1. Roland Barthes Theory

2. Elements Of His Theory:
● Hermeneutic (Enigma) Codes
● Proairetic (Action) Codes
● Symbolic Codes
● Semantic Codes
● Cultural (Referential) Codes.

3. Symbolic Codes:
Symbol = An image that represents something else.
Example:
On the movie poster of Kiss Of The Vampire, there are bats
in the background - Bats symbolise vampires as legend
says they could turn themselves into bats.
In the MV of Dream by Dizzee Rascal, both him and his
friends wear hoodies - due to the amount that hoodies are
used in the media and news, hoodies have become a
symbol of rebels, youth and more specifically criminal
youth.

4. Semantic Codes:
Parts of a media product that we understand
have a hidden meaning, a connotation to them.
Example:
In horror movies there is a lot of red and black
on their posters - we understand that those
colours signify blood, danger, darkness and
mystery.
In the tide advert the woman is hugging the
tide box - tells us that she loves to product and
that the audience may love the product too.

5. Proairetic (Action) Codes:
Elements of media products which signify that
something is going to happen as a result.
Example:
A person pulling a gun out there pocket - signifies
to the audience that they are going to shoot
someone or some sort of conflict is going to
occur.
On the Kiss Of The Vampire movie poster, a
woman is holding a man by the neck and he is on
the floor - tells us that in the movie this woman
could potentially be killing a man or be very
dangerous.

6. Hermeneutic (Enigma) Codes:
Enigma = mystery.
Example:
Writing at the bottom of a newspaper
saying “find out what this means for
you and the world”. - draws in the
reader as they are curious to what
this means for them and how this
particular thing will affect them.

7. Cultural (Referential) Codes:
Certains things you will understand only if
you are apart of that culture.
Example:
Formation by Beyonce there are a lot of
dresses from olden days and other time
periods - audiences may not understand
this type of clothing unless they have
some type of historical knowledge about
it.