2. Claude Levi-Strauss
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A binary opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning but
relate to each other.
Some binary oppositions are:
Good - Bad
Protagonist - Antagonist
Light - Dark
Smart - Stupid
Black - White
High - low
Hero - Villain
Man - Women
This can easily be used in my film opening because the beginning usually shows the bad and
the good even if it doesn't show there faces the audience can easily tell who is who. Also
when I come to planning my film opening it will make it more simple when trying to add
characters. Plus I can use binary oppositions when using lighting, camera angles, and camera
movements.
3. Vladimir Propp
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Propps Narrative theory is based on his analysis of folk tales and legends from various
countries. He concluded that the story of any film is built up following folk tale guidelines as if
there are always certain ‘types’ of characters, he narrowed it down to these 8:
-Hero – Who is on a quest
-Villain – The opposing foe to the hero
-Donor – Character who provides a tool(s) to the hero character
-Dispatcher – Who starts the hero on his quest
-False Hero – Character who tries to divert the hero
-Helper – helps the hero
-Princess – who is the reward for the hero
-Father – who rewards the hero for his efforts
This theory could be quite easy to adapt to a British gangster film as there is always the
Protagonist, the antagonist, the women who is seen as the mans reward and there are always
people wanting to help the protagonist. If I were to use this as my structure I would have my
main character go on a quest to find the person who stole all the gold and riches from his
vault in a bank. Then he would start to struggle to find the person who did it but then a
helper would reassure him and help him to proceed or maybe even joins him. They would
then have to use violence, lying and cheating to find the guy who took his money. Then once
he finding him there would be a big fight and he would win the women who the antagonist
forced to marry him. So it involves the hero, villain, Donor/helper, the princess and I could
then maybe involve the father by showing that it was actually his fathers money the whole
time not his but then the father gives him all the money as a thank you. This is just one quick
possible idea i could use for my project.
4. Tzvetan Todorov
The theory is:
• Everything is as it should be at that time and place (Equilibrium)
• It then suffers some disruption or change (disequilibrium)
• Everything is not necessarily back to normal but as good as it can be at that time (new
Equilibrium)
I could use this theory in my film by showing that everything is normal (Equilibrium) but
then show the crime/violence and my main character(s) trying to fix the problem
(Disequilibrium) then show what life is like for them after they fix it or if they don’t and
whether it changed for the best or not (New equilibrium)
5. Roland Barthes
Barthes describes five codes which can be used in any narrative. The most important of
these are:
The hermeneutic code:
This refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a
mystery to the audience. The purpose of this is just to keep the audience guessing, arresting
the enigma, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off and
closure is achieved.
The Proalretic code:
This code also builds up tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates
something else is going to happen, and which then gets the audience guessing as to what
will happen next.
The hermeneutic and proalretic codes work as a pair to develop the story's tension and keep
the audience interested.
6. What have I learnt?
When I come to making my film opening I will use Claude Levi-Strauss,
Tzvetan Todorovs and Vladimir Propps theories together as they can
easily be blended together. Every film includes an equilibrium,
disequilibrium and then a new equilibrium but I won’t be able to show
all of them since I'm only doing the first two minutes of a film so I might
be able to include the equilibrium and the disequilibrium. I can then use
binary oppositions because they are also used In every film and I can
incorperate the good and evil into my film as well. Plus I can use Propps
theory as well as i have explain on his previous page.
