Roland Barthes's semiotics is a philosophical approach to studying communication and its elements of meaning. It was first developed by Barthes in the 1960s and has since been adopted by many scholars in their study of human signification.
In its simplest form, semiotics is the study of signs and symbols. These signs and symbols can be anything from words and images to gestures, facial expressions, body language and anything we use to convey information and meaning. Semiotics looks at how these signs and symbols are used to create meaning and how meanings are interpreted by the receiver. The founder of modern semiotics is ofter considered to be Ferdinand de Saussure, and he is the origin of Barthes's discourse about the sign, signifier and signified.
Barthes's approach to semiotics was to focus on the meaning of the relationship between the signifier and the signified. He argued that the signifier (the sign) is a physical representation of the signified (the concept). This relationship is essential in the understanding of any kind of communication, as the signifier is the physical representation of the signified, which is the concept that is being communicated.
Barthes also argued that the signifier is not simply a physical representation of the signified, but that it is also an active element in communication. He believed that the signifier has the power to create meaning and that it is up to the receiver to interpret the message. This means that the receiver can interpret the message in different ways depending on the context, the culture, and their own background and experience.