Levi Strauss' Narrative theory-Binary opposites (1958)
The definition of narrative is: the way in which a story is told but fictional and non-fictional media texts.
Levi Strauss was a anthropologist who originated in France during the early 1900s. He believed that the way we understood certain words didn't depend on their meaning but the opposite of that word that we connected it to. He then produced the theory binary opposites. Some examples are girl vs boy, east vs west ect. Binary opposites are very frequently used in films to present the plot line, for example hero and villain. Good vs evil are the most common of binary opposites used in movies but there are others. The use of good vs evil presents clear morals to the audience and create a clear divide in the story. Strauss' theory is the idea that conflict is based around the binary opposites, making these the centre of a narrative structure.
Below is a clip that we watched in the lesson also explaining the theory.
Levi Strauss was a anthropologist who originated in France during the early 1900s. He believed that the way we understood certain words didn't depend on their meaning but the opposite of that word that we connected it to. He then produced the theory binary opposites. Some examples are girl vs boy, east vs west ect. Binary opposites are very frequently used in films to present the plot line, for example hero and villain. Good vs evil are the most common of binary opposites used in movies but there are others. The use of good vs evil presents clear morals to the audience and create a clear divide in the story. Strauss' theory is the idea that conflict is based around the binary opposites, making these the centre of a narrative structure.
Below is a clip that we watched in the lesson also explaining the theory.
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