Structuralism

So, heres a couple of thoughts on a recent lecture on Structuralism. Structuralism refers to the ideas of binary opposites; for example, good and evil. I struggled a little bit to engage with this lecture, but some concepts that we looked at were interesting. For instance, we were introduced to the idea of the "anomalous zone" which describes the place that exists between the two extreme binary opposites in a given circumstance. For instance, in the original Star Wars trilogy, the two main characters are Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader; at the outset, Luke appears to be pure good, and Vader pure evil. However, through the course of the trilogy, Luke and Vader are, at times, dragged into the anomalous zone as they struggle with the temptations of the other side. This is finally results in Vader's redemption in the final film, as he destroys his evil master before his death.

I found that elements of structuralism tied into something that a guest lecturer, Arno Krimmer, discussed with us. He took us through the idea of the "Hero's Journey", a very common plot line for films. Many ideas related to structuralism are tied into this, because the hero's journey relies upon temptation, the anomalous zone, and conflict between binary opposites of some kind, often good and evil.