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.