Thursday, 4 October 2012

Narrative Research 3

Binary Oppositions

Claude Levi-Strauss

. Social Anthropologist
. Studied myths of tribal cultures 
. Examined how stories unconsciously reflect that values, beliefs and myths of a culture
. These are usually expressed in the form of Binary Oppositions.
. His research has been adapted by media theorists to reveal underlying themes and symbolic oppositions in media texts.

Binary Oppositions 

. A conflict between two qualities or terms.
. For example 1970's Western films:

Homesteaders - Native Americans
Christian - Pagan
Domestic - savage
weak - strong
Garden - wilderness
Inside society - outside society

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