Binary opposition is antagonistic relationship or relationship of contrast between two elements. Binary
opposition is a standard unit of making construction which is man’s logical tool for symbolic meaning
construction.
Lévi Strauss’s mythology analysis is one of research which is based on Saussure’s theory that meaning
comes through difference. Anthropologist Lévi Strauss said primitive society myth is divided into two
opposition like culture/nature, good/evil, enemy/our and black/white and he call this binary opposition.
Recognize the difference between I and you and distinguish our side form other side.
Lévi Strauss indicates that characteristic of mythology depends on binary opposition - the two parties’
conflict. One if the way human understands the world is through dividing into mutual exclusion category
(land/sea, man/woman and we/they). This binary pattern is maintained logically by that we prescribe
things by not only ‘what it is’, but also ‘what it isn’t’. We collect in what is same and separate in what is
different.
If we move the function of myth in the past primitive age to today, mass media is in charge of the
function. A popular culture text is composed binary oppositely and every narrative is made to return to a
steady state. At this point, a steady state means justify contemporary domination. Therefore, popular
culture text speaks for dominated idea and it protects social change. The significance of Lévi Strauss’s
mythology analysis in popular culture research is this. If transpose popular culture by mythology analysis
way, it is possible that clarify what ideology is in there.
Audiences naturally accept the story justify contemporary status. Set something opposite to right and
finally choose the right of contemporary. Especially, in Hollywood western movie, this kind of binary
opposition is never missed. In the movie ‘Shane’, the Starrett’s and villagers whose sincerely cultivate,
live harmonious and look so peace are our reality and the opposite group is Lyker’s whose villainous,
greedy and don’t get along with villagers. An end is victory of villagers and it satisfies audience.
Structurism is put the ‘structure’ on the center of all cognition. it is not looking at something isolate,
looking at it generally through the relation between other elements.
When we deal with a problem, conventionally it was general that treat it in several. Focus on elementof
problem and induce from empirical observed data or deduce from rational inference.
But in time, as monadologiy is refused, doubt humanistic angle and search a new way of thinking,
structurism appeared. They got trust that every existence doesn’t be valued by itself or separated basis, it
is valued by complicated relation with other existence. In cognition of some existence, always structure
prior. In other words, structure is existing prior to the body.
Structurism influence narrative theory. When structurists see a moviem, they pay attention to how it is
suitable or useful for prescription genre or form. As a result, they can grasp a narrative organization or
narrative composition element.
What obtainable by structural approach is the understanding of the narrative function method.
Generally incident is decided at the beginning of the movie or conflict is established. The conflict is
occurred by mutual exclusive opposite so binary opposition can be useful. A hero faces a threat, challenge
or demand required fulfill. To audience who regard the hero as themselves, an influence who interrupt the
fulfillment is opposite. So simple binary opposition is established by set the category of good hero and we
can presume good and evil.
The trouble on the movie is solved by choose one side of opposition. The opposition can’t be finished
until one side’s withdrawal or surrender. Usually the hero is someone who can understand both sides. He
is not weak, not languid and sometimes as close as villain like good. His role is making peace between
two quarreling parties. In the movie ‘Shane’, Shane is a wanderer who is disillusioned at gunman and he
lives with good villagers by chance. He is really good at shooting and he knows well about bad the villain
Jack. He is good and strong mediator between good and weak villagers and bad and strong Lyker’s.
Finally he removes Lyker’s and solves the opposition.
Movie composes the present and re-shows by that culture’s code, convention, myth and ideology. As
movie operates on the culture, it reanalyzes, reproduces and reviews the meaning organization and it is
also produced by that meaning organization.
Director is a bricoleur like writer or story teller. They use convention and repertory for creating
something fresh but familiar, new but like genre and separated but typical.
Culture’s ideological organization is not singular, it is composed of opposition which fights, competes
and conflicts. In some meaning, this process is reprinted in movie narrative. Usually narrative is
composed of binary opposition which is required to be solved in the end and binary opposition is
composed in competing ideological views. If narrative functions symbolic solution of social conflict,
what narrative has to deal with is existing political disruption or inequality of a group, a class or a gender
which considered natural or inevitable in our society. Therefore, movie is a vehicle of reproduce present
and a space of ideology analysis.
This ideological and cultural specialty in movie makes us attend to the social influence by movie and
this influence is revealed clearly when set the code and convention gathering.
We understand the society described in movie through very simple way of our social experience. When
we see a movie and understand this, we look a gesture and hear a accent and look cloth style. These are
for set the character in specific class, group or culture. These are code.
Conventions are the codes; we all are unitedly using tools. Convention is converting way formula plot to
visualized action. Convention tends to be presented repeatedly in genre movie. Filming techniques or
editing style is no exception to this repetition. In this case, we feel familiar and expect. In other words,
convention is essential plot based on overall movie or characters successive acting. In the western movie,
the duel between a hero and a villain at open place. For example, in the ‘Shane’, there is the duel between
Shan and Jack in town. Transformation of convention is possible but the basic form of convention is not
changed.
Especially genre movie contains many pre-set agreement. Genre is code, convention and visual style
tool which makes audience understand the narrative faster and more complex. It is that classifies
according to some common feature and explains. So it names films as a group which some kind of subject,
plot and visual style is similar. Therefore genre explains the type and essence of what compose the movie.
The purpose of genre is making audience see a movie in some connection with other movie. This
mutual text of genre set the audience’s expectation. The story which audience familiar is repeated (but a
little differently arranged) so it is easy to follow and understand plot and conflict. Genre usually includes
specific expectations, such as repeated setting or typical action sequence, so solution the conflict in the
movie is required to genre. In the western film like ‘Shane’ two opposites last duel is represented with a
gunfight like ceremony. How finish the gunfight is the end of the movie.
A psychopathologist Carl Jung says the unconscious which the period, the people and the society
commonly has is a mass unconscious. The reason why genre gains popularity and succeed is the genre
present the mass unconscious. Genre confirms the mass unconscious, exactly psychology of the audience
and makes the product so some specific genre continuously wins popularity.