T.G321
Binary Opposition
Binary opposition describes the juxtaposition and hostility of two diametrically contrasting elements contained in a text.
The elements can be facile, such as women vs men, or more metaphysical, such as rationality vs fantasticality.
Claude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist, born in 1908, who propagated the idea that words are understood by their "binary opposite", rather than the meaning of the word itself.
This idea is significant when producing and analysing films; we understand the word "hero" in relation to its binary opposite – "villain". In order to establish a character as a hero figure, there must be a character with the binary opposite trait. This idea can be applied to a vast number of binary opposites to enhance the audience's understanding of a narrative, such as old vs young, and reality vs fantasy.
A film can utilise the effective construction of the conflicts between these binary opposites to fluently develop a plot, and make a piece more engaging. We will attempt to do this in our own production, by considering opposites when developing characters, such as those in class, physical ability, and intelligence.