Levi Strauss' Binary Opposites Theory

The Binary Opposites Theory by Levi Strauss can be found in most stories and media texts. It's when there are two sides that are stereotypically the exact opposite in a narrative. Binary opposites are used to create conflict in a story and make the story interesting to the consumer. Binary opposites will always include two opposites such as:

Protagonist vs Antagonist 

Man vs Woman

Humanity vs Technology

Equality vs Injustice

Love vs Hate

Case Study - Alienoid Part 1 (2022)

Spoiler Alert!!

Alienoid is a science fantasy action film about taoist magicians from 630 years ago racing to obtain the divine blade and humans from the present time hunting down alien prisoners that are locked up in the human brain. The two sides crosses path when a time travel portal opens up.

In this movie, Binary Opposites are included to lead the conflicts and drive the narrative forward.

These are some so them: 

Future vs Past

Ian from the future was competing with taoists from the past to obtain the divine blade.

Good vs Evil

In this movie the protagonist (Guard and Ian) was fighting the antagonist (The Controller and alien prisoners) to save humanity. The protagonist was portrayed as the good by their cool outfits, good looking actor/actress and kind actions while the antagonist was portrayed as the bad ones by their creepy looks, mean expressions and untidy visual.

Human vs Alien

The leader of the alien prisoners was fighting human to release other alien prisoners. They released "Haava" from their spaceship which are the atmosphere from their planet which can kill humans and unleash the prisoners inside their brain.

Safety vs Danger 

Ian (child) made the decision to go with her dad (Guard) on a mission to stop the alien prisoners which is highly dangerous instead of seeking for safety like what her dad asked her to do.

Blue vs Red

The Controller and Guard are both robots. The Controller emits red light while Guard emits blue light which will help viewers to differentiate between the good and the bad, especially when they were fighting on their spaceship. Blue is chosen as a color for the protagonist as it connotes wisdom and faith while red connotes blood and anger.

Traditional vs Modern

The people from the past were using traditional clothings, they were also using traditional weapons while the people from the future were using modern clothings and they also use guns as their weapon. This helps viewers to easily identify and differentiate them.

ALIENOID Official Trailer