Some of the best examples of this theory are within Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as the conflict between Luke Skywalker and his father, Darth Vader simply represent the ideologies of good vs evil. However, this theory can also represent more thematic conflictions as well, for example in The Casino Royale (2006), James Bond can represent order and the law, while Le Chiffre represents the opposition, being chaos, anarchy, and terrorism. Clearly, there are several ways in which a media text can encapsulate the meaning of the Binary Opposition Theory.
Furthermore, this theory can even represent conflicting governmental ideologies. Free Guy (2021), a seemingly lighthearted film detailing a man who wishes to break free from his discovered role as an NPC in a videogame, has many different interpretations. At surface level, it seems that Guy can simply represent good, while the evil mastermind Antwan can represent, well, evil. That's kind of a boring way to break it down though, don't you think? Guy has been oppressed and deceived into being a puppet his entire life and had never thought anything of it, until he discovered that he wanted to be the protagonist of his own life. In this way, the film can be interpreted of representing individuality vs conformity. To a new extreme, Guy can be interpreted to represent freedom and democracy, while Antwan can be interpreted to represent totalitarianism and extreme oppression.
In practically any media text, the conflicting ideologies have an unlimited amount of interpretations, and I will purpose to incorporate this element into my original film idea, as not only can it allow for messages to be more clearly delivered, but it also helps drive narratives and dialogue, as I have learned in my past research.
Insider, M. (2021, November 21). What is Binary Opposition?. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO0O8IyMCBU
MyTutor. (n.d.). What is Levi Strauss’ theory of binary opposites? https://www.mytutor.co.uk/answers/8161/A-Level/Media-Studies/What-is-Levi-Strauss-Theory-of-Binary-Opposites/
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