How useful has an ideological approach been in understanding binary oppostions in the narrative of Trainspotting?

How useful has an ideological approach been in understanding binary oppostions in the narrative of Trainspotting?


Binary oppositions often create conflict, which drives the narrative. The films I have studied use a wide range of oppositions that reflect internal dilemmas and external forces that represent ideological values that pull the protagonists and their worlds in different directions, creating the drive and drama of the films and fuel the demographics desire for resolution.

The primary binary opposite I would like to discuss is the betrayal vs friendship opposition that creates a sense of mistrust and fear within the characters as well as the narrative and questions the demographics morals and everyday ideological views.

In the penultimate sequence we see the binary opposite visualised in the moment where Renton embezzles the money and flees from his so call "Friends". The scene is shot from a long shot of Renton walking across a bridge in London, the protagonist  then makes direct address to the camera and smirks as he makes the realisation that he has gotten away with the task. Renton symbolises right-winged Thatcherism showing the selfishness of politics and London in the 1980's where as his friends symbolise the 1970's where Margret Thatcher was in power and they also convey the sense of not being selfish.

Through-out the film, Renton's voice over is deemed convincing to the audience in adjacent with non-diegetic "Brit-Pop" soundtrack it offers us (the demographic) an energetic youthful and immersive hyper-reality. The aesthetic of addiction is used from the outset of the motion picture to explore this binary opposition, later in the sequence the visuals show us the contrast; At the opium den. The mis-en-scene of the location is dingy and sickly green , the camera pans along the floor from the perspective of Sick Boy's baby showing us that their world is revolting and dangerous and therefore their ideology is less desirable then ours.

Another binary opposition I would like to explore is that of 1980's vs. 1990's. The demographic see the 1980's through the character lens of Renton and the group however, we see 1990's through the character lens of Diane , a school girl from Leith. From the moment we meet Diane on screen she asserts her dominance through her confident demeanour. When Renton meets Diane the audience automatically realise that she has the control in the convosation. This can be interpreted as the 1980's (Renton) being pushed and controlled by the 1990's (Diane) showing how society is moving on from the 80's. We see this when Diane lectures Renton on how "Life is moving on. You can't sit in your flat all day smoking pot. The world is moving on, everything is changing. Drugs are changing. Clubs are changing. People are changing. You have to move with the times or be forgotten about.". This shows how Renton knew he had to change or he would be stuck in a pit of the 1980's and stay the heroin junkie he is perceived to be throughout the film.

An additional binary opposite I would like to discuss is that of group vs. the individual, this leads the demographic to reflect on political ideologies, the individual representing a capitalist idea and the group portrayed as a socialist idea. Renton is portrayed as an alienated individual throughout Trainspotting. We are shown this through the camera as he is shot apart from the rest of the group. In the opening scene he lies in a corpse like and unconscious manner in another room from the others, this shows the physical barriers between him and the rest of the group. In my opinion, this could be used to imply that he is not the same type of addict as the rest of the group but rather he is less of a threat to society and himself. This allows us, the audience, to sympathise and emote with him more than the other characters. However, this could be argued that if the audience saw the story through perhaps Spud or Sick Boy's point of view, would we as the audience align ourselves with Renton. Would we sympathise with him or rather have an oppositional reading to him? Renton betrays his friends ( as previously stated in the first paragraph) which reinforces that a strong willed , possibly even a capitalist individual is more powerful then a group of socialists.

A male vs. female binary opposite is not at the forefront of the films messages or ideologies however plays a massive part in the subliminal messages through out the film. In the motion picture, the narrative is delivered to us through Renton's point of view, a male voice and a male story. Women are seen as "extras" in the film and do not play a huge role narratively. This is shown in the opening scene the camera lingers on Alison (the only female addict) as Renton describes the feeling of Heroin as orgasmic. We can also tell that female characters do not play a massive part in the narrative as the camera has a different style of movement and cuts away from their reactions much quicker. We can also link the ideology of group vs. individual to Alison as when baby Dawn  dies , Renton doesn't show the same amount of empathy as the rest of the male group does.

To conclude, binary oppositions have shown the audience through the narrative that without them, there would be no conflicts to be resolved and no narrative journey. Binary oppositions allow the screen writer and director to put hegemonic and counter beliefs against each other and explore the messages and power of opposing ideas.