From Page to Screen: Semiotic Transformations in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code

Abstract

This paper examines the semiotic and narrative transformations that occur when Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code transitions from a literary text to a film. Grounded in semiotic theory, specifically the work of Roland Barthes and Umberto Eco, this study investigates how meaning is constructed, transformed, and redistributed across different media formats. Particular attention is given to the narrative codes through which the text organises suspense, action, and interpretation. Utilising a qualitative, comparative text-to-screen methodology, the study evaluates structural shifts in interpretive models, character functions, intertextual references, and audiovisual frameworks across three pivotal narrative sequences. It contrasts the novel’s discursive, code-driven narrative with the film’s multimodal, visually oriented system, illustrating how mechanisms of meaning production shift from reflective cognitive engagement to immediate perceptual impact. The findings indicate that the film’s semiotic system operates according to the formal logic of cinematic representation, redistributing narrative functions across visual and auditory channels while fundamentally reshaping the spectator’s interpretive role.