Roland Barthes: Semiotics

Roland Bathes was a well know French literacy theorist who died at the age of 64, he came up with many meanings and concepts we follow, such as the development of semiotics and anthropology. Semiotics is the concept of cultural signs and symbols containing meanings. Bather explored the differences with styles of texts such as readerly of which said have a constructed, intended meaning unlike writerly. Roland Bathes acknowledged something he called the 5 codes, 5 elements of semiotic which are within most texts. These are; Hermeneutic Code (voice of truth), Proairetec Code (empirical voice), Sematic Code (voice of the person), Symbolic Code (voice of symbols) and Cultural Code (voice of science).

An example of theeHermeneutic Code is in Naughty boy - Runnin’ music video, this is as the video initially begins with simply an underwater shot with fishes swimming and bubbles moving. The artist isn’t present in the scene and so links to this code as the story isn’t explained and so the audience raises questions which need to be explained. The Proairetec Code can also be answered through this, as the video continues there are people alone running under-water who eventually meet together which refers to the lyrics "chasing you”.

Overall, he describes a text as “galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds” leading onto saying “we gain access to it by several entrances” hinting at the idea that texts have multiple meanings behind them; as he says texts are either ‘closed’ or ‘open’. The definition of signified is critical to Barthes ideas, the idea behind this what an image or concept may stand for; real thing, stricter reading or a sense impression. Whereas, a signifier is the image used to stand for something else. Additionally, denotation comes up regularly within his work showing the explicit and direct meanings directing the reader to signify something specific and connation is a meaning hidden behind symbols and signs, it has a secondary meaning apart from the typical explicit one.

The concept of Semitics is the study into the meanings created and how they can be communicated, actions and thoughts we automatically link dependant on our ability to interpret them instantly. An example of this is upon food items, typically we associate red with a signal for stop or danger and in this case, it is saying the item is very high in sugars and opposing this we associate green in this context with healthy and good for you.