"According to Claude Lévi-Strauss, texts convey their meanings through a system of binary oppositions. Evaluate this structuralist theory. Refer to the Bridge in your response.”
(30 marks)
Binary opposites are a pair of related concepts that are opposite in meaning. It is a system in which two theoretical opposites are defined and set off against one another. Levi strauss was a french anthropologist in the 1900’s; he proposed a theory of ‘binary opposites’ where the majority of narratives in media forms contain opposing main characters. He believes that binary opposites help to thicken the plot and further the narrative. A problem with binary opposites is that they can portray negative stereotypes for example if it was man vs women, there would be an attachment to gender stereotypes.
One binary opposite portrayed in the bridge is nuclear family vs alternative family. A nuclear family (cereal box family), is a typical/ ‘ideal’ (in the 1950s) family that is commonly used in media productions such as the simpsons, that 70s show etc. A nuclear family typically consists of a mum, dad, daughter and son. In this episode of the bridge, the only nuclear family we see is Henrik Saboes family. We see that he has 2 daughters and a partner; this isn't a typical nuclear family. Even though he has a family that he cares for, Henrick has his personal problems such as drug use and from what we have seen, a possibility of having an affair. This shows that having, what is seen as the ‘ideal’ family, isn't always perfect and every family has its flaws. The alternative family is a family that might have once been a nuclear family but changed into a different type or it started off as a different type of family. Some types of alternative families are reconstituted family, lone parent family, gay/lesbian family etc. in the bridge we see a range of alternative families such as Helle ankers family, she was apart of a reconstituted lesbian family. Having a LGBT family in the show raises conversation by the public but in my opinion, i would say it is a good thing to have a range of families as it could be relatable to different people. Levi strauss says that binary opposites thicken the plot and in this case, i would agree because one of the main narratives is the murder of Helle anker due to her beliefs about the LGBT community. When we found out about her son morton and her family the plot thickens. This also applies to Henriks family, when we discover he has been dabbling in drugs and he meets with another woman just after being with his family, the plot thickens.
Another binary opposite depicted in the bridge is saga vs hanne. Saga and hanne are two very different police detectives who have different views and beliefs. Saga is a hardccore investiagtor who is socially challenged but she is a good cop who follows the rulebook. Hanne is a well-respected, experienced police detective who finds it hard to accept saga for who she is. As saga is from Sweden and hanne is from Denmark, they both have political differences which are shown in this episode. In season 3 episode 1, saga and hanne are the two main character who have to put their differences aside and work together to solve the murder of Helle Anker. During this episode, Hanne called Saga telling her she is no longer working on the case. However, Saga tells hanne to do one more thing for her. They inspect mortens caravan and hanne gets majorly injured in an explosion. Saga is a caring character who tries to come across as ‘masculine’ and strong. The audience and the characters in the bridge can see the clear opposite between saga and hanne which makes the narrative more complex and interesting. Levi Strauss may argue that saga and hannes differences further the narrative as it adds a sense of cooperation and has a comedic effect. Saga and hannes relationship engages the audience as they want to see how their relationship develops and whether their oppositions continue to get in the way of work.
An additional binary opposite is loyalty vs betrayal. These two concepts are shown throughout this episode mainly through partnership. Saga betrayed her friend and colleague Martin Rohde by reporting him for murder. In this episode we can tell that she misses him however she is convinced she did the right thing as she doesnt want to be associated with a convicted murderer. Sagas loyalty lies with her career at Malmo police which shows how conflicted this show is, no only between characters but within the characters themselves. Since saga betrayed her colleague Martin, hanne finds it hard to trust saga which is another reason hanne find saga exasperating. However hanne betrays not only saga but also the murder case. Hanne found it hard to come to terms with working with saga so she left the case so saga was working on it on her own. This is an important binary opposite because as an audience we gather more information about what the characters are like and where their loyalties stand with other people. Levi Strauss would argue that this binary opposite furthers the narrative as its an additional problem to the relationships shown on this episode.
Two of the binary opposites i have already discussed - saga vs hanne and loyalty vs betrayal - also links with the binary opposite duty vs personal feelings. This binary opposite seems to link with saga vs hanne as they are both very different as saga would put her duty before her personal feelings whereas hanne would put her personal feelings before her duty. This is
shown where hanne calls saga telling her that she has left the case (which as an audience we know is because she doesn't feel like she gets along with saga) however, saga tells her to finish one part of the job for her. This clearly shows that saga will put duty before personal feelings because she knows her and hanne do not get along but her job is more important. On the other hand, hanne knows the job is important but lets her personal feelings get in the way. The binary opposite duty vs personal feeling also links with loyalty vs betrayal as even though Martin was one of sagas close friends, she felt that as a police detective, it was only right to do her duty. Levi Strauss would argue that this binary opposite duty vs personal feelings thickens the plot. This is because this binary opposite is a big part to the decisions made in this programme, some characters make decisions based on their duty and some make them based on personal feelings.
That answer is shit this is like 7 marks
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