Levi Strauss's Theory of Binary Opposites

Its a Boy/Girl Thing


1. What is the genre of the film? How are the genre signifiers introduced?
The genre of the film is a romantic comedy/ chick flick. We can clearly see this is a classic romantic story whereby the two main characters begin by hating each other and grow to love each other by the way they are so strongly separated at the beginning (by the tree) yet live so close together. This connotes that they are in fact very similar (live near) but just haven't realised yet or their vision has been blocked (again by the tree)- a classic start to a many romantic comedies. It also starts with a very teenage, upbeat, song playing 'mystical- shake yo ass' which automatically makes us think this is a lighthearted film, and this also brings the comedy affect as we know this is what a lot of teenage boys actually listen to. The setting is also very signific to a teenage American romantic comedy, they are usually set in a suburban american area where all the houses are big and people live a certain stylalised way. We can also tell this is a teenage movie as it is set in a high school as well, signifying the movie will be about different cliques competing or coming together and merging in some way (in this case the two peoples bodies changing and them then falling in love). 


2. Who are the main characters and how are they opposed?
The two main characters are Woody and Nell. Nell is the teenage girl living on one side of the tree and Woody is the teenage boy living on the other. They ae very much opposed at the beginning by what they are each doing, Nell is reading showing she is very intellectual and focused on her studies while Woody is dancing around his room showing he is upbeat and carefree. Noise is another element that opposes them, Woodys room is very noisy showing he is rebellious, whereas Nells room is very quiet showing she is controlled and mature. Nells room is also very pink and tidy indicating a very presteen and girly girl (and not really how a teenage girls room would be). Woodys room is a dark blue, very messy with a lot of posters covering the walls showing he is very manick and a bit slobbish (how we would expect a boys room to be). They are even opposed in what the eat for breakfast and the way they eat it, Woody has a very greasy fried breakfast with lots of noise, the dad reading the paper while the mum is cooking, ( busy and bustled) while Nell is eating as a clean white table, in almost silence, with musley from a bowl, very bleak and boring. So instantly from the opening sequence we can see our two main characters are very different and this indeed causes them to have a clash in character and not get along very well at all. 


3.What are the main themes of the film and how are they introduced?
The main theme of the film is romance, and we can see this from the drawn montage at the beginning where we see the main characters were once friends but grew apart, suggesting although they now do not get along, they will eventually become friends again. Another theme could be comedy, clearly shown through the choice of opening song, being quite crude, and the boys dancing, being funny. Also where the girls top get ripped off could be considered funny to a more male audience, as the main boy character also finds it funny. A theme could also be conforming, as we can see that the out of the two characters one will not be conforming to the high school ways, as they are both so different, so the story could be about the boy r girl realising she/he does not have to conform to the school and can become and date whoever he wants. 


4.  How is the narrative organised to show conflict?
The narrative is organised to show conflict by the constant cutting between the two very different lives, so put across that they are SO different that it will cause some conflict or disagreement in the future of the story. The start of the film also starts with a petty argument between our two main characters to show that their judgements already do not agree to one anothers', and this pettyness will continue into the movie.