Barthes 5 Codes - Research

I have chosen to analyse the opening of "Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl."

Enigma code:
Why is the first man to speak to the little girl so afraid of pirates? What is the significance of the boy's necklace? Why does Elizabeth hide the necklace? Who is the man on the sinking ship? Why doesn't he want the pier owner to know his name? Is he a pirate?

Action code:
The film opens with a ship sailing towards the camera. This makes us wonder where it's going, who is on it, is it good or bad? etc... When the crew pull aboard Will Turner, (a pirate) we are not sure whether or not he will turn out to be a good character. Elizabeth takes Will's necklace and identifies it as a pirate necklace, she then hides it from her father, This creates suspense as we wonder the significance of the necklace, and whether or not it will play a part later on.

Semiotic code:
As the film opens with a ship sailing in the ocean and a girl singing a pirate song, it suggests that the film is about pirates or sea battles. The fact that Elizabeth is is wearing nice clothes and has maids to help her get dressed shows that she is probably a wealthy character. We also see that her father is very protective of her.

Cultural code:
The way that people talk and dress in the opening give us a feel of the time period that the film is set in, and makes it clear that there are class differences in the film. E.g when Elizabeth's father looks disapprovingly at Will (a blacksmith.) The focus around ships, sailing and pirates make it clear that the film will centralize around these points, and suggests that conflict will play a main part.

Symbolic code:
Similarly to the semiotic code, the film largely revolves around pirates, however we are unsure as to whether or not we side with the pirates. It could be an Oceans 11 type film, where we side with the bad guys. There is a lot of anti-pirates signs, such as the pirate skeletons hanging from the cliff top. However Elizabeth seems to take a liking to the pirate Will Turner, suggesting that some pirates may be good.