Binary Oppositions and Ideology in Narrative

Ideology is a system of meaning that helps [blank] and [blank] the world and makes value judgments about that world.

• smell and taste

• define and explain

• obscure and confuse

• anger and frustrate

The two terms within a binary opposition are generally considered to be of equal status.

• True

• False

According to Todorov, what is the basic structural pattern to narratives?

• Stable situation 1 -> Disruption -> Stable situation 2

• Disruption, disruption, more disruption, everyone dies or is sad

• Stable situation, everyone remains content

• There is no basic structure

Identify the best binary oppositions of the following: Nature, Man, Old, Rural.

• Path; Dog; Baby; Town

• Environment, Teenager, Elderly, Country

• Plants; War; Young; Population

• Culture; Woman; Young; Urban

According to Berger, when it comes to the portrayal of men and women in film, men act and women...?

• Do not

• Sing

• Appear

• Also act

The ending of a film can tell us about the film's ideological position.

• True

• False

O'Shaughnessy and Stadler identify 6 useful questions to ask about any narrative - which of these questions is NOT one?

• Are women positioned differently from men in the narrative?

• Am I enjoying the narrative?

• Who or what makes things happen in the narrative?

• What is the dominant discourse, or hierarchy of discourses?

Propp identified 7 main character "roles" - which three are in that list?

• The doctor, the teacher, the project officer

• The tall one, the short one, the athletic one

• The false hero, the dispatcher, the donor (or provider)

• The tired one, the Blacksmith, the academic one