Think about all of the images, objects, and stories you’re confronted with throughout the day—from memes, to advertisements, to flags waving in the wind. In Mythologies, 20th-century French philosopher Roland Barthes says that all of these contain subtle messages that subconsciously shape the way we view the world. He calls these messages myths.
According to Barthes, Myths occur when society’s dominant institutions—the government, the advertising industry, or Hollywood, to name a few—imbue an image, object, or phrase with meaning. By creating these associations, the dominant social institutions create and reinforce cultural beliefs and values that are unconsciously adopted by the masses. Mythologies aims to open our eyes to these manipulations and teach us how to avoid them.
In this guide, we’ll discuss Barthes’s theoretical framework behind myth, examine some of the examples he gives from 1950s French culture, and consider whether they’re still present in contemporary culture today.
