Semiotics - Roland Barthes

Barthes’ semiotics explores how texts communicate meaning through signs and symbols, distinguishing between denotation (literal meaning) and connotation (associated meanings). This theory also examines how constructed meanings become naturalised as myths. For example, in advertising, the image of a red rose often denotes a flower but connotes love, passion, and romance. Barthes discusses this in "Mythologies," where he explores how everyday objects and media texts carry cultural and ideological meanings. He states, "Myth is a type of speech," where the signifier (the rose) and the signified (love) become intertwined, creating a myth that feels natural and self-evident.

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Useful For: Analysing advertisements and media texts, such as product branding or political messaging, where signs and symbols are used to convey complex ideas and ideologies. For instance, consider how the American flag in political ads connotes patriotism, freedom, and democracy, beyond its literal meaning as a national symbol.

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Narratology - Tzvetan Todorov

Todorov’s narratology theory posits that narratives typically follow a structure moving from equilibrium to disequilibrium and back to a new equilibrium, with resolutions often carrying ideological significance. In contemporary cinema, many superhero films follow this structure. For example, in Marvel's Avengers: Endgame (2019), the narrative begins in a state of equilibrium where the world is at peace. This balance is disrupted by Thanos' snap, creating disequilibrium. The heroes' journey to restore the lost lives and defeat Thanos represents the move back to a new equilibrium.

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Useful For: Examining the plot structures of films and television shows, particularly those with a clear journey from order to disorder and back, like detective or adventure series. Todorov’s model is particularly applicable to narratives in TV shows like Breaking Bad, where each season brings the protagonist from a state of normalcy to chaos and then attempts at re-stabilisation, reflecting deeper moral and ideological themes.

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Genre Theory - Steve Neale

Neale’s genre theory highlights that genres are defined by repetition and variation. Genres evolve by borrowing from and overlapping with each other and exist within specific economic and institutional contexts. For instance, contemporary horror films often blend elements from the thriller or sci-fi genres, such as in A Quiet Place (2018), which mixes horror with post-apocalyptic and sci-fi elements. Neale argues, “Genres are instances of repetition and difference,” meaning that while a genre must follow certain conventions to be recognised, it also needs to innovate to stay relevant.

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Useful For: Investigating the development of film genres such as horror or sci-fi, and understanding how contemporary films blend elements from various genres. This can be seen in movies like Get Out (2017), which combines social commentary with traditional horror tropes, thus creating something novel while still fitting within the genre.

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Structuralism - Claude Lévi-Strauss

Lévi-Strauss’s structuralism focuses on understanding texts through their underlying structures, emphasizing binary oppositions (e.g., good vs. evil) and how resolving these oppositions can reveal ideological significance. A contemporary example can be found in Star Wars, where the conflict between the Jedi (good) and the Sith (evil) represents more than just a battle between characters; it symbolizes broader themes of balance, power, and morality. Lévi-Strauss suggests that these binary oppositions are fundamental to human thought and narrative structure.

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Useful For: Analysing narratives in literature and media that use binary oppositions, such as moral conflicts in fairy tales or character dynamics in drama series. This approach can also be applied to political discourse in news media, where opposing sides are often framed in stark binary terms, simplifying complex issues into digestible narratives.

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Postmodernism - Jean Baudrillard

Baudrillard’s postmodernism theory argues that in postmodern culture, the distinction between reality and media representation has blurred, leading to a state of hyperreality where media images become more real than reality itself. Reality TV shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians epitomise this concept, where the line between the Kardashians' real lives and their media personas is so blurred that their media representation often overtakes their real-life experiences. Baudrillard famously wrote, “The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth—it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true.”

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Useful For: Critiquing media representations in reality TV or advertising where simulations and representations become central to the experience. This can also be seen in the way social media platforms like Instagram create curated versions of reality that often feel more authentic to users than their actual experiences, highlighting Baudrillard's idea of hyperreality.

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