Ronald Barthes's 5 Codes

Ronald Bathes's five codes are five ways of describing the meaning of a text in the media. He suggested that texts are either 'open' or 'closed'. If they are 'open it means that the meaning of the text is open to the audience and it can be interpreted in different ways, if it's closed then there is one clear meaning created by the producer.

Hermeneutic/Enigma code

The Hermeneutic code refers to mystery in the text, things such as clues and hints but the meaning isn't directly given. These enigmas in the narrative draw the audience into wanting to learn more about the product or the story. An example of this is at the end of 'Now you see me'; at the very end a stair case is shown through which forms the shape of an eye, this is located in the house that the organisation 'the eye' works under, this symbolizes said organisation.

Proairetic/Action code

The proairetic/action code refers to the building of interest and suspense on the part of the reader or viewer. It is created by having a narrative that could have a number of different outcomes. An example of this could be in Netflix's 'Stranger Things', in the very first episode of the series we see the character of Will taken by an alien-like creature. As the audience we have a need to see the outcome which influences us to watch until we are aware of the outcome of this.

Semantic code 

The semantic code refers to meaning being conveyed through connotations of words and semantics. An example of this could be in trilogy of Star Wars, the antagonist is part of  'dark side' and as 'dark' has connotations of evil we as an audience can identify this with villainy and as being antagonistic.

Symbolic code

Symbolic language is very similar to Semantic code but overall is a "deeper" structural principle that organizes semantic meanings. An example of this is in Pulp Fiction; Samuel L Jackson's character Jules has memorized a quote from the Bible- Ezekiel 25:17, throughout the film he debates it's meaning and this changes his behavior, this symbolizes his conscience throughout the film.

Referential code

Referential code refers to to anything in the text which refers to an external body of knowledge such as scientific, historical and cultural knowledge. An example of this is in the last episode of Netflix's 'Breaking Bad'; the last episode's title is 'Felina' which when separated gives the chemical symbols for Iron (Fe),  Lithium (Li) and Sodium (Na). These three elements are part of the chemicals that  separately make up blood, meth and tears (refers to blood, sweat and tears however is appropriate for the program's genre and story line).