Levi-Strauss theory applied to 'Pale Rider' and 'Die Hard'

Pale Rider

Levi-Strauss stated that elements which give meaning in a story will be typically organised into binary opposites. Within this opening sequence there are many opposites relevant to the story which become apparent.

Villains/Village Folk: The villains are shown galloping mercilessly towards the village while the village folk are shown in a peaceful village area.
Conflict/Calm: Calm exists at the begining of the sequence but is then broken as the villains raid the village. During the conflict period there is chaos and panic and this opposite becomes very strong
Loud/Quiet: The villains are shown surrounded by noise as they gallop towards the village and the village folk are in a peaceful quiet area representing their innocence.
Dark/White horses: Villains have dark horses showing the darkness inside the, and the village folk have white horses showing their peace.
Safety/Danger: Safety is shown to be within the tranquility of their lives and danger is shown as the man enters the town in which he is made to leave
Miracles/Doubt: Girl is shown to be praying for a miracle which suggests something may happen, yet there is a lot of hope being lost due to how they seem to be suffering
Lone man/Group: When the man leaves his group he is shown to be in danger and he is shown to be safer when they are in a whole village group

Die Hard
Together/Apart: Woman and Husband shown to be constantly apart and just as they come together danger begins to form
Safety/Danger: Characters think they have safety but it is suddenly taken away from them which creates excitement in the narrative plot
California/New York: Main character seems to be comfortable in his home town of New York and as he enters California danger begins to emerge
Victims/Villains: Made very apparent from the beginning as the unsuspecting victims are trapped by villains
Life/Death: Victims will be fighting for life while the villains bring death