Narrative Theories/Codes

Roland Barthes' theory was the first one we looked at, we learned about Enigma and Action codes through his theory. An enigma code is where many questions are asked, maybe not through characters but maybe by us as we are watching a confusing scene in a film, it enables viewers to predict what could happen next. Both codes are linked due to them following one after another, the enigma code will go first which then leads to the action code in which it is supposed to bring excitement as you are supposed to get your answer as it moves the narrative on.

Roland Barthes also described 5 codes which are in any narrative.

• The Hermeneutic code which refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and becomes a mystery for the audience.

• The Proairetic code builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something is going to happen making the audience guess what will happen next.

• The Semantic code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word. This suggesting that there is a deeper meaning for every action and word that a character says and does. Maybe it is just to get to know a character better or finding out the antagonists plan. 
•  The Symbolic code is very similar to the semantic code but acts at a wider level, organizing semantic meanings into a broader and deeper meaning. This is typically done in the usage of antithesis where new meanings arise out of opposing ideas. 
•  The Cultural code refers to anything that is founded on some kind of canonical works that cannot be challenged and is used to be a foundation for the truth, suggesting that there is some form of truth that is never questioned in a narrative and is taken as gospel. 

We then looked at Rick Altman's 3 Pleasures, the first one is the emotional pleasure  this pleasure is shown in many genres in which the director tries to generate a strong audience response. The next pleasure is the visceral pleasure this pleasure is to try to get a gut response from the viewer such as feeling sick on a rollercoaster scene or a way to make you nervous by showing a tense scene. The last pleasure is the intellectual pleasure in which the director will either make the whole film or a few scenes show a puzzle or a mystery, maybe even a plot twist at the end such as The Book of Eli (trying not to spoil the film here!).


Nicholas Abercrombie said "The boundaries between genres are shifting and becoming more permeable."