In his essay “Myth Today,” Roland Barthes tell us that myth (this unit’s version of depth analysis) “is not defined by the object of its message but the way in which it utters its message” (109). We know that myth is a form, a structure that “impoverishes” or “puts at a distance” the original meaning of a sign, substituting something else for it. “We know,” he argues, “that myth is a type of speech defined by its intention” (124). As we move from the image of the little boy saluting the flag, we encounter not the horrors of French coloniality but almost the opposite: the tender caress of the colonist’s flag, the touch of the paternal fatherland. This boy has not been violently colonized, myth might tell us, he has been brought into the fold. This is why myth is “is never arbitrary,” why myth always has an agenda, an intention (126). Barthes, deciphers the little boy’s salute as “an alibi of coloniality,” a gesture that lets the colonizers, as it were, off the hook (129). If, as we see in the example of the little boy’s salute and in the preordination of French toys, reality is always political, then “myth,” works in the other direction, functioning as“depoliticized speech” (142). Its job is to talk about things, to make them innocent. Myth “abolishes the complexity of human acts,” giving “them the simplicity of essences” (143). And, hence, myth enacts a type of violence, a violence that is hard to see unless one is on the hunt for it. Your task in this paper is to find an element of culture (it can be an object, a person, a film, a novel, a blog—anything at all) and demonstrate how it enacts myth as Barthes defines it. Your paper should, as well, point out the urgency of your analysis based on the violence that this myth perpetuates (the violence of covering or excusing colonialism, for instance). Make sure your thesis/central claim is arguable, that you are not simply asserting a factual truth. You are to cite (in MLA style with 12 point, Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins) Barthes three times, as well as at least two other peer-reviewed articles of your choosing plus the primary source itself. The paper should include a Works Cited page, formatted, as well, in MLA style. Not including the Works Cited page, the paper should be 6-8 pages long (typed, double-spaced).