Media Theory

 In my film opening, I would like to use the media theory of Narrative Codes by Roland Barthes.

This media theory consists of multiple different sorts of "codes" to present a specific narrative that is central to how we understand the world, and that the author is not the person who creates the meaning in the text but rather the way the reader has interpreted it from their own perspective. I thought this a very interesting and well thought out theory that could be perfectly used in my very own film opening. The specific narrative code I chose is the Hermeneutic or Enigma Code. This code specifically focuses on when a narrative withholds information to develop mystery or leave a plot point unexplained. The reason I chose this specific narrative code is because the film opens in media res, only in the middle of Camila's story. The developed mystery and plot point unexplained is the point of the opening where she is seen rushingly packing drugs and leaving with what seems like a getaway partner to an unknown location. This pinpoints the idea of witholding information because it leaves the viewers with many questions. Where are they going? Why is she packing drugs? Is she undercover? I figured this code aligned perfectly with our plot to help develop the mystery element because me and my partner wanted to leave the film opening ending as very open-ended.

Rahmat, A. (2023, January 8). Roland Barthes’s narrative theory. Medium. https://medium.com/@awaisrahmat/roland-barthess-narrative-theory-b2da5ce681aa