As the launcher of the whole science of "semiotics" - the study of the meanings latent in the signs and objects we come across daily in the modern media-saturated world - this book attempts to demystify the roles and values inherent in such diverse commonplace items as wrestling, Citroen DS, steak and chips, Greta Garbo's face and household detergents via a series of essays. The essays themselves became cultural icons, and the book became a cult object. It is now studied on many courses in higher education as an emblematic ...
Read More
As the launcher of the whole science of "semiotics" - the study of the meanings latent in the signs and objects we come across daily in the modern media-saturated world - this book attempts to demystify the roles and values inherent in such diverse commonplace items as wrestling, Citroen DS, steak and chips, Greta Garbo's face and household detergents via a series of essays. The essays themselves became cultural icons, and the book became a cult object. It is now studied on many courses in higher education as an emblematic text of post-war French culture, and as the precursor of the late-20th-century preoccupation with the language of signs and gestures in mass culture.
Read Less
Add this copy of Mythologies: Essais (French Edition) to cart. $2.20, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by French and European Publications Inc.
Add this copy of Mythologies: Essais (French Edition) to cart. $2.20, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by French and European Publications Inc.
Add this copy of Mythologies: Essais (French Edition) to cart. $2.20, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by French and European Publications Inc.
Add this copy of Mythologies: Essais (French Edition) to cart. $2.20, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by French and European Publications Inc.
Add this copy of Mythologies to cart. $2.48, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1972 by Hill & Wang.
Add this copy of Mythologies to cart. $2.48, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1972 by Hill & Wang.
Add this copy of Mythologies to cart. $2.48, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1972 by Hill & Wang.
Add this copy of Mythologies to cart. $2.48, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1972 by Hill & Wang.
Add this copy of Mythologies to cart. $2.48, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1972 by Hill & Wang.
Add this copy of Mythologies to cart. $2.48, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1972 by Hill & Wang.
This book is a collection of essays on popular culture written by Barthes in the late 1950's. It doesn't feel dated, though; everything he says makes perfect sense. The general gist of the work is that blatantly political images are presented in such a way that their implications seem like natural fact, rather than as a social construct. "Myth is depoliticized speech," Barthes says; not speech without political intent but stripped of any appearance of political intent. Therein lies its danger.
The work itself consists of several essays on various topics ranging from wrestling and popular movies to the presentations of food and toys. These give the reader a view into Barthes's method of critique. They are also quite often funny; theory doesn't have to be tedious. The final essay, "Myth Today", elaborates on the method of analysis that Barthes uses. It will change the way you look at the world, almost guaranteed.