Levi-Strauss' Theory

Claude Levi-Strauss' came up with a narrative theory of binary opposites, and this theory can be applied to In The Shadows. There are many binary opposites in our film, mainly emphasised by the characters Holly and Michael - some examples are:

Good and Evil: Although cliché, we found that towards the end of our film there is a very clear divide between good and evil, despite that line being blurred throughout most of the film. This is represented at the end when, at the end of the film, Holly realises that one of her best friends has been kidnapped - by Michael. She goes and helps her while Michael has clearly hurt her. However the lines are blurred once more when Holly realises that Michael has turned himself into the police.

Introvert and Extrovert: The main character, Holly, is represented as being quite extroverted in the first part of the film. She is confident and enjoys going out and spending time with her friends. However as she begins to believe that she is 'haunted' or 'cursed', this starts to change. She spends less time with her friends, thinking that she is protecting them, but makes herself and her mental health worse by completely isolating herself. The idea of being introverted is also seen with Michael as he spends most of his time alone, when he isn't out committing crimes.

Male and Female: This is another obvious 'opposite' and wasn't seen much until the end, due to Michael's role being so downplayed until the last section.

Private and Public: Another opposite we tried to emphasise in the film was how people behave in public compared to how they behave in private when no one can see them. Holly is confident, happy, friendly and popular when in public, but when she's alone she is often seen as being low, upset and scared, and sometimes angry. However the contrast is clearer with Michael as he behaves fairly normally when lots of people can see him, but when left alone he is completely erratic, fuelled with jealousy and obviously incredibly violent.