Roland Barthes' Mythologies

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Roland Barthes' 'Mythologies'.

Mythology

A potent fiction that symbolically expresses people's beliefs in a socially significant way.

Common Sense

A flawed or lazy prejudice that sees as 'natural' what is actually historical.

Reifying

Turning a complex concept, such as intelligence, into a simple object or entity.

Genius

Not simply a product of physical structure, but a complex outcome of cultural and social factors.

Cultural Criticism

An analysis that interprets cultural phenomena and asserts they can be both objective and subjective.

Functionality vs. Elusiveness

The conflict between reducing thinking to measurable phenomena versus recognizing its complex nature.

Myth of Einstein

The belief that Einstein's genius can be isolated and quantified rather than understood as a product of his entirety.

Spectacle

A public display or event that conveys deeper meanings and beliefs underlying societal understanding.

Total Knowledge Myth

The illusion that total knowledge can be discovered all at once, akin to finding a magical formula.

Language as a System of Signs

An artificial system created by humans to communicate meaning, similar to how myth functions.

Semiology

The study of signs and symbols as a significant part of communication and meaning.