primeval

The representation of Gender in TV drama. Oscar perillo

 

In this clip from Primeval we see different cases of gender representation, with characters taking on stereotypical roles, and others countering these stereotypes.

 

Through the use of Mise-en-scene the audience is given an example of a woman who challenges the general stereotype of women in the media. The second scene from the clip opens with a shot of a digger moving into a location, and on closer inspection the audience can see that it is a female driving the vehicle. This idea breaks the stereotype that woman are week and unable to do large amounts of manual labour. This female stereotype is also questioned when she is wearing a leather jacket and has short cut blonde hair, a style that suggests boisterous and strong. This woman clearly challenges the stereotype, even talking in a more colloquial slang, compared to the other two woman featured, who both talk with a posh tone. Her actions could also be considered unusual as she takes on the role of protector as a male character is being attacked, we know this as camera angles that contain her are fast and in high angle shots, meaning that we see her as dominant and heroic; Something unusual for female characters in TV drama.

 

The male character featured in the scene seems to want to follow stereotype, but instead is left going against it. This can be seen when he is at first shown carrying sticks in a large bundle, wearing working clothes and covered in mud. However, as soon as he jumps into a hole to protect himself from a Sabre tooth tiger, we see him in a low angle shot from the perspective of the tiger, representing that his character is no longer dominant, and he is then saved by the female in the scene finally implying that his dominance is non-existent and threatened by this big-cat. After this, he then feels the need to draw attention away from the girl, and draw the beast onto himself, leading to him being chased and eventually saved again by the female. He had the intention at this point to “save the girl”, a common stereotype that is given to both males and females in all types of media. This idea of breaking stereotype is then broken again by him crawling into the hole once more to dig up a body, something that a female character would not be seen doing due to its muddy nature sound is also used in this scene, as before we actually see him digging up the body, we hear the splatter of mud. Later in the scene he is given the option to have a companion to help him out in-case the tiger returned, however he then declares that he would be fine by himself.

 

Another male seen throughout this clip is the metro-sexual man, a more modern stereotype for certain men, and features a man clearly in touch with his feminine. The audience is able to see this clearly through Mise-en-scene as he wears a pink top, with a stylish waist-cote/scarf combination. His actions also suggest feminine as he is placing a large chunk of meat onto a trap and he does this with a delicate touch, suggesting that he is not comfortable with this. 

 

In the last scene of the clip, we see a female, Ginny, and a male character known as Mr West conversing. The characters clothes give us impressions of them instantly, with Mr West wearing grubby work clothes, implying that he is the average hard working guy. And Ginny wearing a clean white coat, with a stylish black dress on underneath, implying that her work requires very little manual effort and the coat works a form of protection against the potential dangers of this location. The theory of the male gaze by Laura Mulvey, can be seen here as once we see her from the front, the curves of her cleavage can be seen in almost every shot from then onwards. Their conversation features her character attempting to manipulate him, and make him admit to something he hasn’t done. This works into the stereotype that states woman would be more likely to fight using manipulation and conversation, rather than physically, and the male alternative is then seen once Mr West turns around with a gun and threatens her. This scene works on power featured between the genders, with Ginny having control at first, but then losing all that control once Mr West resorts to violence. Before this violence is featured, a close up on her face once he has turned away reveals that she has taken pleasure from this manipulation, implying that she follows the female stereotype of “The Femme Fatale” a female who manipulates, seduces and leads men on for her own gain. After he has revealed the shotgun, he pushes her to the ground, the image of her being weak and defenceless in this shot throughout the use of non-diagetic sound building up in the background and also the use of low angle shots of her, with her coat no longer “protecting her” as it has been throughout the scene. There is a slow motion comparison between the man and his dogs as he aggressively looks down onto her, and the dogs are barking in the background, implying that he is at nature just a dog trained to be aggressive. Her character is final seen standing, and when asked if she is ok, instantly refers to her coat. This stereotype of women is stating that they care more about clothes than their own life.

 

In conclusion, gender has been represented as both extremely stereotypical, with women being seen a weak and that they care more about clothes than they’re own life, whilst men are aggressive, selfish worker types who resort to violence above everything.

 

 

 

representation of the disabled

Representation of disabled in TV drama analysis 

 

The clip, coming down the mountain (written by Mark Haddon Author of The curious incident of the dog in the night time) features one of the key characters (Ben) having a down syndrome and this character has been stereotyped heavily.

 

The opening scene uses an aerial shot of the bedroom depicts a complete split in the way that it has been decorated for each of the two boys.  This represents the idea of conflict between the two of them, and how much David has attempted to be apart from his brother, and so the split difference between Ben’s childish posters and colours compared to David’s almost gothic room, connoting the idea of being moody and potentially aggressive.

 

The following montage depicting evolution shows that whilst evolution is the act of random alterations that eventually leads to the entire race improving with the change, down syndrome is a disorder that occurs once a baby is born with an extra chromosome. This disorder is an evolutionary mistake, and the montage sequence highlights this. Also featured in the montage is a clip of two dinosaurs fighting, and one kills the other; David views this idea of “survival of the fittest” as his justification for killing his brother.

 

The non-diagetic narration from the leading character David is used to reinforce the stereotype that all disabled people are a burden to their relatives. Since it’s non-diagetic we see this as David’s thoughts and feelings towards his brother. This overview of his opinion reveals to us his inner most thoughts revealing that he truly resents the fact that he has to look after his brother. Lines like “last summer I decided to kill my brother” and a conversation that subtly links his brother to being a pig for slaughter, indicates his hatred. The Mise-en-scene in this scene compared to this reveals that his mindset is clearly corrupted by the burden of caring for his brother, as mentioned above with the Gothic theme of his bedroom, but then again, we cannot easily relate to his situation at this point due to the innocence of Ben's side of the bedroom.

 

The idea that they need constant care and attention is viewed in a montage that starts with a view of the two boys at a bus stop with Ben playing with childish toys and doing what seems to irritate his brother. Then quickly cutting to a clip of Ben riding a bike with stabilisers and covered in padding, relating to the audience as we all know how to ride a bike and most people his age are past the point of stabilisers.  This is also from the first person perspective of David, who is also looking through a toy rifle, further encouraging the idea that he wants to kill his brother. This representation of a disabled person being a burden on their family is quite common in media as often they do appear to burden their families, not purposefully of course. 

 

A the first clip we see Ben there is a focus pull from a single piece of food on his spoon, to his face which clearly shows his disability as Down syndrome is visible through the face of the disabled person. The fact that there is a pull between a single speck of food and his face brings us to the idea that he is nothing more than a vegetable in the eyes of people like his brother, who also refers to him as a potato during the commentary. This itself is a very common insult that is often used when people refer to those with Down syndrome.

 

The classroom scene uses shot/reverse shot between the teacher and the classroom full of teenagers. This is an effort to place David in a location where he feels included, hence the idea that the shot doesn’t focus on him, rather the whole class.

 

We can see in the last scene that David and Ben are wearing similar clothes, both wearing a hooded top underneath a jacket with the colours brown and grey, however these colours are reversed on the brothers, as David wears a brown hooded top and Ben wears a grey one. Likewise the jackets are also different, and this represents the brother’s differences from each other, whilst also being linked by family, hence the same style.

The final scene depicts him as venerable with shots angled from above and close ups on him wiping sweat from his brow. It is at this point we see he is truly scared, and from quick action like shots of the people around him, with a man at the back being given a quick shot from between two fighting teenagers, his face clearly shows that this does not concern him and so when the audience sees Ben's frightened face they instantly pity his character.

 

Overall, it is clear to see that disabled people are shown to cause grief to those they burden, as when they are not with them they clearly fear the frightening world around them. This is shown through firstly showing how he can irritate his brother without intention, and then showing him in a situation we all take normally, but to him this is a true nightmare, thus securing the idea of his venerable state.

 

gender representaition

The representation of Gender in TV drama. Oscar perillo

 

In this clip from Primeval we see different cases of gender representation, with characters taking on stereotypical roles, and others countering these stereotypes.

Through the use of Mise-en-scene the audience is given an example of a woman who challenges the general stereotype of women in the media. The second scene from the clip opens with a shot of a digger moving into a location, and on closer inspection the audience can see that it is a female driving the vehicle. This idea breaks the stereotype that woman are week and unable to do large amounts of manual labour. This female stereotype is also questioned when she is wearing a leather jacket and has short cut blonde hair, a style that suggests boisterous and strong. This woman clearly challenges the stereotype, even talking in a more colloquial slang, compared to the other two woman featured, who both talk with a posh tone. Her actions could also be considered unusual as she takes on the role of protector as a male character is being attacked, we know this as camera angles that contain her are fast and in high angle shots, meaning that we see her as dominant and heroic; Something unusual for female characters in TV drama.

The male character featured in the scene seems to want to follow stereotype, but instead is left going against it. This can be seen when he is at first shown carrying sticks in a large bundle, wearing working clothes and covered in mud. However, as soon as he jumps into a hole to protect himself from a Sabre tooth tiger, we see him in a low angle shot from the perspective of the tiger, representing that his character is no longer dominant, and he is then saved by the female in the scene finally implying that his dominance is non-existent and threatened by this big-cat. After this, he then feels the need to draw attention away from the girl, and draw the beast onto himself, leading to him being chased and eventually saved again by the female. He had the intention at this point to “save the girl”, a common stereotype that is given to both males and females in all types of media. This idea of breaking stereotype is then broken again by him crawling into the hole once more to dig up a body, something that a female character would not be seen doing due to its muddy nature sound is also used in this scene, as before we actually see him digging up the body, we hear the splatter of mud. Later in the scene he is given the option to have a companion to help him out in-case the tiger returned, however he then declares that he would be fine by himself.

Another male seen throughout this clip is the metro-sexual man, a more modern stereotype for certain men, and features a man clearly in touch with his feminine. The audience is able to see this clearly through Mise-en-scene as he wears a pink top, with a stylish waist-cote/scarf combination. His actions also suggest feminine as he is placing a large chunk of meat onto a trap and he does this with a delicate touch, suggesting that he is not comfortable with this. 

 In the last scene of the clip, we see a female, Ginny, and a male character known as Mr West conversing. The characters clothes give us impressions of them instantly, with Mr West wearing grubby work clothes, implying that he is the average hard working guy. And Ginny wearing a clean white coat, with a stylish black dress on underneath, implying that her work requires very little manual effort and the coat works a form of protection against the potential dangers of this location. The theory of the male gaze by Laura Mulvey, can be seen here as once we see her from the front, the curves of her cleavage can be seen in almost every shot from then onwards. Their conversation features her character attempting to manipulate him, and make him admit to something he hasn’t done. This works into the stereotype that states woman would be more likely to fight using manipulation and conversation, rather than physically, and the male alternative is then seen once Mr West turns around with a gun and threatens her. This scene works on power featured between the genders, with Ginny having control at first, but then losing all that control once Mr West resorts to violence. Before this violence is featured, a close up on her face once he has turned away reveals that she has taken pleasure from this manipulation, implying that she follows the female stereotype of “The Femme Fatale” a female who manipulates, seduces and leads men on for her own gain. After he has revealed the shotgun, he pushes her to the ground, the image of her being weak and defenceless in this shot throughout the use of non-diagetic sound building up in the background and also the use of low angle shots of her, with her coat no longer “protecting her” as it has been throughout the scene. There is a slow motion comparison between the man and his dogs as he aggressively looks down onto her, and the dogs are barking in the background, implying that he is at nature just a dog trained to be aggressive. Her character is final seen standing, and when asked if she is ok, instantly refers to her coat. This stereotype of women is stating that they care more about clothes than their own life.

 In conclusion, gender has been represented as both extremely stereotypical, with women being seen a weak and that they care more about clothes than they’re own life, whilst men are aggressive, selfish worker types who resort to violence above everything.

 

 

 

Male representation

In Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity, Jackson Katz and Jeremy Earp argue that the media provide an important perspective on social attitudes – and that while the media are not the cause of violent behaviour in men and boys, they do portray male violence as a normal expression of masculinity. ^[1]

In 1999, Children Now, a California-based organization that examines the impact of media on children and youth, released a report entitled Boys to Men: Media Messages About Masculinity. The report argues that the media’s portrayal of men tends to reinforce men’s social dominance.

The report observes that:

• the majority of male characters in media are heterosexual
• male characters are more often associated with the public sphere of work, rather than the private sphere of the home, and issues and problems related to work are more significant than personal issues
• non-white male characters are more likely to experience personal problems and are more likely to use physical aggression or violence to solve those problems. ^[2]

A more recent study found similar patterns in how male characters were portrayed in children's television around the world: boys are portrayed as tough, powerful and either as a loner or leader, while girls were most often shown as depending on boys to lead them and being most interested in romance. ^[3]

These portrayals are of particular concern when it comes to young boys, who may be more influenced by media images than girls. In the 2008 article Media and the Make-Believe Worlds of Boys and Girls, Maya Götz and Dafna Lemish note that girls generally pick and choose what media content to integrate into their imaginary worlds – an approach the authors summarize as “leave something out, take something in and dissociate from it.” Boys, on the other hand, tend to incorporate media content into their own imaginations wholesale, “taking it in, assimilating it, and then taking the story further.”  According to Götz and Lemish, “boys… dream themselves into the position of their heroes and experience a story similar to the one in the original medium.” ^[4]

The portrayal and acceptance of men by the media as socially powerful and physically violent serve to reinforce assumptions about how men and boys should act in society, how they should treat each other, as well as how they should treat women and children.

Common stereotypes.

The Joker is a very popular character with boys, perhaps because laughter is part of their own "mask of masculinity." A potential negative consequence of this stereotype is the assumption that boys and men should not be serious or emotional. However, researchers have also argued that humorous roles can be used to expand definitions of masculinity.

The Jock is always willing to "compromise his own long-term health; he must fight other men when necessary; he must avoid being soft; and he must be aggressive." By demonstrating his power and strength, the jock wins the approval of other men and the adoration of women.

The Strong Silent Type focuses on "being in charge, acting decisively, containing emotion, and succeeding with women." This stereotype reinforces the assumption that men and boys should always be in control, and that talking about one’s feelings is a sign of weakness.

The Big Shot is defined by his professional status. He is the "epitome of success, embodying the characteristics and acquiring the possessions that society deems valuable." This stereotype suggests that a real man must be economically powerful and socially successful.

The Action Hero is "strong, but not necessarily silent. He is often angry. Above all, he is aggressive in the extreme and, increasingly over the past several decades, he engages in violent behavior."

Another common stereotype...

The Buffoon commonly appears as a bungling father figure in TV ads and sitcoms. Usually well-intentioned and light-hearted, these characters range from slightly inept to completely hopeless when it comes to parenting their children or dealing with domestic (or workplace) issues.

Synergy And Convergence from craigwinch

representation of diabled in TV drama

Representation of disabled in TV drama analysis.

The clip: coming down the mountain (written by Mark Haddon Author of The curious incident of the dog in the night time) features one of the key characters (Ben) having a down syndrome and this character has been stereotyped heavily.

The non-diagetic narration from the leading character David, is used to reinforce the stereotype that all disabled people are a burden to their relatives. Since it’s non-diagetic we see this as David’s thoughts and feelings towards his brother.  This overview of his opinion reveals to us his inner most thoughts revealing that he truly resents the fact that he has to look after his brother. Lines like “last summer I decided to kill my brother” and a conversation that subtly links his brother to being a pig for slaughter, indicates his hatred.

The idea that they need constant care and attention is viewed in a montage that starts with a view of the two boys at a bus stop with Ben playing with childish toys and doing what seems to irritate his brother. We then quickly cut to a clip of Ben riding a bike with stabilisers and covered in padding, relating to the audience as we all know how to ride a bike and most people his age are past the point of stabilisers.  This is also from the first person perspective of David who is also looking through a toy rifle, further encouraging the idea that he wants to kill his brother. This representation of a disabled person being a burden on their family is quite common in media as often they do appear to burden their families, not purposefully of course. 

A the first clip we see Ben there is a focus pull from a single piece of food on his spoon, to his face which clearly shows his disability as Down syndrome is visible through the face of the disabled person. The fact that there is a pull between a single speck of food and his face brings us to the idea that he is nothing more than a vegetable in the eyes of people like his brother, who also refers to him as a potato during the commentary. This itself is a very common insult that is often used when people refer to those with down syndrome.

The final scene depicts him as vunerable with shots angled from above and close ups on him wiping sweat from his brow. It is at this point we see he is truly scared, and from quick action like shots of the  people around him, with a man at the back being given a quick shot from between two fighting teenagers, his face clearly shows that this does not concern him and so when we see Ben's frightened face we instantly pity his character.

Overall, it is clear to see that disabled people are shown to cause grief to those they burden as when they are not with them they clearly fear the frightening world around them.This is shown through firstly showing how he can irritate his brother without intention, and then showing him in a situation we all take normally, but to him this is a true nightmare, thus securing the idea of his vunerable state

TED talks

G322 Mark Scheme (2011) from Armthorpe Media