Roland Barthes: Research on Music Video Theories

 I am going to talk about some theorists that presented their ideas about music videos.

Roland Barthes

Barthes believed that all narratives, including music videos, are either open or closed. He referred to the different aspects of a music video as codes. Following are the codes he believed could fit to any narrative.

• Hermeneutic code: It refers to any element in a narrative that is not explained which creates suspense. This allows the audience to stay engaged.
• Proairetic code: It refers to any action that implies a further action. This allows the audience to wonder what would be the result and hence, builds suspense.
• Cultural code: This refers to symbols or elements that are relevant to a specific culture. This helps grab a target audiences' attention.
• Semantic code: This refers to elements that give a hidden meaning or connote a meaning. This is also known as the connotative code. This allows the audiences to add their own touch to the understanding of the music video since every person interprets these codes in a different way.
• Symbolic code: This refers to elements that generate meaning by use of symbols. This allows the audiences to relate to the video

Barthes