- it's an idea that can be applied to all media texts.
- In the mid 20th century, Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes had the idea that the way that people understand words depends not on its meaning but on the word and its 'binary opposite'.
- words act as symbols for society's idea
- the meaning of words is a relationship between opposite ideas, rather than a fixed thing.
Examples
- good and evil
- young and old
- weak and strong
- rich and poor
Todorov - States of Equilibrium
Propp - Character types/ spheres of action
