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Enigma Code 

Enigma codes pose questions to the audience which are then answered shortly after or later on in the film. For example, who is she? Where is she going? Why is she doing that? They're questions enabling the audience to get intrigued with the film and wanting to find out the answers to these questions, therefore watching more of it. Enigma codes entice the audience to watch the rest of the film as they're curious as to what will happen next; they also help to move on the narrative.

Roland Barthes Enigma Code 

Barthes' Enigma Code is a theory that suggests a text portrays a mystery to draw an audience in, pose questions and become intrigued in the piece. For example, a murder mystery will often not reveal the identity of the murderer until the end of the story, which poses the question "Who is the murderer?"

 

 

If we look at it from the Social Realism genre, it is basically the same. Me and my group are doing our film on 'Online Grooming' which means it will hold many questions to which the audience will need to know the answer. 

 

- Does the young girl know who she is talking to over the internet?

 

- What will happen when he finally makes her meet him?

 

Barthes has four main codes on how he thinks the media works. The first one is the Hermeneutic Code which refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader.

The second Code is the Proairetic Code. This code builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next.

The third code is called the Semantic Code. This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.

The Symbolic Code is the fourth one. The Symbolic Code is very similar to the Semantic Code. It builds tension and wants the audience to want to get excited about what will happen next.

 

 

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