Critical Studies Essay

This afternoon I have my critical studies presentation and I am dreading it....I hate standing up infront of people as I freeze and panic! Anyway, below is my 500 word essay which has to be handed in with the presentation....wish me luck!

Myth Today by Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes (1915-1980) was a French social and literary critic.

During the years 1954-56, Barthes wrote a series of short essays, which were written in a humourous and journalistic style for the magazine called Les Lettres Nouvelles. These essays depict the events and trends which took place in France the 1950’s and were grouped together to form the first section of his book entitled ‘Mythologies’. The title is based upon the idea that although a myth is often false or at best unverifiable, it explains a view of certain conventions or the nature of society. Barthes (Mythologies,1972 p11) states in his preface ‘I resented seeing Nature and History confused at every turn and I wanted to track down , in the decorative display of what-goes-without saying, the ideological abuse which, in my view, is hidden there’. Thody (Introducing Barthes, 1999 p4) explains that “for Barthes one of the greatest mistakes modern society makes is to think that its institutions and intellectual habits are good because they are in keeping with what is popularly called “the nature of things”.

The second section of his book (written 15 years later) contains a longer theoretical essay which explores the deconstruction of this methodology in greater detail and is entitled ‘Mythology Today’. From my understanding, it emphasises his view that myth is a language which focuses on the semiological nature of social conventions and rituals. (Barthes 1972 p109-159). This is my chosen text.

In "Myth Today" Barthes seems to develop the ideas of other linguists such as Ferdinand Saussure and Peirce. He builds on the concept of the linguistic sign that consists of a signifier (the word) and the signified (the meaning being conveyed). Taking this analysis further, he places a layer of meaning in each sign - the mythological meaning or cultural subtext that underlies the primary linguistic meaning. The language system that myth uses, is called the "language-object", while myth itself is termed the "metalanguage", (Barthes 1972 p115) i.e. language which is used to structure and manipulate everyday language .

Barthes (1972 p121) believes that "myth hides nothing; its function is to distort, not to make disappear”. Accordingly he (1972, p128) believes there are three possible ways to relate to myth, as a creator, as a decipherer or as a consumer of mythological speech and it is necessary to probe beneath several layers of meaning to uncover the hidden ideology, and recognise that the innocence of mythical speech is nothing more than a façade and that this mythological layer of meaning, despite its seemingly "naturalness", is in fact determined by history and culture and is used by dominant groups to maintain their ideology and power. One popular example, is Barthes’ deconstruction of a photograph of a black man saluting the French flag on the cover of Paris-Match (Barthes 1972 p 119). Clearly if the image had been of a white soldier the meaning would have been significantly different.

In summary therefore, I believe that the theoretical essay Myth Today, projects Barthes’ view that objects and events signify more than is at first apparent. They are enmeshed in systems of representation that add meaning to them. Although my research suggests that these ideas are heavily influenced by Barthes’ Marxists leanings and his ideology of the ‘ruling class’, much of his thinking on culture and language, which has undergone various transformations since the 1950s, still holds true today.

(564 words)


Bibliography

Barthes, R (1972) Mythologies, London, Vintage Classics
Crow, D (2003) Visible Signs, London, AVA Academia
Thody, P (1999) Introducing Barthes, London, Icon Books Ltd
Thwaites T, Davis L, Miles W, (2002) Introducing Cultural and Media Studies – A semiotic approach, London, Palgrave
Gaines, E (2001), Wright State University, The American Journal of SEMIOTICS, Pages 311-327.Semiotic Analysis of Myth: A Proposal for an Applied Methodology
McNeill, T (1999), University of Sunderland, Roland Barthes: Mythologies (1957) Available from http://seacoast.sunderland.ac.uk/~os0tmc/culture/myth1.htm (Accessed 28 October 2008)
Liffin, A (2008), A Discussion of Myth, Roland Barthes and the Power of Persuasive Language Available from www.associatedcontent.com/article/12713/a_discussion_of_myth_roland_barth... (Accessed 23November 2008)
Chandler, D Semiotics for Beginners, http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/