Introduction

A binary opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. Binary opposition is the system of language and/or thought by which two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another. Binary opposition is a key concept in structuralism, a theory of sociology, anthropology, and linguistics that states that all elements of human culture can only be understood in relation to one another and how they function within a larger system or the overall environment.

With his belief in structuralism, Levi-Strauss asserted that the human mind classifies things through binary opposition, the contrasts between two opposite things. It is this binary opposition that leads cultures to think in terms of good and bad. Additionally, Levi-Strauss studied many myths and legends from all around the world and came to the conclusion that we make sense of the worlds using binary opposition. He found that narratives are arranged around the concept of binary opposites.

Some Examples:

• Hot and Cold
• Wealth and Poverty
• Win and Loss
• Female and Male
• Devotion and Abandonment
• Positive and Negative
• Colour and Monochrome
• Natural and Manmade
• Kind and Inconsiderate
• Old and New

In many binary opposition examples, people are broadly divided into two groups. This can create an ”us versus them” situation where people see themselves as fundamentally different from another group of people. Often, this kind of thinking gives rise to the concept of ”the other” where some people see other people as abnormal, unnatural, dangerous, or fundamentally different. The concept of the other is often used in literature as a way to explore characters, their motivations, and the broader societal implications of those motivations. 

A problem with binary opposites is that they may oftentime perpetuate negative stereotypes. For example, if the binary opposite was man vs. woman, according to gender stereotypes, the man may be portrayed to be ‘strong’ whereas the woman is the ‘damsel in distress’. It is important to see how these stereotyes have changed in media forms over time. Also, in more recent years, binary opposites are not so clear cut – they can be complex and there may be multiple binary opposites between two characters.

My Future Project

For my future project we are going to be focusing on the idea of ‘Simple or Complex’, I would like to approach this concept by going for a walk from my mums house in St Saviour, to my dads house in St Clement. This normally takes about 40 minutes and will allow me to take photographs that will link to memories I have during my childhood, as we used to walk this route together sometimes. In addition to this, I will be taking portraits of my mum, brother and dad to put into my future photobook, as I think creating a book for this project will increase the successfulness of my initial concept and I hope this turns out well.

I would like to also include old family album pictures, ones that include images of my dad in my mums current house, as this will incorporate a nostalgic and very personal aspect to my project, this is important as the concept of going on a walk will be made more interesting by including images of my family in special locations we visited frequently when I was a child. Along will all of the personal elements, I would like to still really focus on creating outcomes that are landscapes images, as they are one of my strengths and I do find them interesting to take. The walk will also include aspects and close up shots of natural life and

I think the the concept of ‘Simple or Complex’ is one which can be approached very deeply and can have a lot of meaning connected to it. It just depends of your mindset and perceptive which means that you can either comprehend photographs as simple or complex, and this study challenges that idea in itself.