Mythologies - by Roland Barthes

Our age is a triumph of codification. We own devices that bring the world to the command of our fingertips. We have access to boundless information and prodigious quantities of stuff. We decide to like or not, to believe or not, to buy or not. We pick and choose. We think we are free. Yet all around us, in pop culture, politics, mainstream media, and advertising, there are codes and symbols that govern our choices. They are the fabrications of consumer society. They express myths of success, well-being, or happiness. As Barthes sees it, these myths must be carefully deciphered, and debunked.

Review from Eloise: Who doesn’t appreciate a book of short essays?! Mythologies is a collection of just that, dissecting the ‘myths’ of modern life, and showing how cultural signs and symbols are used to create meaning that reinforce social principles. The smallest details can be loaded with hidden messages that are there to serve dominant ideology. By drawing attention to these ‘myths’ we are able to see through the media-saturated environment, where the messages we consume are often layered with implicit social and political agendas. This book is one of my defenses against the age of media that is impossible to escape.

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