Kathryn Rose

Roland Barthes "Mythologies" (Vintage)




This book was my introduction to Roland Barthes and semiology, when I was reading a phiosophy course with the Open Uiveristy so may years ago He examines relatively mundane cultural myths, and it is simply brilliant. His use and examination of language is perfect, and I will reread this book regularly.

The first half has a collection of newspaper articles, most no longer than two pages, examining a specific item. The selection is incredibly diverse and disregards arbitrary barriers like High and Low Culture. It examines everything from TV wrestling matches (of the WCW variety), cuisine, science fiction, and museum exhibits.

The second half of the book is an expanded explanation of semiotics (connotation, denotation, signifier, signified, etc.), along with its linguistic roots, and the accusation that the bourgeoisie is a “joint-stock company.”

Barthes takes the position of an orthodox Marxist to dissect and examine the cultural products of the postwar French bourgeoisie. His status as an ideological outsider gives him a much-needed critical perspective. The semiotic background gives him the intellectual apparatus to read the artifact. More specifically, to read against the grain of the status quo.

While these things are important, anyone tasked with writing exhibit labels should understand how these things are socially constructs manufactured by humans. As such, each embodies a specific ideology and point of view. Whether that is good or bad depends on the individual’s interpretation. But one needs to understand that this manufactured ideology is present within the object. In the book, Barthes gives the example of the black child soldier in a French military uniform saluting on the cover of the weekly magazine Paris Match. On the surface, it is a poster that glorifies the patrie and the republican “us.” Dig a little deeper and one realizes that the poster operates as a legitimizing force for colonialism and imperialism. Mythologies was published shortly after France’s disastrous Indochina War (1946 – 1954) and amidst the brutalities of the Algerian Revolution (1954 – 1962). This explains the vituperative passion Barthes had as a Marxist and utilizing the tools of linguistics as an intellectual means of exposing the oppressive agendas buried beneath seemingly innocent pop cultural artifacts.

The book is a must read for cultural critics and curators of museums and historical societies. Less for the Marxist readings per se, but for the book’s illustration of how to read material culture. Material culture is a means of passing along our culture’s mores, codes, and traditions.

It is not a light read by any means; it requires quite a bit of thought and consideration. I loved his perspective, and I'm inspired and awestruck when I first read, and still find it so after so many re-reads.

I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for an intelligent read. Many of the myths he examined from 1954-56 in French culture are relevant to American culture in 2025. I cannot recommend this enough; I would give a copy to everyone I know if I could.