Representation of gender exam

Discuss the way in which the extract constructs the representation of gender using the following:

·         Camera shots, angles, movement and composition.

·         Editing

·         Sound

·         Mise-en-scene

Overall the gender representation constructed in this sequence conforms to stereotypes; placing the men in the more power roles and objectify the women. An example of this in the extract is the technique used in the beginning when the poorer lady was being looked down on as the camera was on eyeline level of the male character tilting down to make her appear inferior to the audience. The use of this specific camera angle makes the subject seem vulnerable and less powerful than the male character. Throughout the extract, the image of men being dominant is a recurring theme.

An example of men being the authority figures in the extract is the way the blonde woman in the shop is acting as more of a decoy, without having to do much intellectual work, as opposed to the male who is also part of the job, who ensures the shop assistant will fall for the scam. Adding to the idea, there are cuts to where there is a man working on an alarm, showing he can do things manually. This further progresses the image that the women is just a decoy, and the men do the real work.

The extract highlights the contrast between two women and their social status. This is done by having the poorer woman being shown from a high angle shot giving the audience the impression that she does not belong in the expensive shop. Whereas whilst the poor lady is being spoken to by the shop assistant, another wealthier woman is in the shot, shown by a large depth of field so she is in focus. The camera shows a close up of her ring, which implies to the audience that that will be a key element in the scene. The ring also shows that she is wealthy and is in a much higher social class as the other woman. The extract shows to the audience that although the two women are of different social class, they are still overpowered by the male roles.

Further adding to the representation that the men have the dominance in the extract, the woman says when she loses her ring ‘my husband is going to kill me’.  This shows that although she is exaggerating, the man she is referring to sounds powerful. The sound used throughout the clip is also a significant element. This is because when the woman has lost her ring the frantic music is playing whilst she is talking, whereas when the scene cuts to the men talking in the bar, there is no other sound making them appear powerful as there is no background music distracting the audience away from what they have to say. This creates the image that the men’s views are the important ones compared to the woman’s in the clip.