is there structuralism in TAOK?

Question 1

YES - Todorov

Answer 1

we follow the journey of Anwar realising the gravity of what he has done, and becoming uncomfortable with what he has done, instead of confident

e.g. dancing on the roof to dry retching on the roof

Question 2

YES - Propp

Answer 2

Anwar is presented as the protagonist, as we mainly follow him and watch his emotions develop, whereas with characters like yapto and adi we only see negative things about them - they are evil who cannot be changed

e.g. car scene, golf scene, shopping scene, lunch scene

Question 3

YES - cook

Answer 3

• follows the making of Anwar and his friends creating a film and the process of talking/acting out the scenes
• we see film sets and costume desgin which makes sense within the context as Anwar and his friends constantly are talking about the scenes that they want to film

e.g. Anwar’s dream creation

Question 4

NO - Todorov

Answer 4

• there is no specific storyline, we ae just watching these people live their everyday lives, and it is by chance that Anwar has sudden sympathy for his victims
• Oppenheimer didn’t instruct him to act/feel this way in order to create a new equilibrium

Question 5

NO - Propp

Answer 5

all characters can be seen as the villain as we are following the story of murderers who killed thousands of people, therefore cannot be a ‘good guy’ in the cast

Question 6

NO - Cook

Answer 6

• random fantasy and dream-like sequences that do not make sense, as we assume that the film takes place in the real world
• reminds us that we are watching a film and lets us know that the ‘dream-like sequences’ are fake and not to be taken seriously as real life