Mythologies (1957) by Roland Barthes is a seminal collection of essays that delves into the way mass culture and everyday life are saturated with ideological meanings. Barthes employs a "Marxian semiology" to dissect various cultural phenomena—such as advertisements, films, and media—uncovering the hidden ideological propositions or "myths" they convey. He demonstrates how these myths, presented as natural and self-evident, actually perpetuate dominant cultural values and power structures. Through this analysis, Barthes critiques the ethnocentric, patriarchal, and petit-bourgeois worldview embedded in popular culture, while also acknowledging the fascination and enjoyment he finds in the very artifacts he scrutinizes. His work foreshadows the development of cultural studies by highlighting how cultural products both reflect and reinforce social ideologies.