Media Homework Barthes Five Codes

Forrest Gump Opening Sequence (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)

Enigma Codes: Who is the main character? Where are we as the audience focussing? Why are the man's shoes so muddy? Is he the protagonist or antagonist? What / Who is he waiting for? Why is yhe keeping the feather? Why does he have a suitcase and a box of chocolates with him? Where is he going?

Action Codes: The slight suspense in the opening of this sequence is caused by the flight of the feather, as you never know where it is going to end up until the end of the titles. It lands at the feet of a man on a bench. He picks it up and the audience doesn't know whether he is going to keep it or throw it away. He puts it in his suitcase, which then creates the suspense of what he's going to do with it later. Finally, at the end of the sequence, a bus draws up, and there is suspense as we wait and see if he gets on the bus or if someone he is waiting for gets off.

Semiotic Codes: There are a few semiotic codes in this sequence. Firstly, the skyline of the town which we see above the trees as the feather is flying suggests that the film is set in a rural town, rather than a large urban city. The man's shoes are also dirty and worn, which connotes that he is either poor or has a labour job. His white suit is an opposite however, as it is expensive and smart and is clean. The feather blowing in the wind also connotes the idea that the film may be about the story of a man who gets "blown" in different directions by events in his life.

Cultural Codes: There aren't many cultural codes in this sequence, but towards the end of the sequence the bus stop bench shows the audience that the man is waiting for a bus.

Symbolic Codes: Similar to the semiotic codes, the symbolic codes revolve around the mans clothes and the scrambled flight of the feather, implying that the man could be good or evil and that the film may be about his journey through life as his direction is changed by different events.