CLAUDE LEVI- STRAUSS

WHO WAS CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS?

• Claude Lévi-Strauss (28 November 1908 – 30 October 2009 was a French anthropologist and ethnologist.

• He was born to French parents who were living in Brussels at the time.

• He argued that the "savage" mind had the same structures as the "civilized" mind and that human characteristics are the same everywhere. These observations culminated in his famous book ‘Tristes Tropiques’, which positioned him as one of the central figures in the structuralist school of thought, where his ideas reached into fields including the humanities, sociology and philosophy.

BINARY OPPOSITION’S THEORY

• His theory was that the way we understand certain words doesn’t depend on the meaning it creates but more on our understanding of the difference between the word and its 'opposite' which is called 'binary oppositions'.• He realised that words purely act as symbols for

society's ideas and the meaning of words, therefore, he believed that they was a relationship between opposing ideas.• Binary oppositions can be found in a range of

media products such as a film trailers.

EXAMPLES OF BINARY OPPOSITIONS:

• Good vs evil, this is particularly shown in genres such as action and thrillers in a protagonist and antagonist role.

• Dark vs light, this is again shown in action/thriller/horror films.

• Protagonist vs antagonist, this too can be shown in action/thriller

• Past vs future, this can be shown in action and history genres,

• Feminine vs masculine this is particularly seen in horror/ thriller films as females are generally seen as being victims and males are seen to be killers.

HORROR: FRIGHT NIGHT

Protagonist versus antagonist

Fright Night (2011) - IMDb

As the protagonist is a student who is trying to protect society from the vampire , the audience can relate to the character. The film will be aimed at young adults who are students which will boost box office hits.

HISTORY/WAR: SCHINDLER’S LIST

Powerful versus weak Schindler’s List (1993) - IMDb

This film would appeal to those who are interested or want to gain an insight into the lives of people who lived through World War II. It can also get across how different race/religions were treated at that time and how the dominance of the leaders changed they way society lived.

ACTION: SPIDERMAN

This is a feature of almost all superhero films, as most of the protagonists attempt to live an apparently normal life as well as one in which their identity is a mystery.

Public Image versus Private Image

The amazing Spiderman (2012)

COMEDY: ROLE MODELS

Binary oppositions in characters: Fun loving guy versus Serious pessimistic guy. The contrast in personality's of the main characters which are together through out the film. Young Poor Black Kid versus Middle Aged White Man, this is like a opposition in culture and class.

Role models (2008)

ROM-COM: P.S I LOVE YOU

Old life versus New Life: Holly and Gerry typical marriage, intensely in love, then Gerry unexpectedly dies and her life is changed completely and the film focuses on old compared to new throughout .

P.S I love you (2007)