Barthes Narrative Codes

Roland Barthes invented 5 narrative codes:

Action Code

The audience will recognise an action code in a media text as it is used to indicate what is the next logical step.  It advances the narrative e.g. the buckling of a gun belt in a western film signifies the start of a gun fight.

mystery code or enigma code:

This is where the audience is meant to think that if they carry on watching they will find out the answer to something. For example seeing a blood splattered suitcase being loaded into a car and then at the end finding out who was in it.

The semic code

Semic codes are signs and meanings in a text or program that are used to tell us about its narrative and characters. e.g. in a horror movie the supernatural would be signified by garlic or a cross.

The cultural code

This code is used in order for the narrative to make sense to a culturally and socially aware audience. it makes reference to elements from the real world that the audience will recognise.  e.g.  trainers and tracksuits in a soap opera.

code of opposites

This code refers to a narrative that relies on binary opposites e.g. black v white, hot v cold, male v female, nature v civilisation.


Our Preliminary Task

In our preliminary task we used Code of Opposite because I was wearing a pink blouse whereas Charlotte was wearing a dark blue jumper showing the contrast from bad to good.



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we also used Action Code when I walked up to the door showing she would be going through which in the next shot I did.



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Cultural code, the weather was cloudy showing the typical weather in England, we are white and spoke in a  British accent, showing our ethnicity.  We wore stereotypical western clothes, hinting we were English.




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