ABSTRACT
Todorov, like Lévi-Strauss, was interested in the possibility that all stories share similar narrative features, and that, if we can understand and detect those features, we can better comprehend the hidden meanings that media texts present to their audiences. The crucial difference between Todorov and Lévi-Strauss, however, lies in the former theorist’s assertion that stories do not just construct oppositions, but that characters and ideas are transformed by oppositional forces. More importantly, the recognition of those transformations by audiences creates moments of ideological instruction, prompting readers and viewers to transform their own real world behaviours.
