Levi Strauss - Narrative Theory and Film Trailers

LEVI STRAUSS

Who is Levi Strauss and what is his theory? 

Levi Strauss was a French anthropologist who had a theory in film that narratives centered around the conflict between 'binary opposites': for example, good vs. evil, superhero vs. villain, etc. The theory states that only one of these sides can "win".







Where do we see binary opposites in media today?

Trailer: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011)

This trailer for 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2' shows binary opposites in that its plot revolves around the conflict between two sides; Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix and Voldemort and the Death Eaters, a fight known as the battle of Hogwarts. Although the first few shots that fade in and out to black (from 00:06 - 00:17) are kept fairly enigmatic, they carry connotations for the audience about the events in the film: the first is one of a figure from behind, as they walk through a passageway. Lightning flashes, and their figure is illuminated for a split second, giving a hint that it is Professor Snape. As well as raising questions such as where he is going and his role in the film, the ominous lightning sets a very dark mood for the trailer, making it clear to the audience that the last film in the series isn't as light-hearted as some of its previous installments. After this sequence of shots, the trailer then has a voice-over from Voldemort himself, saying quite menacingly, "Harry Potter... You have fought valiantly. But you have allowed your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself", accompanied by shots of him and Harry, outlining the main conflict of the film to the audience. From this, the audience can assume that the binary opposite is Good (Harry and his team) VS Evil (Voldemort and his followers). Other opposites that can be inferred from the trailer are Dark VS Light and Order VS Disorder (Voldemort is effectively seeking to rule over the magical world).

The trailer is mostly composed of shots and moments in the film where the conflict is at its most dramatic and exciting, and where Voldemort is at his most threatening and powerful, to exaggerate the chaos he inflicts, and highlight the struggle of the good forces that are challenging and attempting to defeat him. For instance, where the two sides are shown fully in these shots:

In this shot, we can see Ron, Neville, Hermione, Harry and Kingsley, in the middle of a duel, and sparks are flying. Despite being surrounded by rubble and broken stone, with a shattered window behind them, the characters are lit fairly brightly, possibly representing that they still have hope and are the better, 'right' side of the two. The expressions on their faces could be interpreted as slightly fearful, but determined to survive.

However, in this shot, we can see Lord Voldemort, surrounded by his followers, the Death Eaters, and the mood is clearly very different. The expression on Voldemort's face is brooding and malicious, and they are shrouded in darkness, wearing all black to further connote their dark intentions. Here, they are very clearly represented as the 'bad side', and the audience should be rooting for them. I think that the audience's attraction to a narrative with binary opposites lies in seeing who has the upper hand in the conflict, and who will win; binary opposites can make a film more tense and gripping.

The trailer also shows that although the audience should be rooting for the 'good side', their victory can't come without some sacrifice, as exemplified in this shot of one of the main protagonists, Ron, seemingly grieving over a family member.


Nearing the end of the trailer, when its pace increases and a montage of action shots lasting a few seconds each is shown, we see that the two leaders of the binary oppositions finally meet for the one-on-one battle, allowing for an opportunity for another direct comparison of the two sides:

In the two shots above, we can see them both locked in a duel. Voldemort's spell casts a bright green light, while Harry's spell casts one of red, and sparks fly from both of them. Although green usually connotes growth and harmony, and red connotes danger or love, we can see that in this situation, these associations are not very suitable. The symbolism instead revolves around the spells they are using: Voldemort is casting the killing curse, or 'avada kedavra', while Harry is casting a disarming spell, 'expelliarmus'. The spell Voldemort uses is one of three 'unforgivable curses', and deems him ruthless and unfair, as because he is aiming to immediately kill, it defies the traditional etiquette of a duel. The spell Harry uses represents him as much more noble and righteous, again signifying to the audience that he is who they should support. Of course, the outcome of this battle isn't revealed in the trailer because it would spoil the film, and so the shots are kept fairly short in order not to reveal who triumphs. 

A downside to the use of binary opposites in order to drive a narrative is that they can quickly become repetitive and even predictable for the audience: for example, in the current generic cycle of superhero films, the theme of Good VS Evil and Superhero VS Villain has become increasingly overdone. Although there are notable attempts where the binary opposites, themes and conventions have been subverted, such as in Captain America: Civil War [2016] or Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice [2016] (where, in both films, the heroes are pitted against each other), it can be argued the films can still be typical in how the narrative and plot develops, with characters in film series such as these receiving little development.

Poster: The Lovely Bones (2009)

The promotional poster for The Lovely Bones is a good example of the use of binary opposites, as well as enigma, to evoke intrigue from the audience. The opposites are made clear in that immediately we can see a difference in colour: there is a man's figure on the left, silhouetted, and a young girl on the right, who is dressed in warm, bright colours and illuminated by golden sunlight. Her expression seems innocent and curious, while the man's is unknown, because he is in darkness. However, we can see from his silhouette that he is looking directly at the girl, leading us to deem the girl vulnerable in this situation. The man's figure is now unnerving and threatening, and we can infer that through the connotations of him being in darkness, he has bad intentions. The enigma in the poster lies in how his identity isn't revealed. It could also be possible that the black birds flying in the background are ravens, which are symbols of death and a bad omen. The binary opposites we can see in this poster are: Dark VS Light, Young VS Old and possibly Innocent VS Corrupt, as the film's plot is that this man is a serial killer and follows the young girl's time in the afterlife. 







How could I use binary opposites in my own trailer?

After a short discussion with my group about how we could use this narrative theory, we decided that it would not be suitable because our film aims to defy the convention of opposites by having criminals against each other, so that we can keep the trailer enigmatic and not imply that the audience should be supporting a particular side. We also thought that because both sides are relatively corrupt (the group of druggies and the serial killer/hacker), it wouldn't be suitable to call them opposites. Therefore, I don't think this narrative theory is one that can be applied to our film.