Binary Opposites

What are the binary opposites of...

• Strong• Powerful• Active• Heroic• Good• Dominant• Practical• Logical

What are the binary opposites of...

• Strong• Powerful• Active• Heroic• Good• Dominant• Practical• Logical

• Weak• Powerless• Passive• Cowardly• Evil• Submissive• Impractical• Illogical

Watch this scene from Spiderman 2 (Raimi, 2004).

Identify the binary opposites that have been used and explain:

1. How do they enhance the narrative?2. How do they create a sense of masculinity and

femininity?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=fvwp&v=N6AoCZ2CaBI

Watch this clip from Zombieland (Fleischer, 2009).(Shopping mall scene – where the female characters are introduced)Explain how the narrative plays on audience expectations of binary opposites?

Compare this to the ending of the film. Does the representation of men/women change at the end?