Will you include binary opposition? Grace Blick

Claude Levi-Strauss• A french anthropologist who

lived in the early 1900s

• Strauss believed that our understanding of a words meaning is not what is given to us directly, but our understanding of its opposite

• He called these ‘Binary Opposites’

Binary OppositesGood BadYoung Old

Rational IrrationalHero Villain

Protagonist AntagonistFeminine Masculine

Black WhiteSecurity Fear

Sane InsaneRelaxed Tense

Guilty Innocent

Examples of Binary Opposites in Soap Opera’s

• Phil Mitchell (bad) and Dot (good) in Eastenders

• Lucas (irrational) and Trina (rational) in Eastenders

• Bobby (guilty) and Lucy Beale (innocent) in Eastenders

• Kat Moon (feminine) and Alfie Moon (masculine) in Eastenders

• Denise Fox (black) and Donna Yates (white)

Will we include Binary Opposition?

• In our Soap Opera we will include Strauss’s Binary Opposition. Binary opposition helps the audience relate to the characters. We see opposites in everyday life therefore, increasing interest in our soap opera. Soap Opera’s such as Eastenders and Hollyoaks, include copious binary opposites. It also adds an extra layer to the character, as these binary opposites can change.