Narrative Analysis: Curfew (2012)

Narrative Analysis

"Curfew" (2012)

I will be applying Roland Barthes's narrative theory to the 2012 short film "Curfew" directed by Shawn Christensen.

Roland Barthes believe a text is either open (which is that it's open for interpretation) or clones (which means there is just one obvious meaning in the text.

If a text is open, Barthes suggests these 5 following codes can be used to unlock the meaning of a text:

  • Enigma Code
  • Action Code
  • Semantic Code
  • Symbolic Code
  • Referential Code

Most texts will follow at least a few of these codes, if not all and they're all used to drive the narrative forward in different ways. 

  • The enigma code is an unanswered question, a mystery. Clues will be given throughout the text for the mystery to be resolved and the effect of the enigma makes the audience want to know more. Unresolved enigmas tend to frustrate an audience but also makes a text open for interpretation. 
  • The action code is there to create suspense in a text. The action isn't inherently mysterious but is caused by previous events. The suspense the action code creates engages the audience. 
  • The semantic code is a part of the text that suggest an additional meanings by connotations in the tex, such as a red heart will have connotations with love and therefore might be a clue to further plot progressions. 
  • The symbolic code is used to create drama, a deeper meaning or character development as if in a film a person would quit their job that could symbolise a character becoming free in other aspects of their life. 
  • A referential code, also known as a cultural code, is a reference within a text to another text, also called intertextuality. It can refer to an external body of knowledge by a single word, almost like an inside joke. This can make the audience feel knowledgeable but also confused if they didn't get the memo. 
Curfew starts off within the first seconds with several enigmas, we ask ourselves: who's calling? Why is his hand bloody? When it's revealed that he is in a bathtub in the middle of trying to bleed to death after he's slit his wrist the enigma becomes the question why? When he's on the phone he pulls the phone closer to the bathtub as an action code, we're afraid the phone is going to drop into the bath and electrocute him. 

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