THEORY - Barthes' 5 Codes

 

Ready Player One

A movie set in the future, where VR games have evolved to be more realistic, in it, the game creator planted a secret which would reward them of a prize within his game before he passed, the main character and the whole world is trying to solve the mystery on how to get the prize

Hermeneutic Codes

-Who will get James Halliday (the game creator who passed away) treasure?

-Where are the 3 keys hidden throughout the game?

-What happens when someone gets all 3 keys?

-How will they get the 3 keys?

Proairetic Codes

No one can finish the "Impossible Race" > Main character watches a clip of James Halliday in real life > He tells a subtle clue on how to win the race > Main character realizes > He wins the race > gets the first key

Semantic Codes

Stacked buildings - indicating overpopulation in the future

Big character eyes - anime/cartoon styled 

Symbolic Codes

The enhanced reality situation, where the movie focuses more on the main characters life inside the game than outside of it, which would be linked to the enhanced reality.

Cultural Codes

Many video game references in the movie

Need to know what VR is

How games work