What is Myth? | Roland Barthes | Keyword

Summary

In this video, David explores Roland Barthes' concept of myth and its function within socio-cultural contexts. He explains how myths serve to transmit messages and naturalize certain narratives, using the example of roses symbolizing passion. Barthes' semiology is introduced to discuss the relationship between signifiers and signifieds. David further illustrates how myths can reinforce dominant ideologies, like France's imperialism, and the importance of challenging these narratives.

Takeaways

• 📚 The script discusses Roland Barthes' concept of myth and its function within socio-cultural contexts.
• 🗣️ Myth is defined as a form of speech that can extend to various media, not just verbal communication.
• 🌟 Myths serve a didactic purpose, teaching us messages and values through cultural stories.
• 💬 Barthes explores myths as part of a semiotic system, focusing on the relationship between signifiers and signifieds.
• 🌹 The example of a bouquet of roses is used to illustrate how a signifier can represent a signified, such as passion.
• 🔄 Semiology, the study of signs, is used to understand how language represents abstract concepts.
• 🇫🇷 The script provides an example of a French magazine image to explain how a sign can become a signifier for a deeper signified, such as erasing France's imperial guilt.
• 🌐 Myths operate according to dominant ideologies and power structures, naturalizing certain narratives.
• 🚫 Myths can foreclose possibilities for dialogue and challenge by naturalizing certain ideas as the only truth.
• 🔍 The study of myths aims to reveal their artificial nature and encourage a more critical engagement with them.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to discuss Roland Barthes' concept of myth and how it operates within a socio-cultural context, specifically through the lens of his text 'Mythologies'.

What does the script suggest is the primary function of myths?

The script suggests that myths serve the function of conveying messages and teaching us something, often in a didactic manner.

How does the script define a myth?

A myth, as defined in the script, is a type of speech that can extend to other media and is meant to convey a message, often serving a cultural purpose.

What is the difference between a signifier and a signified according to the script?

The script explains that a signifier is something that stands in for a concept (the signified), and together they form a sign. The signifier is the physical representation, while the signified is the abstract concept it represents.

Can you provide an example of a signifier and signified from the script?

An example given in the script is a bouquet of roses as a signifier for the passion (signified) one feels for their partner.

What is first order semiology?

First order semiology, as discussed in the script, is the study of how a signifier represents a signified, creating a sign, such as roses representing passion.

How does the script explain the role of culture in the formation of myths?

The script explains that myths are culturally agreed upon and adopted, serving a useful purpose in transmitting messages and ideas.

What does the script suggest is the role of myths in society?

The script suggests that myths operate to naturalize certain narratives and ideas, making them seem as though there is no alternative, and serving the interests of certain groups in society.

How does the script describe the process of creating a myth?

The script describes the process of creating a myth as involving the transformation of a sign (created by a signifier and signified) into a signifier for a new signified, creating a deeper level of signification.

What is the script's stance on challenging myths?

The script suggests that instead of opposing myths with a supposed 'truth', we should challenge myths by creating new myths or interpretations that can open up more possibilities and challenge the status quo.

What does the script recommend for those interested in learning more about Barthes' ideas on myth?

The script recommends reading Barthes' text 'Mythologies' for a more in-depth understanding of his ideas on myth.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Myth and Semiology

David introduces the video by explaining that he will discuss Roland Barthes' concept of myth and its significance in society. He emphasizes the importance of understanding myth not just as a story, but as a form of speech that can be conveyed through various media. Barthes' approach to myth is explored through his text 'Mythology,' where he delves into the function of myths within a socio-cultural context. Myths are described as conveyors of messages, teaching us something and often agreed upon culturally. David also mentions the use of semiology, the study of signs and their meanings, to understand how words represent things in the world, which is crucial for grasping Barthes' perspective on myth.

05:01

🌹 The Concept of Signifier and Signified

The second paragraph delves into the concept of signifier and signified, using the example of a bouquet of roses symbolizing passion. It explains how a signifier (roses) can stand for a signified (passion) to create a sign, which is a cultural agreement on the meaning of certain symbols. The paragraph further discusses how this concept extends to abstract ideas and relationships, illustrating how language and cultural meanings are intertwined. It sets the stage for understanding how myths work on a deeper level of signification, building upon the first-order semiology.

10:03

🔍 Deeper Signification and Myth

This section explores how a sign from first-order semiology can become a signifier for a new signified in the realm of myth, which is second-order semiotics. Using the example of a French magazine image of a black child saluting the French flag, the paragraph illustrates how the image can be interpreted at a deeper level beyond just patriotism. Barthes suggests that the image might serve to erase or absolve France of its imperial guilt, using the child as a symbol to convey a message of benevolence and innocence. This process naturalizes certain narratives and can foreclose alternative interpretations, which is a key function of myths in society.

15:05

🌟 The Role of Myth in Society

The final paragraph discusses the role of myth in reinforcing dominant narratives and the power structures that benefit from them. It explains how myths can naturalize historical events or societal norms, making them seem inevitable or 'natural.' The paragraph also touches on the idea that challenging myths is not about opposing them with truth but rather by creating new myths or interpretations that can redirect the narrative. Barthes encourages engaging with myths critically to reveal their artificial nature and to open up possibilities for different dialogues and interpretations, which is the duty of the study of mythology.

Keywords

💡Myth

In the context of the video, 'myth' refers to a type of speech or narrative that conveys a message and is culturally agreed upon. Myths are not just stories but also a way of speaking that serves a useful purpose in society, often teaching moral lessons or cultural values. An example from the script is the myth of Icarus, which teaches about humility and the consequences of overreaching.

💡Signifier

A 'signifier' is a concept from semiotics, which is used to describe a physical or mental representation that stands for something else, known as the 'signified'. In the video, the roses given as a gift are a signifier for the signified passion, illustrating how a physical object can represent an abstract concept within a cultural context.

💡Signified

The 'signified' is the abstract concept or meaning that a signifier represents. It is the mental concept that a signifier points to. In the video, the passion that the roses symbolize is the signified, showing how an object can embody a deeper meaning through cultural agreement.

💡Semiology

Semiology, or semiology, is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. In the video, it is used to analyze how myths operate within a language system, focusing on the relationship between signifiers and signifieds and how they combine to form signs that convey deeper meanings.

💡First Order Semiology

First order semiology refers to the basic level of sign relations where a signifier directly represents a signified. The video uses the example of roses representing passion to explain how this direct representation works within a cultural context.

💡Second Order Semiology

Second order semiology involves a more complex level of signification where a sign (the combination of a signifier and a signified) becomes a signifier for another signified, creating a deeper layer of meaning. The video discusses how a picture of a black child in a military uniform saluting the French flag can be seen as a sign of patriotism but also as a signifier for a more complex idea, such as an erasure of France's imperial guilt.

💡Naturalization

In the video, 'naturalization' refers to the process by which myths make certain ideas or historical events seem natural or inevitable, thus obscuring alternative interpretations or questioning. The example given is how the myth of a black child's patriotism can naturalize France's imperial efforts, making them seem benevolent and unquestionable.

💡Hegemonic

Hegemonic in the video refers to the dominant ideas or narratives that are propagated by those in power to maintain their influence. Myths serve hegemonic interests by reinforcing certain narratives that benefit the ruling class or elite, as illustrated by the example of French imperialism being portrayed positively through myth.

💡Deconstruction

Deconstruction, as touched upon in the video, is the process of breaking down or analyzing the components of a text, narrative, or cultural construct to reveal its underlying assumptions and power structures. The study of myths involves deconstructing them to understand how they serve to naturalize certain ideas and foreclose other possibilities.

💡Cultural Economy of Meaning

The 'cultural economy of meaning' is a concept discussed in the video that refers to the system of shared meanings and values within a culture that give significance to objects, symbols, and narratives. This economy is what allows a signifier like roses to become a sign and convey a deeper meaning like passion within a cultural context.

Highlights

Myth is a type of speech that conveys a message.

Myths are not reserved for verbal speech but can extend to other media.

Myths serve a cultural purpose and are agreed upon within a culture.

Myths are didactical, teaching us something.

The example of Icarus is used to teach humility.

Myths are part of a semiotic system, studying the relationship between a signifier and a signified.

The word 'tree' is arbitrary and has no natural connection to the object it represents.

Semiology is the study of how words stand in for things in the world.

The example of a bouquet of roses symbolizing passion.

Cultural economy of meaning bestows certain artifacts with specific significance.

Myth comes into play when a sign becomes the signifier for another signified.

First order semiology deals with direct representation, while myth operates at a second order.

The image of a black child saluting the French flag is used to discuss patriotism.

Myth can naturalize historical events, making them seem inevitable.

Myths can serve certain interests and reinforce dominant narratives.

The study of myths aims to reveal their artificial nature.

Balth suggests engaging with myths by creating more myths to challenge the status quo.

Balth encourages the insertion of new myths to open up possibilities and direct narratives in a benevolent direction.

Transcripts

[Music]

hey everyone back again today i'm going

to be talking about khalambalt's idea of

myth and mythologies and actually going

to be talking about signifiers and

signified so

really a lot of things here in order to

explain

principally myths now before jumping

into that hi i'm david if you're new

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this video if you're into that and uh

yeah let's jump into this so i'm

developing this idea principally from

his text called mythology now he does

mention this in other texts as well he

does get into the idea about myth and

the importance of myth in his other

texts like writing degree zero but i'm

gonna focus on mythology because that's

where he really gets into the weeds of

this term and how myths operate within a

specific

socio-cultural setting and the really

the function

that they serve so he begins by saying

that myth is a type of speech which is

to say that there is no specific kind of

myth

there are certain ideas maybe certain

real things in the world that can belong

to myths but to understand myths

requires that we first acknowledge it as

a form which is a form of speech which

can extend i should qualify can extend

to other media as well so it's not

reserved for just verbal speaking it can

happen in writing it can happen in

through pictures it can happen through

film it can happen through uh you know

newspaper print whatever it can really

include anything now what makes myth

a myth

and there are going to be a few

different

uh defining qualities as we go through

here but perhaps the biggest one is that

a myth is meant to convey a message

and so in that way it is a little bit

didactical that is it's teaching us

something when we hear a myth that myth

is relaying to us a message and we can

think of so many different examples

about that like the myth of uh icarus

and the idea that you shouldn't

uh fly too close to the sun and we use

that to teach us about humility maybe to

teach us

about reservation

to teach us about patience not to go too

far ahead with anything and that's just

one example you know there are so many

more myths serve the purpose

of transmitting messages to people and

they are

cultural we agree upon them culturally

and we come to

adopt them and to then further transmit

them culturally and so they serve a

useful purpose which is why they've been

around for so long and there are so many

different examples of age-old myths that

we tell our children and tell

people we encounter in order to

teach people now because myth

or the myth that balf is talking about

here is not reducible to a specific

story

but is instead a kind of a way of

speaking a way of telling stories

he's here interested in studying them

abstractly which is to say he's not

going to focus on specific myths per se

even though he will to give examples

he's more concerned with studying them

as

being part of a language as a part of a

semiotic system and so for that reason

he uses what he calls borrowing from

he uses semiology which is really the

study of

language really specifically it's about

studying the relationship between

a signifier and a signified now to put

it even more simply it's about studying

how a word can stand in for a thing in

the world

and how these two things are often in

fact always incongruent

the words that we use to describe things

in the world

are arbitrary there is no natural

connection between

a tree that we might see in the world

and the word tree in english t-r-e-e

that we use to represent that thing

yet we are able to form entire

communities and civilizations

using

these

codes in the form of language that we've

just agreed upon culturally now

semiology goes one step further

to say that

our relationship to language is not just

about utility it's not just about having

an easy way to facilitate communication

it's not just about having words that

stand in for things in the world because

we are confronted as well with some very

abstract things that don't so easily

lend themselves to language

and the word that we use to understand

these more abstract things in these more

abstract relationships are signs

so we have a signifier we have a

signified

the signifier representing the signified

and then we have a sign that bridges the

two

which is might seem kind of confusing

but let me give the example that balth

gives because i think it's i think it's

good normally i would give my own if it

was unclear but uh i think that this one

is good

so he uses the example of a bouquet of

roses

if you have a bouquet of roses and you

want to give it to your partner as a

sign of your passion

what you are effectively doing

is using a signifier the roses to stand

in for your passion the signified which

you're going to give to your partner

now on their own what we have here

is on the one hand the signified your

passion and on the other hand the

signifier your roses but that would only

make sense to you if we only understood

these in terms of the relationship

between the signifier roses and the

signified passion but because culturally

we have an entire economy of meaning

that

bestows

us or inscribes these artifacts with

this kind of meaning

then we are able to then transmit that

deeper meaning to somebody else so

the roses are just then almost naturally

imbued with this idea of passion and in

that setting where you

maybe it's valentine's day whatever

you're giving your partner roses that

are then meant to convey that passion

and so in that moment where there is an

almost

inextricable association

a kind of in detachable association or

undetachable between the roses

and passion or your love

it means then that it has become a sign

so the equation would go as follows

signifier plus signified equals a sign

but it doesn't just happen neutrally or

automatically you know it has to be

bestowed with this meaning and has to be

repeated over and over and over again in

order for

the signifier and the signified to

become a sign

because if for example i

thought that

a pile of gravel could stand in for my

passion and i gave it to somebody to me

that pile of gravel

was exactly what i wanted it to be it

was a signifier of my passion for

somebody

but it's not it hasn't attained the

status of a sign because it hasn't been

culturally acknowledged to

inextricably be associated with passion

it was only

specific to me but with everything we've

discussed up till this point we haven't

yet arrived at myth

myth comes into the picture

when this sign that we've arrived at

now becomes the signifier to another

signified that is on a deeper level of

signification

so what i just described in the case of

the roses is an example of what he calls

first order semiology

or first order semiotics and myth enters

the picture when the sign of the first

order system in this case that i

discussed the bridging of roses with

passion

now becomes a signifier

for or to another signified that can

then mean something else it can become a

new sign which at this level is not

totally important but at this level is

actually called signification

now the example that balth gives for

this

is is different and he gives the example

of a french magazine that has a picture

of a small black child

and he's you know writing this in the

50s i believe a small black child in

military uniform saluting the french

flag

so if we applied what i just did this

first order semiotic analysis we could

say that this is an example of

patriotism uh and so what we have here

is the depiction of a black

child in military garb

standing in for acting as a signifier of

french patriotism and then the two

things become interlinked and they are a

sign

now second order semiotics that exists

at the level of myth will then take this

sign

the link between this child and

patriotism and say that it is actually

meant to stand in for something else a

new signified and that news signified in

this context could be any number of

things but belt proposes that it might

be in this context an erasure

of france's imperial efforts in algeria

so now this black child is doing more

than just represent french patriotism

this child is standing in as a

uh

as an erasure

or as a

as a way to absolve france of its

uh imperial guilt in order to say or to

represent

look

this black child loves france so

therefore france doesn't have a problem

uh with its imperial efforts there's

nothing wrong

imperially with france

and so what we have here is a deeper

meaning that is being conveyed through

this image that balth is describing not

just french patriotism but actually an

effort to absolve france of its

violent past and at the time ongoing

harms it is inflicting on

african nations including algeria and

there's no reason this can't go further

i mean i don't necessarily have the

capacity to go further but if any of you

listening you have any ideas you know

you could definitely comment how could

it go further now that we've established

a new sign associating this child with

this idea about

french benevolent foreign policy

how can we go further taking that as a

signifier in a new chain of

signification now what myths do

is they operate then

in accordance with certain dominant

streams of thought and of power

what narratives are going to be

proclaimed through myth

why are some ideas going to be

represented and others maybe not so much

for whom do these myths benefit because

a myth serves the instrumental purpose

of making these ideas seem

natural to naturalize in this case

france's imperial efforts to say that

look they are good we have the example

of a black child here enjoying

everything that france has done being

very proud of france

excuse my cat

being very proud of france and so

people read that and they come to almost

subconsciously associate france with

this benevolence and this does serve

certain interests specifically in this

case it serves a certain bourgeois

interest perhaps it serves

the interests of various politicians of

just upper ranking officials who

establish to some way or other in some

way or other

what people should be thinking about

france's foreign policy so myths operate

to naturalize history to make things

appear as though there is no alternative

that they're you know france's uh

military and imperial efforts just had

to happen and they had great effects and

so what happens as well

is

we come to associate certain signs with

certain things certain signifiers with

certain signifieds and what that does is

it kind of forecloses the possibilities

afforded by language where we come to

make intrinsic associations between

certain ideas certain signifies and

certain signifiers in order to foreclose

the possibility of having different

interpretations and through repetition

they become to be naturalized to such an

extent that it gets very difficult to

actually challenge them to actually call

attention to them so insofar as it does

that it forecloses an engaging possible

engagement with them it forecloses the

possibility of dialogue it forecloses

politics to happen around it and so it

is the duty of

mythology

the study of myths to reveal the extent

to which these myths are artificial now

about employee employees implores that

we don't just approach myths by saying

that they are false and we need truth to

oppose them he says that will only lead

us astray because myths are clever

they're just going to reincorporate

counter narratives within its narrative

in order to proffer itself up and so the

task should then be not to oppose myth

with

some kind of transcendent truth it

should instead be to

demonstrate

myth by being more mythic

to

insert more myth into myth to

potentially direct it into a more

benevolent direction to enter that

next order of semiotics to turn that

sign into just another signifier for a

new chain of signification that can open

up more possibility that can

direct us in such a way as to challenge

a hegemonic status quo that propels

certain narratives in certain directions

for the benefit of a few

and yeah that's

essentially

what balth is getting at here there's

more to it he does layout uh kind of

taxonomize the different kinds of myth

to some extent and like different ways

to understand them

and to get all that you really got to go

and read it which i definitely recommend

yeah i hope i gave you fair introduction

here if there's anything i excluded that

i shouldn't have i'd love to hear about

it anything that i got wrong i'd love to

hear about it

and yeah if you like what i did like

share subscribe leave five stars if you

can on the podcast platform and i'll

catch you next time take care