Barthes enigma theory- Luther

Background information The creator of Luther is Neil Cross. The genre is a psychological crime drama. The original networks are BBC One and BBC HD.

Plot John Luther is a Detective Chief Inspector (DCI)

working for the Serious Crime Unit in series one, and the new Serious and Serial Crime Unit in series two and three. A dedicated police officer, Luther is obsessive, possessed, and sometimes violent. However, Luther has paid a heavy price for his dedication; he has never been able to prevent himself from being consumed by the darkness of the crimes with which he deals.

The Hermeneutic code. In the series Luther, Barthes enigma theory is used

and it includes an open text due to many key parts of the film being unravelled in a lot of different ways. An example of a code used is the hermeneutic code. The hermeneutic codes used in Luther were: the murder of Luther’s lover Alice Morgan and him trying to find the suspects involved; the serial killers strike, which was distracting Luther from his investigation. Also, another was the private life of Luther as he was planning to run away with Alice Morgan.

These elements of the story are not fully explained and then becomes a mystery to the audience. The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience guessing, until the final scenes reveal all the loose ends which are tied off and closure is achieved. An example of this is when Emily and Luther find the serial killer and stop him from murdering another family, which is shown at the end of the clip.

The Proairetic code Furthermore the proairetic code is also included, such as Luther

knocking on George's door and gets threatened by George's son. This builds tension, which then gets the audience guessing as to what happens next.

Another proairetic code is when Luther kidnaps George after knocking out his son after the threat. This creates tension due to Luther acting as the antagonist as he is kidnapping someone, which portrays the stereotypical protagonist characteristics.

In addition, George is then interrogated by Luther about the death of Alice Morgan as George is a well-known hitman, which makes Luther question if he was there when it happened. Also the main action code is when George says to Luther “you're in trouble”. This indicates that something else is going to happen as it was left at a cliff hanger, and makes the audience wonder what will happen next.

The director uses this on purpose to imply a further narrative action, which is George hiring other hit men to murder Luther himself.

This code links with the hermeneutic code as they both develop the story's tensions and keep the audience interested.

The Symbolic code The symbolic codes used in Luther were the dead

blackbird, which foreshadowed the woman's death at the beginning of the clip when she is killed by the serial killer. Stereotypically, a blackbird connotes death due to the colour black, which signifies emptyness and dullness. This links to the serial killers emotions while murdering the innocent woman, which also connotes that he is an antagonist.

Another was the exploding fridge which Theo opened, which signified that the murderers secrets have been unleashed and no longer private. This was shown when Luther hesitated to pen the fridge as it reminded him of Theo's death, then threw it to the side.

Furthermore, another symbolic code used was the image of Alice Morgan, which Luther kept on him the whole time. This signifies the love and passion he has for her.

Binary opposites In addition, binary opposites are used

within Luther. Binary opposites are essentially one thing can be defined in relation to something it isn't. For example, Emily (the detective) is only a protagonist if there is a antagonist, which in this case is the serial killer. This is shown in the series Luther by her saving a family before the serial killer struck again.

Another example is Luther being a protagonist and George being an antagonist. This is shown by Luther trying to find answers about Alice Morgan’s death, whilst George is threatening to murder him. However, this is only shown midway through the episode as Luther took some actions which portrayed the stereotypical protagonist role which makes him a false hero.