Barthes Theory: Donnie Darko

Roland Barthes Theory focuses around a number of set codes which he proposed are linked together in the production of all kinds of stories. There he postulated that all stories use the same 5 codes and that all genre signifier can be grouped under them to create narrative.

The 5 codes
1. Action code: depicts the events which take place in the narrative - the who, where, when of the story. Action codes are sequential.
2. Semantic code: refers to character and characterisation. The actions in the story are explained by the characters viewpoint on events.
3. Enigma code: involves the setting up of a mystery, its development and resolution.
4. Referential code: involves explaining of information. Mise-en-scene is a referential code.
5. Symbolic code: involves the reading of the connotations of signs which transform them into symbolic representations.


Action Codes:

Main character wakes up in the middle of nowhere
He cycles back to his house
He has dinner with his family which breaks into an argument
At night he sleepwalks out of his house
He sees a creature which tells him how long it is until the end of the world
A plane engine crashes into his house

Engima codes:

Why has the main character woken up in the middle of nowhere?
Why do his family appear to be frustrated with him?
Why has he sleepwalked towards a creature who tells him about the end of the world?
Why is the world ending?
How is he the only one who finds this creature?
How did a plane engine end up in his house?

Symbolic Codes:

The main characters lack of speech represents mystery and his inability to understand what is happening
The plane engine that crashes into the house is microcosm for the destruction of the world that is soon to come