Levi-Strauss and Barthesnarrative theory

Levi-Strauss and binary oppositions.

• Claude Levi Strauss, a French theorist (not the jeans!) gave media studies a number of influential theories that help us to understand how meaning is established quickly in openings.

• Binary Oppositions create meaning through establishing what something is not. We understand the world through a system of power weighted oppositions.

Binary Oppositions• Man vs Woman• Whitevs Black• Young vs Old• Hero vs Villain• West vs East• Good vs Bad

• Which of these lists have the most power?

Theories of Narrative Claude LEVI-STRAUSS

Claude Levi-Strauss is most noted for his theory of Binary Oppositions.

French structuralist, 1970s

In order to find those oppositions, Levi-Strauss was less interested in how events line up in the narrative structure to develop the plot,

than paradigmatic relations i.e. those events and features that belong to the theme, especially within genre based texts.

Theories of Narrative Claude LEVI-STRAUSS

Levi-Strauss used the ‘Western’ film genre to develop his theory of Binary Oppositions.

French structuralist

Homesteaders Native Americans

Christian Pagan

Domsetic Savage

Weak Strong

Garden Wilderness

Inside society Outside society

detective villain

princess femme fatale?

criminal ‘straight’

weak strong

safe streets ‘mean streets’

sane mad

poor ? rich

Theories of Narrative Claude LEVI-STRAUSS

Levi-Strauss used the ‘Western’ film genre to develop his theory of Binary Oppositions.

French structuralist

Theories of Narrative Claude LEVI-STRAUSS

BLOG TASK:

Explain what BINARY OPPOSITES are.

What binary oppositions can you think of from the crime or horror genres?

French structuralist

Roland Barthes was born on the 12th November 1915 and died at the age of 64 on the 25th

March 1980. He was a French literary theorist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician

(study of cultural signs and symbols). He explored a diverse range of fields and he influenced the development of schools.

Roland Barthes(Basic Info)

Roland Barthes describes a text as: "a galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signifieds; it has no beginning; it is reversible; we gain access to it by several entrances, none of which can be authoritatively declared to be the main one; the codes it mobilizes extend as far as the eye can read, they are indeterminable...the systems of meaning can take over this absolutely plural text, but their number is never closed, based as it is on the infinity of language..." (S/Z - 1974 translation)

Codes Theory

• The text is like a tangled ball of threads • The thread needs to unravelled • Once unravelled, we encounter an absolute wide range

of potential meanings. • We can start by looking at a narrative in one way, from

one viewpoint, one set of previous experience, and create one meaning for that text.

• You can continue by unravelling the narrative from a different angle and create an entirely different meaning.

What he meant …

“Barthes said that texts may be ´open´ or ´closed´”

Roland Barthes

• Barthes identifies 5 narrative codes which readers use to decode texts.

• He emphasises the active role of readers in creating meaning, and their ‘culturally formed expectations’.

• The narrative codes are:– Action– Enigma– Semantic– Symbolic– Cultural

• The Hermeneutic Code (HER)

• The Enigma/ Proairetic Code (ACT)

• The Symbolic Code (SYM)

• The Cultural Code (REF)

• The Semantic Code (SEM)

Linguist Roland Barthes narrowed down the action of a text in to Five Codes which are woven into any narrative:

The Hermeneutic Code (Action)

Is the way the story avoids telling the truth or revealing all the facts, in order to drop clues in through out to help

create mystery.

The Enigma

The way the tension is built up and the audience is left guessing what happens next

The Semantic Code

The semantic code points to any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation which the story suggests.

Connotation= cultural/underlining meaning, what it symbolises.

The Symbolic Code

This is very similar to the Semantic Code, but acts at a wider level, organizing semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning. This is typically done in the use of antithesis, where new meaning arises out of opposing and conflict ideas.

The Cultural Code

Looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge, morality and ideology.

Barthes – Narrative Codes

• Action – Viewers are expected to connect different pieces of narrative (e.g. The boy is shown arguing on his phone – viewer assumes it is with his girlfriend).

• Enigma – Will the jock and the geek get together?• Semantic – glasses, book, notepads, red car, uniforms,

white dress/red dress• Symbolic – conflicts between male/female,

popular/unpopular, different types of femininity• Cultural – the video draws on stereotypes/cliches of

teen movies – jock, cheerleader, geek, girl next door, prom, etc.

Homework

• Write up both theories.• Use a Disney film to demonstrate your

understanding of Levi-Strauss.