Applying Barthes
Barthes argued that a text (from the Latin Tissue) was not one thing but a weaving together of various strands and processes. Some of them internal to the story, some of them making connections to the outside or real world.
It is interesting to consider how many different ways readers are given access to stories.
Barthes suggested that narrative works with five codes, which together 'activate' the reader.
The two codes which are internal to the text are:
The Enigma (or hermeneutic) code which sets up and usually solves major puzzles. Often, a big event occurs at the beginning of a show and the audience ask themselves ' why did this happen?'
At least two kinds of pleasure are involved; It can be as enjoyable to 'know' the answers as it is to have those predictions confounded by twists and surprises in the narrative. Of course this doesn't apply to all genres, musicals for example.
The Action (or proairetic) code which makes complex actions 'readable' through smallso we don't have to have everything spelt out. For example, the victim of a crime can be shown on a stretcher can signal a whole sequence of getting to the hospital, so it will be of no surprise to the audience when the character is next shown on a hospital bed.
Applying Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss is less interested in the chronological plotting of a single story than in repeated elements and their systematic relationship, usually across many stories. He called these the paradigmatic aspect of myths.
A Levi Straussian approach to a particular film/TV crime drama might
place it in the binary of crime/law and order.
When analysing a crime text you should ask yourself:
How does it embody this binary through contrast of characters, settings and actions?
It can be argued that there has been a recent shift in crime drama. The progressive defence attorney crime fictions of the 60's and 70's featured compassionate fighters for the underdog. This was replaced in the 90's with texts becoming more focussed on prosecutors. Perhaps due to a shift to the right in US and UK politics but also due to the difficulty of presenting defence lawyers sympathetically after their role in such high profile cases as OJ Simpson. (See the jaded view of the law in Murder One (1995) and LA Law (1986).
We could also point to the different detection methods of characters such as Megan and Horatio in CSI, she insists on staying strictly with the evidence, he goes with a gut feeling. They are consistently opposed, a narrative that can be seen in other crime fictions such as Life on Mars.
Task: watch this episode of Luther and apply Barthes' and Levi Strauss' theories where you can. Consider the use of narrative theory within your own research investigation and production.
Barthes argued that a text (from the Latin Tissue) was not one thing but a weaving together of various strands and processes. Some of them internal to the story, some of them making connections to the outside or real world.
It is interesting to consider how many different ways readers are given access to stories.
Barthes suggested that narrative works with five codes, which together 'activate' the reader.
The two codes which are internal to the text are:
The Enigma (or hermeneutic) code which sets up and usually solves major puzzles. Often, a big event occurs at the beginning of a show and the audience ask themselves ' why did this happen?'
At least two kinds of pleasure are involved; It can be as enjoyable to 'know' the answers as it is to have those predictions confounded by twists and surprises in the narrative. Of course this doesn't apply to all genres, musicals for example.
The Action (or proairetic) code which makes complex actions 'readable' through smallso we don't have to have everything spelt out. For example, the victim of a crime can be shown on a stretcher can signal a whole sequence of getting to the hospital, so it will be of no surprise to the audience when the character is next shown on a hospital bed.
Applying Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss is less interested in the chronological plotting of a single story than in repeated elements and their systematic relationship, usually across many stories. He called these the paradigmatic aspect of myths.
A Levi Straussian approach to a particular film/TV crime drama might
place it in the binary of crime/law and order.
When analysing a crime text you should ask yourself:
How does it embody this binary through contrast of characters, settings and actions?
It can be argued that there has been a recent shift in crime drama. The progressive defence attorney crime fictions of the 60's and 70's featured compassionate fighters for the underdog. This was replaced in the 90's with texts becoming more focussed on prosecutors. Perhaps due to a shift to the right in US and UK politics but also due to the difficulty of presenting defence lawyers sympathetically after their role in such high profile cases as OJ Simpson. (See the jaded view of the law in Murder One (1995) and LA Law (1986).
We could also point to the different detection methods of characters such as Megan and Horatio in CSI, she insists on staying strictly with the evidence, he goes with a gut feeling. They are consistently opposed, a narrative that can be seen in other crime fictions such as Life on Mars.
Task: watch this episode of Luther and apply Barthes' and Levi Strauss' theories where you can. Consider the use of narrative theory within your own research investigation and production.
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