Roland Barthes- Narrative theory

Roland Barthes split narratives up into two categories: open and closed. an open narrative is a continuous thread which does not come to an end e.g. a soap. a closed narrative is a plot which ends, for example a film or a film and it's sequels. also covered in the lesson was the difference between a series and a serial: a series is a constant on going show every week for example, a serial is a set of episodes e.g. a series or lost or south park. within open and closed narratives there are also 5 codes to analyse:

• action code: applies to any action that implies a further narrative action, for example, when we hear the drums in eastenders, we know the credits are about to roll
  
• enigma code: refers to any unexplained part of a story which provides a constant question for the audience which demand answers.
  
• the semantic code: something in a narrative which implies further or additional meaning through connotation
  
• the cultural code: any part of a story which refers to a body of knowledge, e.g. something that will appeal to groups of people in different ways, for example, we would see a man eating pork as something casual, however people who were brought up as Muslims may find it offensive.
  
• the symbolic code: works with binary opposites.
  
• Binary opposites: the idea that an idea only exists because it is paired with its opposite, and that things can only be defined in relation to the opposite of itself. for example, there is only such thing as a hero because of the existence or cowardice
  

also, we covered a mediation, which is the way an individual interprets a text, and an ideology, which is a set of beliefs and ideas bound together to a person.