Semiotics analysis of the mural "My God, help me to survive this deadly love"

In 1990, a mural entitled "My God, Help me to Survive This Deadly Love" was painted on the East Berlin Wall. The work depicts the controversial kiss between Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker. Roland Barthes has a structured system of semiotic analysis, one of which is the code. In analyzing this mural, the author refers to the 5 codes of Barthes' theory. Barthes' 5-code theory is considered the most appropriate theory because it is able to present a textual analysis structure in understanding all aspects of text and meaning, and there is a framework of thought that is formed so that the author is able to analyze a visual object with the context of culture, history, and ideology in a deep and efficient way. Through this analysis, the author can understand the role of visual culture contextually in the mural.