EVALUATE MEDIA LANGUAGE: LEVI-STRAUSS

 Levi-Strauss emphasises the importance of binary oppositions in narratives. These oppositions are pairs of conflicting forces that help structure meaning within a text. Identifying them can reveal ideological messages, as narratives often position one side of the opposition as dominant while challenging or subverting it. Levi-Strauss’s theory is particularly useful in long-form TV drama, where conflict is essential for driving the story.

A range of binary oppositions can be identified in Stranger Things, such as adult/child, safety/vulnerability, power/weakness, authority/powerlessness, and science/paranormal. While the adults in Hawkins, particularly the government and police, initially appear to hold power, the narrative ultimately challenges their authority. The children, particularly Eleven, are shown to be more resourceful and courageous than the adults, and the government is depicted as corrupt and ineffective. This suggests a critique of institutional power, reinforcing Levi-Strauss’s idea that narratives reflect deeper ideological struggles. Similarly, Eleven’s character disrupts traditional gender roles, balancing physical strength with emotional fragility, which challenges dominant ideas about masculinity and femininity.

Deutschland 83 also constructs meaning through binary oppositions, particularly East/West, authority/individual, loyalty/betrayal, and tradition/progress. Initially, East Germany is depicted as rigid and oppressive, while the West is shown as vibrant and full of opportunity. However, the series complicates these oppositions. Martin, an East German soldier forced into espionage, begins to see the flaws in both systems. The West, while seemingly freer, is also depicted as morally ambiguous, rife with corruption and self-interest. This reflects the idea that binary oppositions in long-form TV drama often subvert expectations, making ideological conflicts more complex than a simple good-versus-evil structure.

While Levi-Strauss’s theory is useful for highlighting ideological struggles, one limitation is that it assumes binary oppositions function in fixed, hierarchical ways. In reality, long-form TV drama often blurs these distinctions. In Stranger Things, adults are not uniformly incompetent—Joyce Byers is a determined mother who refuses to conform to traditional expectations of female helplessness, while Hopper transitions from a jaded authority figure to a protector. Similarly, Deutschland 83 refuses to present Martin’s journey as a straightforward shift from East to West ideology. Instead, his growing doubts about both sides highlight the instability of these oppositions. This suggests that binary oppositions are not always rigid structures but are often fluid and evolving.

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Another criticism of Levi-Strauss’s model is that it does not fully account for character development and audience interpretation. Binary oppositions may create narrative tension, but audience engagement often depends on emotional connection to characters rather than ideological conflicts. For example, in Stranger Things, much of the audience’s investment in the story comes from the relationships between characters—Mike and Eleven’s bond, Joyce’s desperate search for Will—rather than just the oppositions between science and the paranormal or authority and rebellion. Likewise, in Deutschland 83, Martin’s internal conflict is more compelling than the East/West divide itself, as audiences relate to his personal struggle rather than just the ideological battle he is caught in. This suggests that while binary oppositions provide structural foundations for narratives, they are not always the most important factor in audience engagement.

Additionally, Levi-Strauss’s theory does not fully consider the impact of historical and political context on how binary oppositions are interpreted. Deutschland 83 is set during the Cold War, a period where ideological oppositions between East and West were a real political reality, not just a narrative device. While the show plays with these oppositions, audiences with different cultural backgrounds or historical knowledge may interpret them differently. Similarly, Stranger Things draws heavily on 1980s nostalgia, which influences how its binary oppositions are framed. The portrayal of government conspiracy, for example, aligns with real-world anxieties about secrecy and Cold War paranoia. This demonstrates that meaning is shaped not only by narrative structure but also by cultural and historical context, something Levi-Strauss’s model does not fully address.

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Ultimately, while Levi-Strauss’s theory provides a valuable framework for analysing how conflict structures narratives, it has limitations. Stranger Things and Deutschland 83 both use binary oppositions to shape their stories, but these oppositions are often challenged, subverted, or redefined. Additionally, audience engagement is influenced by factors beyond binary structures, such as character development, emotional storytelling, and historical context. Therefore, while Levi-Strauss’s ideas help in identifying ideological conflicts, they are most effective when applied alongside other analytical approaches.

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