Claude Lévi-Strauss's Theory

Hell'o, Akhil here!!!

Lévi-Strauss held that cultures and stories are organized through binary oppositions, i.e., pairs of coordinating terms or ideas that are opposites of each other. The conflict between the opposites propels the story and makes meaning. In the opening scene, there are various primary binary oppositions:

Life vs. Death: This is the basic conflict propelling the horror storyline. The living students must battle against the ghostly spirit of Ethan Graves, dead. The story is a clash between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

Innocence vs. Evil: The teenagers are first seen as innocent teens in a harmless game of truth or dare. This is juxtaposed with the evil, malevolent ghost of Ethan Graves. From the innocent game to the ending scare, it represents the contamination of innocence by an invisible evil.

Safety vs. Danger: Safety is created at the start of the film. The students are in a safe environment, a school and a playground, and are playing a routine game. This safety is then contrasted directly with danger in the "haunted room" and the threat of the supernatural force. Through this contrast, the film creates suspense and fear.

Light and Dark: This is a traditional visual and thematic contrast. The movie starts off with images of a sunlit, bright playground and a well-lit crowd of students. The final, however, is set in a dimly lit, dark hallway and a blacked-out room.  Darkness represents evil, death, and the unknown, while light means life and protection.

Truth or Dare: The "truth or dare" game is a literal concretion of a binary opposition. Truth is honesty, reality, and maybe the security of selecting a known fact. Dare is risk, lying, and venturing into the unknown and dangerous. The film's climax follows from the selection of "dare" and puts the protagonist directly into a dangerous situation.

Childhood and Adulthood: The playground, represented by its swings and slides, is a representation of childhood, innocence, and free roaming. This is offset against the more adult and sinister elements of horror, death, and risk-taking, which may be interpreted as elements of forced or premature adulthood. The character of Ethan Graves, a bullied kid who never grew up, supports this dichotomy.

Social Inclusion and Exclusion: The class of students embodies social inclusion, close groups of friends. Ethan Graves, however, is "unremarkable" and "grew to keep people at a distance," pointing to his social exclusion. The narrative implies that such exclusion is the trigger for the supernatural, providing a moral lesson about marginalizing others.