The CODE-X series catalogs a vast codex of source codes (aka “signs”) extracted from past audits.

The object of study in semiotics is not the signs but rather a general theory of signification; the goal of each “audit” is to build a model demonstrating how meaning is produced and received within a category or cultural territory. Signs on their own, therefore, only become truly revelatory and useful once we’ve sorted them into thematic complexes, and the complexes into codes, and the codes into a meaning map. We call this process “thick description”; the Code-X series is thin description.

“MANAGED NATURE” NORM: Sentimental view of British nature as tamed, pleasant.

“MANAGED NATURE” FORMS: Postcard-perfect scenes of British rural life. A Paradise Lost vibe — England’s green and pleasant land. Tidy, beautiful gardens. The sort of thing the camera cuts away to on Great British Baking Show. Sense of a landscape without garbage, strip malls, billboards, all the American clutter — very appealing to American audiences.

From a 2024 audit of the SAFE AS HOUSES space (i.e, deriving joy, comfort, and fulfillment from community and tradition) within British scripted TV content.