The truth about Myths

Culture is very different and myths is one way of ironing out our understanding of mythology. This post explores the definitions of myth as we relate it back to interpreting the world. The myth in which is being explored in the hope of getting down to the nuts and bolts of myth comes comes the west and originates in European minds and is spoken in many different ways. So firstly in -order to understand the myth or a popular truth an example of speech must be given.

What is speech? According to Roland Barthes speech is not just from the mouth or the the speech as is spoken speech is also writing, films, photo's and psychological representations of personality, like temperance, sanguine, melancholy etc.

The first myths popped up during Greek times and one example cited in Wickipedia is Prometheus. The story of Prometheus is the original Greek tragedy has been made into many theatrical musicals and is basically a contested accusation against Prometheus. The Myth is very basically a tall story told by a storyteller who has a point but in actual fact is telling porkies, he's just making it up. So to get the truth out of myth is like trying to get blood out of a stone in many respects. Without getting lost in these type of myths and the super heroes originated from the thinking in myths I shall go back to Barthes extract which originally motivated me to write this post.

Myth is a value, truth is no guarantee for it; nothing prevents it from being a perpetual alibi: it is enough that its signifier has two sides for it always to have an 'elsewhere' at its disposal. The meaning is alway's there to present the form; the form is alway's there to outdistance the meaning.

Roland Barthes (1957): Myth Today, Mythologies. Vintage Classics (2000) p123 Image by © T. Christensen.


What's going on here is Roland is trying to determine mythology instead of semiology. Myths in his mythology are a way in which we watch the world go by. It continues later on this page with explaining an analogy of looking out of the passenger window as one drives down the road. The world we see is a journey and to understand is to see more, and to see with a deeper understanding of what it actually is. Granted to understand this is that you either have to have some understanding of linguistic terminology or a basic understanding of semiotics but if neither of these are accessible I would say common sense about culture is much better isn't it. at its most basic definition myth today is a type of speech (Barthes 2000, p109).

As an occupation the storyteller and his myth and is worth more than it's weight in gold. Worth a lot more than the prestige he carries in a snake oil bottle. The message is the entertainment, if the point would change you or inform you about the whole truth and nothing but the truth you'd possibly either not be able to handle it or go off and spill the expensive information on another side of the continent or in this case the internet.

From this shift culture or counter culture effect the experience o what we see and hear. The aesthetics of the myth all contribute to how we interpret the message. But the message is coded with cultural significance, so depending on who is telling the myth the way in which you digest the story is held as a responsibility of the one telling the story. This is why films have to follow certain criteria (especially sequels of the same name) and what genre it is often follows a similar theme from problem, to solving it then having a big party at the end everyone lives happily ever after then there's a little twist at the end just to keep you scratching your chin on the way out the cinema.