BARTHES THEORY APPLIED

TO LUTHERBy Ryan Griffiths

Todorov’s Theory applied to Luther Within the context of Luther Todorov’s theory of narrative structure in the sense that it contains the five stage structure. For example we start the narrative in a state of equilibrium in which Luther is retired from being a detective and now lives on the coast. This sense of equilibrium is then disrupted in the narrative by Luther being told about the death of his lover Alice Morgan and the serial killer both cases then cause him to come out of retirement. It could be argued that within the narrative of Luther the realisation comes at the point when it is established that the two cases are somehow linked and both require Luther’s investigation. The restored order in this narrative involves Luther and his team trying to figure out who is behind the murders and also Luther has his own side quest in finding out what caused Alice Morgan’s death and this is highlighted by character Sam who seems to have an idea of what has happened to her. A new sense of equilibrium is achieved when the killer is finally caught and killed and also when Luther finds out what has happened to Alice Morgan and is then able to make a deal with Harry Cornelius and then go back into retirement.

Levi Strauss’ theory applied to Luther

Good - Luther Evil - Cornelius / Steven RoseLight Dark Hero – Luther's team Villain – Cornelius / Steven Mystery – Alice Morgan Clarity – through Sam & Luther’s

investigation

Levi- Strauss’ theory of binary opposites can be applied to this media text in the sense that due to it being a crime drama there will most likely be the main conflict between good and evil but below is listed some other binary opposites that appear in Luther.

Propp’s Theory applied to Luthero Propp’s theory of similar characters can be applied to Luther from the

perspective that there is going to be a heavy focus on heroes and villains due to it being a crime drama for example we have

o Luther – represents the hero as he is keen to help others and wants to stop crime and restore order

o Cornelius and Steven – Represent the villains as they are either causing crime, disruption or withholding information from the hero, stopping his quest

o Alice Morgan although she is dead represents the princess as Luther is investigating the reasons behind her death as he was once her lover

o Theo and Jenny represent the sidekicks and also the dispatchers as they inform Luther of Alice Morgan’s death and help him investigate the Steven Rose case

Barthes Theory applied to Luther Due to Luther being of the crime drama genre this means that according to Barthes theory that it is more likely to have an open narrative as this would therefore make the narrative more mysterious, tense and intriguing for audiences to watch. o This particular narrative contains three different Enigma codes : the first is

regarding the disappearance and death of Alice Morgan, the second being the Steven Rose case and the third being the mysterious woman named Sam.

o The action code within this narrative mainly comes from the conflict between Luther and Harry Cornelius when he is finding out information about Alice Morgan’s Death the other action code comes from Steven Rose and his serial killings.

o Some examples of semantic codes within this media text are the use of birds which carry the connotations of death, Another being the fridge which is associated with being a trap or bomb. There is also the code of the Knife which is once again associated with the serial killings and death and also the Symbollic code of body parts such as the heart which carries the connotation of love or the tongue which can be linked with the ability for someone to tell a lie.

Barthes theory cont.

Finally the only real use of canonical cultural codes within this particular media text is the idea of good and evil which is represented by Luther and his team and evil which is represented by Harry Cornelius and the serial killer Steven Rose.