Barthe's Theory says that a narrative is like a ball of string ravelled up into a ball. It can be unraveled in multiple ways to have different outcomes.

The Narrative can either be open or closed.
- A Closed Narrative is very predictable and seems to be very simple.
- An Open Narrative however has many possibilities and tends to be more difficult to understand due to amount of content of the story.

There are 5 different codes to Barthe's Theory.
These are:

- The Hermeneutic/Enigma Code

The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader.

The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience guessing, arresting the enigma, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off and closure is achieved.

- The Proairetic/Action Code

The Proairetic Code builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next.

Action code - applies to any action that implies a further narrative action. For example, a gunslinger draws his gun on an adversary and we wonder what the resolution of this action will be.

- The Semantic Code

This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.

The semantic code - any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation.

- The Symbolic Code

This is very similar to the Semantic Code, but acts at a wider level, organizing semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning.

This is typically done in the use of antithesis, where new meaning arises out of opposing and conflict ideas.

- The Referential Code

This code refers to anything that is founded on some kind of canonical works that cannot be challenged and is assumed to be a foundation for truth.

The cultural codes tend to point to our shared knowledge about the way the world works.

In terms of Music Video

Barthes’ Enigma Hermeneutic Code can be found in a majority of music videos.

The narrative will establish enigmas (puzzling imagery or occurrences) or mysteries as it goes along.

Essentially the narrative functions to first establish then solve.