Course:WMST307 Myth Index

Myth

Ilana Shecter

The science of semiotics attempts to understand how signs are interpreted and most importantly, why they are interpreted in a certain way. While the ‘how’ of interpretation is answered by examining the connotative and denotative meaning of any sign, the ‘why’ of how signs are interpreted the way they are occur because of the myths that are currently present in any given society (Chandler). While O’Brien interchanges the connotative significance of a sign with the mythical meaning of sign, Roland Barthes distinguishes the two in his book Mythologies. Distinguishing between the two establishes a hierarchy: signs are interpreted at a basic level through a denotative meaning. On a deeper level, the interpreter of any given sign examines it on a connotative level and without knowing it, interprets the sign according to the myth that is prevalent in the given cultural setting.

The ‘cultural meaning’ of how we interpret connotative significance is a byproduct of the myths that are currently dominant in society (Reading Television). Barthes believed that myths served the ideological function of naturalization, that myths were capable of “transforming history into nature” and would therefore be disguised as naturally given truths. The power of such myths is that they 'go without saying' and so connotative meanings are attached to signs without the need for the meanings to be deciphered, interpreted or demystified (Chandler).

Given that, mythologies are often things that are taken for granted and accepted just because ‘that is the way they are’. According to Barthes, therein lies the danger of myths: the dominant culture holds the power within society to control how we interpret these signs. What the average person might connotatively interpret from a sign is actually what the dominant culture is trying to propagate. Dominant institutions, therefore, are in a position of power to perpetuate myths and establish them throughout their culture.

References:

O'Brien, Susie, and Imre Szeman. Popular Culture: A User's Guide. Toronto: Nelson, 2004. Print.

Chandler, Daniel. "Denotation, Connotation and Myth." Aberystwyth University. Aberystwyth University, 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.