Barthes

Barthes

Linford Christie

This picture shows Linford Christie after winning the 100m final. the picture was published in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons. The newspapers pointed out something very embarrassing and this became a national mocking frame. Because of this the whole succession and overall achievement element was took as the picture was no longer a symbol of his victory but a picture of his embarrassing moment.

This relates the Barthes' theory as he says media texts are a big ball of threads. When the threads are unravelled then the text opens up to all new meanings. This is true within this case. The text was symbolising his great victory and achievement, however when the text was unravelled it opened up to lots of different meanings.

This picture shows carl lewis and olympic runner posing for Pirelli tyres. We see how Lewis is wearing a pair of high heels whilst in the starting position for a race. when we read into the text we could say that Lewis is wearing the heels in order to show the reader that women can be just as superior as men within the racing world. Lewis was seen as the fastest man on the planet at this moment in time and was seen as a man of power. 

When we read further into the text we can see how maybe Lewis was trying prove a point that pirelli calendar should not always include women being objectified but should include men as well. The caption on the top of the advert says 'Power is nothing without control' this refers to Lewis being the most powerful man within the sport but he must control the power and use it properly. The heels act as  an object of the hurdles and difficulties Lewis may face.