APPLYING LEVI-STRAUSS'S THEORY OF BINARY OPPOSITES - The Incredibles

The opening scene of The Incredibles (Bird 2004) is nolonger available on the internet to embed here, however here is the trailer to the film to give a sense of what it is about:





1. What is the genre of the film? How are the genre signifiers introduced?

‘The Incredibles’ is a children’s superhero film. This is shown by many factor’s, the most obvious being the use of animation rather than real people. Animation and cartoon is a popular element of children’s entertainment. The opening line of dialogue, “Is this on?”, is a comedic line, which tells us that the upcoming story is a light hearted, childish one. The superhero theme is immediately signified by the first character that we see: Mr Incredible in a blue superhero suit.

2. Who are the main characters and how are they opposed?

The main character in the opening scene is Mr Incredible. We are shown this by having him in almost every scene in the sequence. Two other superheroes, Elastigirl and Frozone are also introduced to us, alongside Mr Incredible. The audience understands that these are the good characters through the use of even lighting (no harsh shadows) and their light coloured costumes. These three superheroes are opposed to Incrediboy, an annoying wanna-be superhero, the thief, Bomb Voyage, both criminals. These oppositions are shown through the dialogue, but mostly through the action, especially the scene from 6:30 to 7:40, when Mr Incredible, Bomb Voyage and Incrediboy have a confrontation.

3. What are the main themes of the film and how are they introduced?

The main themes of the film are Good vs. Evil, in terms of superheroes fighting eachother. Adventure and action are both important themes of superhero movies, as are crime, super powers and missions. Secrecy and identity are themes that are introduced during the interview sequence at the start. The presence of police and mention of a lawsuit in the ‘newsflash’ sequence suggest that law is a theme of the film. Love and family is also an important theme, as Mr Incredible and Elastigirl get married.

4. How is the narrative organised to show conflict?

The narrative begins with interviews, then switch to real time, showing a police chase. This establishes the ‘goodies’ and the ‘badies’. Dialogue and action is an important tool for establishing conflicts between characters. Throughout the opening sequence, there are confrontations between typical criminals and the superheroes, in the form of chases, ending in the superhero’s foe being captured.