Intrigued by the ideas of twentieth-century French thinker Roland Barthes, but a little intimidated by his reputation as ‘difficult’? Keen to explore further but wondering whether he’s still relevant in the twenty-first century? Curious as to how he would interpret our modern world? Fear not! A recent documentary is just the solution! 😀
“Twenty First Century Mythologies“, written and presented by Professor Richard Clay, aired last night on BBC4. Richard has featured on the Ramblings on numerous occasions – reviews, interviews and inspiration – and I obviously think very highly of his work. He made a welcome revisit to the blog last week, providing a fascinating new interview, some of which is relevant to the programme and you can read it here. However, I think Richard may well have outdone himself on this occasion… His latest programme is focused around the continuing relevance of Roland Barthes; and as I’ve been spending much time in the last year with that great thinker, the documentary had a particular resonance for me.
“Myths” (let’s call the programme that for convenience) takes as its starting point Barthes’ seminal book “Mythologies” and his concept (and exploration) of the forces that shape our lives. Opening the programme atmospherically and poignantly with Barthes’ untimely death, Clay gives a useful summary of Barthes’ thinking. He then goes on to tackle a number of myths, past and present, exploring how relevant they still are; and looks at situations Barthes would not have encountered but would have instantly understood. His aim, as he states it, is to find out how Barthes’ ideas have permeated our culture and how relevant they still are today. And, well – they really are!
So the documentary is structured round these sections on specific myths, interspersed with biographical Barthes bites, which works beautifully in giving a picture of the thinker and his work. Richard begins by exploring the myth of plastics, a topic Barthes predicted might affect the world negatively in the long term, as indeed it does; and as the documentary makes clear, despite being aware of the awful problems it causes, we are still using it… In this section, as with many of the others, Clay meets with modern artists of all kinds to explore how they engage with the issues he finds, and this adds a fascinating element to the programme.
Then there is the myth of money, surely the thing which most affects how our world is run nowadays; and the complex, mythical existence of cryptocurrency, which seems as elusive as smoke to me! This feeds into the myth of the Internet, something Barthes never could have foreseen. Richard’s exploration of this is particularly enlightening, exposing as fake the myth of the freedom we supposedly get from Internet with a welcoming burst of scepticism; revealing that it’s a double edged sword, serving those those in control. This is a programme at its mythbusting best, debunking any idea that the internet is controlled by anything other than money
This also linked into a particularly telling section on the myth of the Madonna, looking at the portrayal of women. The art historian in Clay emerged as he explored the history of the portrayal of the Madonna and the pressure on women to conform to images of perfection. Some have turned to self-documentation to supposedly subvert the stereotype; however, I’ve always had doubts about this and as the programme discusses, this has simply replaced the imposed image with a self-imposed one. Another commentator pointed out that this is most definitely a myth as women have simply become objects of their own making, trying to sell themselves within a system created and controlled in the main by young, white men. Which is chilling… I wondered what Barthes would have made of this, particularly as his notions of women very much stemmed from the idealisation of his mother.
The study of signs and symbols can appear a little exotic if you’re unfamiliar, and Richard provides a very handy semiotics 101 explaining Barthes’ system of signs: the signifier being a sign that transmits a meaning to us (e.g. a no entry sign) and the signified being that message or meaning (e.g. don’t drive down this road!) For someone who’s occasionally got a bit woolly about those terms, this was most helpful! Interestingly, with shifts in culture, a signifier can have more than one signified/meaning, that meaning changing according to current perceptions – a good example Clay gives being the yellow vest, once a sign of someone in charge, and now subverted by French protesters. All this, of course, ties in with Richard’s work on iconoclasm and sign transformation – very relevant at the moment with the protests this year, which have seen the meanings conveyed by certain statues of dead white men becoming unacceptable in public places. I’ve often felt that semiotics and iconoclasm are branches on the same tree, but that’s by the by… Anyway, It was certainly entertaining seeing Clay help a graffiti artist recoding traffic signs with stickers in an attempt to cause the public to think about what they’re actually seeing.
Other myths explored were copyright and authenticity, a knotty subject and one which divides opinions strongly; if you create something, you have a right to have control over it, but that seems impossible in the digital age. The argument of copyright vs creativity is not one I would like to take a definitive stand on, though if anyone ripped off the Ramblings I’d probably be a bit peeved! And the myth of the gun as the ultimate righter of wrongs is unnerving in our modern age of violence, particularly when there’s often such an unrealistic portrayal in the media which establishes that myth, letting us accept the existence of guns. As Richard reminds us, repetition normalises a myth so that we regard it as part of our everyday life; and that’s never more true than of the advertising with which we’re constantly bombarded. Back when “Mythologies” was originally published, Barthes was already aware of the effect of images embedded in culture – how much more is that evident nowadays!
“Myths” concludes with a most powerful section at the end concerning race. Barthes was aware of the contradictions which existed in French society of his time, living in a country in the middle of an imperialist war with Algeria. In his book he deconstructed a troubling “Paris Match” cover; and Clay takes this as his jumping off point to consider the myth of race. Interviewing historian Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, both men acknowledge that less than 1% of 1% of DNA differs between so-called different races of people. However, it’s chilling to hear Bunch state that despite those infinitesimal variances in DNA, we are visual beings and so see and judge by the superficial differences we perceive. It’s a potent piece with which to round off what has been an entertaining yet deeply thought-provoking piece of TV. The documentary closes with the myth of Barthes’ meaningless end; was it really an accident or had he simply given up the will to live, devastated as he had been by his mother’s death? I guess we’ll never know…
“Twenty First Century Mythologies” is a wonderful introduction to the concepts of Roland Barthes and a powerful reminder of how relevant his ideas still are to the times in which we live. Tracing the evolution of Barthes’ life and thought, Clay reveals how the French thinker deconstructed and challenged many of the myths we take for granted nowadays, and goes on to lay bare the myths that came after Barthes. At the end of the documentary, Richard considers whether we can be “post myth”? I don’t think so personally, as the cultural controls imposed by the signs and symbols fed to us by those in charge are too embedded, and most people still don’t think enough about the norms to which they’re expected to conform. We need certain myths to structure the world; what we need to try to do is not let them control us.
As I mentioned in my review of “Viral“, Clay wears his erudition lightly, but his commentary here draws on decades of his own research; for example, the defacing of money and coins reminds me of the part of “Utopia” dealing with Thomas Spence. There are sly hints at the Situationists, with the Beach Beneath the Streets becoming Wi Fi Beneath the Streets. What’s especially interesting for me, as someone who’s followed Richard’s work for some time now as well as watching his documentaries from the very start, is seeing how his ideas have evolved, observing how he expands on concepts hinted at in previous programmes. He’s a brilliant communicator, adept at getting complex ideas across in an accessible way and I have to applaud him for continuing with his one-man mission to sneak semiotics into the mainstream! These can be complex topics, but in the hands of an experienced and erudite commentator like Clay, they become wonderfully clear.
As you can tell, I absolutely *loved* this programme – it could have been made for me! It’s quite clear that we can’t underestimate the importance of Barthes’ thinking nowadays, in a world where the population is distracted by consumer society; which I guess is why, even in these days of lies and fake news and no leadership worth talking about, we still put up with so much and don’t rebel. If there is a lesson to be taken from Roland and Richard, I would say that it is to try to look past the constant daily bombardment of signs and symbols, ignoring the distractions, really *seeing* what is in front of us in everyday quotidian life – and question it. That is the liberation of understanding how these myths work. “Twenty First Century Mythologies” is on the iPlayer here at the moment, and I strongly urge you to catch it while you can – definitely my documentary of the decade!
Nov 10, 2020 @ 07:11:11
There was a little Barthes in my postgraduate studies, but I’ve never tried a full book – might be worth a go…
Nov 10, 2020 @ 08:28:24
I would definitely think so…. ;D
Nov 10, 2020 @ 08:47:42
It wasn’t a programme made just for you as it was made just for me 😉
I think that’s the mark of a good programme when it makes one feel like that. Having never heard of Roland Barthes until the programme I was amazed at how much of his thinking equated to mine. A bit like the time many years ago when I was introduced to the thinking and work of Jeremy Deller.
Nov 10, 2020 @ 09:21:46
Definitely agree – when something resonates so strongly it must be good. Barthes is a fascinating thinker and writer, and Clay a wonderful commentator, so they really were a match made in heaven! 😀
Nov 10, 2020 @ 09:29:37
👍
Nov 10, 2020 @ 12:30:32
It would be very nice if we got this program on our ABC… but I fear it might be a bit highbrow for our middlebrow national broadcaster.
Nov 10, 2020 @ 14:46:12
I hope it does get to you – BBC4 is a bit of a beacon of indepth programming in a sea of triviality, and this documentary was a real highlight!
Nov 10, 2020 @ 23:19:40
I used to watch our ABC fervently, but generational change has dumbed it down and on top of that endless budget cuts have done further damage.
Nov 11, 2020 @ 08:26:00
It’s the same here – there’s very little television I watch here, and really it’s occasional Sky Arts shows and the majority is on BBC4 – I kind of regard the latter as the last bastion of intelligent broadcasting!
Nov 10, 2020 @ 12:47:58
One of my first encounters with his work was S/Z, which maybe has a more literary basis, and therefore interested me rather more than this broader semiological text. How the early postmodernists would have loved the internet (as it is now, social media and all) and Trump!
Nov 10, 2020 @ 14:45:29
That’s another one I want to get to Simon – maybe I should just have a month or so of reading only Barthes! And yes – who could have foreseen the modern world and what would the postmodernists have made of it!
Nov 10, 2020 @ 15:12:52
Excellent post Karen, gives a real sense of the program even for those of us who can’t watch it yet. Another voice I really miss in today’s world is Umberto Eco with his semiotic insights and humor.
Nov 10, 2020 @ 15:53:12
Thank you! I think it’s not until a programme like this comes along that you realise how bland everything else has become and how we really need more brilliant media commentators.
Nov 10, 2020 @ 17:17:15
I answered yes to all your opening questions, so shall definitely give this a watch, thank you!
Nov 10, 2020 @ 17:28:19
Excellent! Hope you enjoy it! 😀
Nov 10, 2020 @ 17:30:21
This was clearly a programme made for you. 😊 I’m not much of one for myths but this does sound like an excellent programme for those that are.
Nov 10, 2020 @ 17:34:11
It really *was* the perfect programme for me! 😀
Nov 10, 2020 @ 18:15:26
Thanks for drawing attention to this BBC doc which I shall look out. I’ve dipped into the Barthes book but not for a while; now may be a good time to dig out my copy…
Nov 10, 2020 @ 18:33:01
It’s a great programme. And if it has the same effect on you as it’s had on me, it may well have you digging out *lots* of Barthes books…. ;D
Nov 11, 2020 @ 11:54:07
This does sound very interesting. Alas, I live in the US and have no access to BBC documentaries since my BBC iplayer was cut off. So do write a blog telling us about the next documentary. We do need another name for this genre: non-fiction movie doesn’t cut it somehow.
Nov 11, 2020 @ 14:15:48
It’s a shame you can’t access this easily – though I do know that Richard’s do get shown round the world on other channels (and unfortunately bootlegged as well). I will of course write about anything else of interest he does! And you’re right – documentary sounds a bit pedestrian really, and this programme was anything but! :d
Nov 11, 2020 @ 21:08:40
I really should watch that. I have read and loved Mythologies (and realised I claimed I don’t have any nonfiction novellas and that’s certainly a little one!).
Nov 12, 2020 @ 08:29:40
You should! And it’s on the iplayer so there’s no excuse not to catch up! ;D
Nov 14, 2020 @ 17:52:47
This sounds excellent, and how lovely to have a thoughtful, thought-provoking programme amongst all the empty shouting we seem to be subjected to these days! I’ll definitely seek it out on iplayer – I got great mileage out of Barthes in my undergrad days so I feel like I owe it to him to watch 😉
Nov 15, 2020 @ 07:48:27
It was just wonderful – I rarely watch TV nowadays because of the lack of any depth and, as you say, the empty shouting. This was a welcome beacon of intelligence in the midst of it, and I hope you enjoy it!
Nov 18, 2020 @ 18:50:46
Wow, it really does seem as though it was tailor-made for you (but as the commenter above has said, perhaps that’s what all good documentaries aim towards)! Having said that, even though I don’t have the same familiarity and experience you’ve got, the episodes all sound very interesting to me too. Maybe it’ll make its way over the pond given some time.
Nov 18, 2020 @ 20:51:36
It was perfect – exactly the documentary I wanted to be watching, and it pushed all my intellectual buttons. I hope it makes it to your part of the world – it’s definitely worth spending time with!
Nov 18, 2020 @ 23:44:15
This sounds like a wonderful programme. I confess I don’t remember much of Barthes from graduate school days but this programme would rekindle my interest. I love your detailed analysis.
Nov 19, 2020 @ 09:40:33
Thank you! It really was great – I loved it, and it communicated the ideas so well. I’m sure it will turn up around the world so hopefully you will get to see it.
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