Myth Today & Mythologies Roland Barthes

Writing Degree Zero 1953 Mythologies 1957 Camera Lucida Writing Degree Zero 1953 Mythologies 1957 Camera Lucida 1980 Roland Barthes

The production of myth signifiersignified sign signified signifier sign salutepatriotism denotative sign mythic concept mythic form connotative sign - myth of French empire

blacknesscrime “denotation” mythic concept mythic form myth: liberals are soft on crime mythic form mythic concept “denotation” blacknesscrime

Barthes understands bourgeois myths to conform generally to seven key figures These figures can be used as heuristics to interrogate cultural artifacts Barthes understands bourgeois myths to conform generally to seven key figures These figures can be used as heuristics to interrogate cultural artifacts Mythical rhetoric

Neither/Norism: “Liberals or Conservatives: what’s the difference?”; the lose-lose proposition--leads to political cynicism The quantification of quality: the market determines all value Neither/Norism: “Liberals or Conservatives: what’s the difference?”; the lose-lose proposition--leads to political cynicism The quantification of quality: the market determines all value Myth on the “right”: rhetorical figures typical of bourgeois ideology

The statement of fact: common sense; truisms; things are no more complex than they seem “Caesar fringe” on Marlon Brando “...it is both reprehensible and deceitful to confuse the sign with what is signified.” see “The Romans in Film” “Caesar fringe” on Marlon Brando “...it is both reprehensible and deceitful to confuse the sign with what is signified.” see “The Romans in Film”

Tautology: “because I said so”; “boys will be boys”; “I know it when I see it”; “just do it” “The accidental failure of language is magically identified with what one decides is a natural resistance of the object” (166).

Identification: otherness must be reduced to sameness The Family of Man Exhibit Museum of Modern Art 1955 There is only one man in the world and his name is All Men. There is only one woman in the world and her name is All Women. There is only one child in the world and the child's name is All Children. --Carl Sandburg at the entryway to the exhibit The Family of Man Exhibit Museum of Modern Art 1955 There is only one man in the world and his name is All Men. There is only one woman in the world and her name is All Women. There is only one child in the world and the child's name is All Children. --Carl Sandburg at the entryway to the exhibit

The inoculation: “True freedom includes the freedom to fail.” Charity warns of homelessness risk “...admitting the accidental evil of a class-bound institution the better to conceal its principle evil” (164)

The privation of history: we know of no time when things were not as they are now “All one has to do is possess these beautiful new objects from which all soiling trace of origin or choice has been removed” (165).

Markers, Metasigns, and Styles Markedness is opposed to unmarkedness. It means that a given form is distinguishable from another on the basis of a special semiotic feature. A marked form, in other words, is simply one that stands out from the rest. Unmarked forms tend to be transparent--that is, you don’t notice them; they seem natural. Unmarked forms are the “default” position.

Broad sets of markers that identify the same social group are called “metasigns.” They are frequently empty of referential content; they are used to create solidarity among those so marked and distance from those who aren’t. (“Style,” “accent,” and “grammar” all refer to the same phenomenon.)