Thinking Activity: Structuralism

STRUCTURALISM

Welcome Readers!

                                         As we know that language is a complex phenomenon which enables the users of that language to grasp an individual outcome as well as it is free to be used in social context also. Language helps to make a narrative by weaving a set of episodes into a whole which in one way or the other connotes something. These fragmented pieces of connotations are studied by structuralists in a detailed manner and this is what makes the narrative interesting and familiar yet unknown and hidden ideas, concepts and provides us with different kinds of invisible phenomena to make understanding of the world in a different manner.

                                       There are various theories to analyze a work of art. Structuralism is one such theory which examines the underlying structure of any literary text or texts and connects it to a larger structure. The structuralist theory assures that the text must set free from all the context of the author, history or the interpretation of readers. A structural analysis aims to find underlying meanings and contexts.

                                                As for example if we take the institution of marriage, it can be said that the structures which are underlying under the institution is family planning, entering into a new home for a woman, entering into a wedding life, etc. These underlying patterns in totality makes an institution called marriage.

                                             The key the assumption is that we build up our sense of structures from an observation of binary oppositions that are very basic contrasting relationships, between red and green, or circles and squares.

                                                In this blog post, I have briefly explained the theory of structuralism and tried to interpret a film by thinking about how the film can be viewed by the spectacles of structuralism.


                                                    Have you ever wondered if there exist any fairy in the world! Like how people tell a fairy tale seems like there would be a fairy or a real fairy godmother who saves the little girls at the end of all struggles. However, the idea is the same as the idea of god. The way literature tells the story of legendary actions of Aschellus or Odysseus in Greek or the idealistic life of Rama narrated in Ramayana, in the same manner, there are stories of fairies and all fantastical world but there is no such thing as Fairy in this world. So the fan of Plato will question that why ever such a narration is made or even exists if its totally a fake world! Well, the answer is too simple that everything which cannot be narrated directly can be easily shown or expressed through the road of such narratives. 

                                                   Some authoritative minds cannot be changed or their mindsets seem difficult to modify and so with such an innocent world, the harsh realities can be directly satirized as for example the novel by George Orwell called 'Animal Farm' is a fable or a fairy story but the narration reveals it as a satire on political ideology and the misuse of power in communist society. This way the narrative structure reveals the hidden signs and symbols which the surface reading may not reveal. 

                                                   Coming back to fairy story or fairy tale or fantastical narration, it may seem that the text at the surface level means something else but while analyzing from the structuralist point of view it would reveal something else. The deeper study of signs would signify the abstract concept which may lead us to a different narrative or perhaps the novel narrative. Here, I have taken two films as a text which would help to find a set of structures that would signify a concept and would lead me to a different narrative where these structures will be seen properly. 

                                        

 Here is the film in which I am about to apply structural theory-

'Beauty and The Beast' is a 2017 American musical romantic fantasy film directed by Bill Condon from a screenplay written by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Mandeville Films.

Plot- A selfish prince is cursed to become a monster for the rest of his life unless he learns to fall in love with a beautiful young woman he keeps prisoner. (Click here to navigate to Wikipedia page of the film)

                                                         From the surface level the film seems to be a tale of a young prince and his admiration for external beauty which leads him turning into a hideous beast and simultaneously a young book lover Bella’s story progresses where she journeys to find her father and learns about the curse of the enchantress on the proud prince and then she rescues him. It can be observed that for the in the film like ‘Beauty and the Beast’, it’s the girl or a female who rescues the male/prince which perhaps breaks the stereotype that all men are only capable of doing saving! And here the rose becomes a symbol that connects all the episodes of the narrative. 

The structure of a Fantasy-

                                            Generally, a fantasy movie has an imaginative setting involving the following assumed common elements -

                                                            Well, these elements, if we try to analyze in the ‘Beauty and the Beast’, has certain similarities which convinces us to differentiate it from other genres and instead categorizing it under the genre called ‘fantasy’. “Fantasy movies are mostly based on fantasy stories and are often based on a variety of story types, narrative movies with distinctive savage characteristics and conflicts of good and evil. Fantasy movies are an integrated type that transcends ordinary classic types. The film is also a kind of large-scale film in our general sense. So the structure of this film is that it is a fairy tale basically an old one. This can be known from the words like-

“Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast”

                                                           The film has the same structure of a classic French fairy tale, besides this, the film has beautifully animated scenes where technology creates a spectacular visual and audio effect and presents a viewer with a fairy tale world that is both dreamlike and authentic. Right from the beginning, it carries a spell of an enchantress, and this rose leads the Prince to understand the significance of internal beauty. 

                                                        The film has a distinctive narrative where love plays a vital role. It’s not the stereotypical love which occurs between a Prince and a princess or a wealthy Prince and an ordinary girl (like Cinderella), but a love which we observe in fantasy novels like The Twilight saga wherein it is human and vampire, or human and elf in other narratives but here it is Human and Beast ( a hideous Beast). The language of the film is also much Fabricated.

                                                     So, by and large, the structure of this fantasy film leads the audience to the significance of a rose and its petals as well as the deepest structures open up a new dimensional approach of viewing it from a novel perspective.  Let us explore the film. 

                                             Structuralism argues that there must be a structure in every text that makes a difference for a reader or audience and a critic in analyzing a work of art. Anything that is shown or written seemed to be under the control of the “grammar of literature” which coordinates the events and situations in such a way that one event or the situation becomes the link for another situation or event.

                                               Now if we watch the film, the very first scene is of a ball dance with a neoclassical setting of a large kingdom and all the wonderful aristocrats dancing with a high makeup on their face, having a kind of festive mood and the all the amazing ladies trying to impress the rude and “unkind prince” as the narrator informs the audience-

“Once upon a time in the hidden heart of France, a handsome young Prince lived in a beautiful castle...”

This rose represents the Beast and his soul. 

                                          As we all know, rose had been the most amazing symbol in the world of literature, it has a contextual significance. If we open up the structures like what a 'rose' means? How a 'rose' can signify the structures of the text? Talking about this particular text, why only the red rose is used and not of any other color? What can a rose which is 'red' mean? How can a red rose differ from the roses of other colors?

                                           Generally, looking at a larger context a rose can mean different things at different places. Like a rose can be a symbol of love and on the very other hands, it can mean confidentiality. 

                                                 The ancient Greeks and Romans associated roses with Aphrodite and Venus, goddess of love. In ancient Rome, a wild rose was placed on the door to a room where confidential matters were being discussed. Each color offers a distinct meaning: red, the lover's rose signifies enduring passion; white, humility and innocence; yellow, expressing friendship and joy; pink, gratitude, appreciation and admiration; orange, enthusiasm, and desire; white lilac and purple roses represent enchantment and love at first sight.

                                                 Here, if we take 'Beauty and the Beast' as a text it has a red rose which means it signifies passion. The passion of a young prince towards mere and artificial beauty who "taxed the village to fill his castle with the most beautiful objects" deeply concerned about the materialistic things and ignoring the true nature of Nature. Once an old woman enters the castle and seeks shelter from the violent storm. She offers a red rose to the Prince but he, in a harsh manner ignores it so she “warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.”


                                            The narrator informs “….and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there.” This can be observed from the following videos-

                                                

This way, it can be said that structuralism operates in the film in a different way. 

 If we closely examine, the structures of fantasy have a great resemblance to religion and some of the religious practices. The way fantasy has supernatural events, people still narrate some religious stories with supernatural powers or superhumans that are gods, who largely practice magic to make ordinary people believe in them. Or some of them even spells on the ordinary human beings to flaunt their dominance and power. Almost all the ancient greek gods or gods from Hindu Mythology has an animal with them as their servant. Well, all these can be a tale perhaps which drives a culture somewhere in the dark. It is a cultural force. 


The application of post-structuralism can also be applied in the fairy tales like for example, the postfeminist romance musical animated Disney film 'Frozen' is a 3D animated film where children enjoy the icy powers of Elsa, a fearless princess who fights against all odds and it has a happy ending where the princess unites with her beloved sister. But if we look from a structuralist point of view-

1.       Third-wave feminist princess.

2.     Perhaps, a film that normalizes Homosexuality

3.    No longer waits for a prince to save her (breaking the stereotypical mentality that every woman needs a man to save her)

Thank you.