"1. Superiority and Domination: Men are shown in dominant positions. Women are physically portrayed in subordinate poses.
2. Dismemberment: Parts of the body such as legs, chest, etc., are photographed, rather than the full body.
3. Clowning and Exaggeration: Women are shown in positions that make them look contorted or foolish while men appear in positions reflective of thought and intelligence.
4. Male Approval: Males desire and women are desired. Women are shown as recipients of male approval.
5. The Voice-Over Authority: Male voices are used as voice-overs in commercials rather than females.
6. Irrelevant Sexualisation of Women and Girls: Women’s bodies are used to sell products even if the product has nothing to do with sex."
^ I borrowed the information above from http://beauchampcollegemedia.com/2010/08/08/representation-and-gender/
After learning how gender is represented, I've now made notes on the Primeval clip below This was used in last years exam so I'm anxious to see how I evaluate the clip in comparison to how it should be done, and how students before me have done so too.
Superiority and Domination
- Interestingly, the blonde female is shown in a dominant position - operating the huge digger machine- which turns the typical representation on it's head a bit.
- Starting at 2:53, in a short panning shot, the camera is held for a longer time on the three men as they stride toward their mission before briefly keeping the camera on the blonde female (this shows how the male characters are portrayed as being if not superior, slightly more dominant than the female character).
- Just after 4:00, the male character folds his arms when the woman is trying to persuade him and then pulls out a gun, showing he has the upper hand in a sense and the woman reacts with shocked expressions. He shoots at the floor to show his dominance and that she shouldn't mess with him. He then pushes her to the ground, again showing his superiority as the woman has to look up - and his filmed that way - and the man looks down.
- When the other characters turn up, in the foreground of the shot, the man is there and in the background the woman stands. although they both carry guns, because of the stature of the two of them , it would appear that the man has more dominance and is sort of, protecting the woman, showing his dominance in what they're about to do.
Disememberment
- At 2:51, a hand is shown but this doesn't have much to do with gender representation, in my opinion.Clowning and Exaggeration
- At the beginning of the sequence, the woman is all flustered and angry about something and storms away leaving the man, bewildered by her outburst. This suggests in a way to me, that the woman is being portrayed in a "whiny" expressive way where as the male is quiter and calmer and more subtle about her feelings. Another man says simply 'Let her go' when she has finished with her form of tantrum. The camera is also aimed down when on the woman and up at when it's on the man, this symbolizes his dominance perhaps in their relationship but also in the current situation.
- In the second part of the clip, the brunette woman is really shown as being less than others - particularly men. When the man pulls out the gun, her expression is quite typical of a 'damsel in distress' sort of thing. When she is thrown down onto the floor, her posture is slightly over dramatic - her arms are up, and her legs are bent, showing alot of her legs and dress. When she finally manages to get up, she says annoyed 'my best coat' referreing to the state the man put her in. She's exaggerated and portrayed as though "all women care about is clothes, shoes, money and appearance". Also, interestingly when the other characters find the woman and rescue her. The blonde female is the one to ask if she's all right, showing a caring and motherly side to the character which is typically associated quite obviously with females.
Male Approval
- Towards the end of the second clip, male approval is really prominent. When the woman is trying to get what she wants from the man, she uses herself in a specfic way. She smiles and uses her voice to try and persuade him. And when the man pulls the gun onto her, she says 'We both know you're not a violent man' and smiles in an attempt to stop him from harming her.
The Voice-Over Authority
- There isn't much evidence of this but I can say that the men in these two clips do speak alot more frequently than the females, almost as if the conversation is better suited for men to figure out and discuss.
Irrelevant Sexualisation of Women and Girls
- This refers back to what I've written in Male Approval.
