Representation of Gender: Primeval

The essay below was written by a student in response to the question set in the June 2010 examination - we watched this last week.

This asked students to discuss how the extract from Primeval constructed a representation of gender.

The essay is typed out as it was written - any errors in the quality of written communication have been left in.

The representation of gender in the clip given conveys interesting and thought provoking ideas and contrasts between characters.

The young women called Abbey, her character steers away from the stereotypical image of women, young women, she is portrayed as a strong and feisty female, this is evident in the shots where she is operating a mechanical machine, with much skill and efficiency also. A wide shot is used when we first see her to establish the scene and location (the woods and forest). The close ups also of the end of the digger fortifies the fact that Abbey is experienced in using such a machine again reinforcing her non stereotypical portrayal, she is given the impression of a tomboy. The mis-en-scene used also fortifies this point, she has a short almost boyish hair cut and wears a leather jacket that makes us think of a character like Steve McQueen or perhaps “Greece”, mainly male, strong willed characters. 

The fact that she also fights the Sabre-toothed Creature, saving the man’s life shows her tenacity. The shot that this portrayed through is a continuity edit. Also the wide shot of her running after the man being chased reinstates this point again, as the man, who stereotypically is supposed to be strong and courageous is in fact running and being chased, this is a contrast to the women who is running through the forest with a gun to help him for a second time! The dark shape of the gun in her hands, reiterates, power, as a gun, is in this extract, power. 

The gentleman who is in a sky blue t-shirt is portrayed as more of an intelligent man, √brain rather then brawn. When the sabre-tooth attacks there is a close-up of him in the hole cowering, this goes against the usual stereotypes of a man, a contrast between him and Abbey. Despite his cowering he does show an instance of courageousness, when he lures away the creature from Abbey. Despite this brave act he still is running away from the sabre tooth tiger,  a continuity edit is present when he is running and also when he uses the zip wire, close ups show fear and exhaustion on his face. The fact that he also uses his belt on the zip wire again shows his brains over brawn. The mise-en-scene of his clothes convey a more stereotypical view of the man, they are neutral and earthy colours and are dirty and strained, this helps paint more of a picture of a mans man, or someone who is not afraid of getting their hands dirty. 

The non-diegetic sound of the ambient sound-track helps convey the tension and fear and also helps make the pace of the action a whole lot faster, especially in the chase scene, a combination of this music and also the fast pace of the editing raises the tempo and tension. The blurring and wipes between each edit gives the action the impression that it is too fast to see and fortifies the fact that the creature is very fast. The music becomes slower, but is ramped up with tension as sounds drove on through the scene with the man with the shotgun, creating a sense of dread and anticipation! This along with the wide shot and the man’s face, riddled with anger and malice, conveys a tension filled shot. 

The man who is wearing pink attire is portrayed as more of a pretty boy, lover not a fighter, the pink colour is more common to girls, women therefore gives him an air of effeminacy. The rest of the cast wear mainly earthy colours or smart suits etc, whereas he wears feminine colours turning the stereotypical image of a man on its head. The fact that he also doesn’t have a gun and instead, quite comically pulls a spade out, whereas the other two people in the shot both have guns, one a man and the other a women, this gives the impression that the women is almost more reliable than the man wearing pink.

The wide shot showing the tree in the barn gives a very theatrical feel to it, almost tries to emulate a sense of bravado and coolness that other films use e.g. the opening shot of Reservoir Dogs. Also the fact that there are three of them may portray symbolic qualities, like the three musketeers etc. 

The lady who is talking to the gentleman who breeds dogs is portrayed as a pristine, more of a stereotypical view of a lady. This is conveyed through the sequence “My Best Coat”! This provides a clear insight into her personality. She is strong whilst using words but when the man pulls out a gun a close up reveals her devastation and fear. Even the colour of the ladies “Best Coat” is white, which provides the thought of purity and pristine.

The over the shoulder shot and the cross cut editing reveals the rising anger of the gentleman breeding the dogs. He is weak when the pristine women threatens him but has much more power when he picks up the gun. The line “won’t be pushed around anymore” indicates his explosion of anger. The diegetic noise of the barking dogs also convey a sense of threat and hysteria. This shot conveys √the power of a weapon and also the power of words and how gender can be powerful. 

This extract turns a lot of ideas mostly stereotypical views of gender on its head, which therefore gives the viewer an interesting watch.  

The mark scheme for this exam can be found BY CLICKING HERE.

This is a pdf document which you can save to your area for future reference.

Mr. Henton's Assessment

Explanation/analysis/argument 

I would award this response a mark of 13/20. The candidate shows proficient understanding of the task but there is not enough clarity and coherence in the response to move this into level 4 territory. 

The candidate shows proficient understanding of the ways in which the 4 technical areas create meaning but, again, this is not excellent. Most, but not all, of the analysis is relevant to the set question.

Use of examples

I would award this response a mark of 15/20. There are consistent references to extracts from the text which support and illustrate the analysis of the candidate and these are generally relevant to the set question. All 4 technical areas are covered.

Terminology

Use of terminology is mostly accurate and I would award a mark of 7/10. There is some clumsiness in the use of terminology and I think that this candidate has a proficient understanding of terminology but this is not developed and secure enough to merit a mark in the level 4 criteria.

Overall Mark

35/50

Exemplar Analysis: Waterloo Road

A low angle shot of tan leather shoes walking slowly but confidently across the floor suggests connotations of authority. This then cuts to a medium shot of an older teacher and two young pupils. The teacher conforms to stereotypical representations of older age through elements of the mise-en-scene including his dress code, body language but also his tone of voice. He wears an old fashioned cardigan, is standing with his hands in his pockets and is talking in a sarcastic way to the pupils who wear school uniform (signifying binary oppositions of age), stutter and lack confidence when replying. The teacher is then framed centrally between the two pupils. The camera cuts to a two shot in medium close up of him standing next to a younger teacher again promoting his stereotypical age and wisdom by patronising her for not insuring the video camera in diegetic dialogue and using his body language.

This shot then cuts to a scene where we see an older male site manager (the camera shows a close up of his door plaque) and a young male pupil in conversation. The pupil’s body language is stereotypical as he leans against a wall while the non conformist way he wears his tie (not tied up properly, big knot) has stereotypical connotations of rebellious youth culture. The older site manager sounds verbally more confident and although not a teacher is smartly dressed for the work environment with a pencil behind his ear, itself having connotations of work. This frames him in binary opposition to the boy who appears lazy and who is persuaded by the older wiser site manager to go away and write his essay. In a short period of time during these first two scenes clear stereotypes of older age signifying wisdom and youth signifying rebellion are established.

A long shot front on shows two girls and a boy walking into medium shot along a school corridor. Again, the girls’ dress code suggests rebellion while all three are discussing their parents and a problem with a fellow pupil’s parents. This furthers the connotations of their young age and emphasises their vulnerability and reliance on older adults. However, the connotations of age and wisdom are disrupted in this scene as a close up reveals a girl who describes her parents as a “dad who never comes home” and a “mum who is a ho-bag”. This burst of diegetic dialogue is important in challenging age stereotypes representing older people as more responsible, as quirky upbeat non-diegetic music starts. This music reinforces stereotypes of youth culture and the school environment they are in.

In the following scene we see a male teacher positioned higher than his pupils behind a desk in a stereotypical classroom situation. He is framed in medium shot. The mise-en-scene anchors his age, authority and status with objects and props including school desks, books, wall displays and a white board projection representing the younger pupils. In terms of dress code there is also a clear difference between the older teacher and the students as his authority is revealed by his dress code, which includes a shirt and tie but also with sleeves rolled up suggesting he is ready for some serious work. The pupils wear their uniforms casually rejecting stereotypical conformity with one girl wearing larger hooped earrings.

The non-diegetic music changes to something more fast tempo as club music (more upbeat than before) and use of hand held camera introduce two students, Amy and Stuart, in confrontation. The moving hand held camera, increased tempo of the music and framing all add to reinforce the fact that this is a stereotypical school spat between two young pupils. As the teacher rushes in the pace of the editing increases as it appears that the boy is having an asthma attack. The older teacher uses his stereotypical calmness and authority to deal with the situation while diegetic dialogue parallels the anxiety that the editing represents with phrases uttered by the teacher like “where is his inhaler?” The club music is edited into a piece of music with more hip hop connotations and is used as a sound bridge to the next scene cutting to a low angle shot of a man in front of a set of doors.

The camera tilts up to reveal an older Maths teacher looking embarrassed wearing stereotypically young person’s clothing including low slung jeans with high visible underpants, trainers and a music t-shirt. This then intercuts with a shot of a bubbly young girl in high angle standing on the stair trying to reassure him that he looks OK. The camerawork challenges the traditional meaning of low angle and high angle by representing the subject shot in low angle (the teacher) as vulnerable; he is trying to appeal more to his pupils by dressing younger. His vulnerability is reinforced by a two shot of two schoolgirls laughing at him for trying to look more fashionable even though the girl on the stairs states: “what do kids know about fashion?” In this respect the girl on the stairs challenges the stereotype of a younger person by showing stronger affiliation with someone who is older than her rather than siding with those who are closer to her own age. Finally, a medium close up of two teachers reveals one trying to persuade the other to go back to his usual dress code while the presence for the first time of only adults in the frame signifies the end of the non-diegetic music.

Explanation/analysis/argument: 

• Excellent understanding of the way that technical aspects are used to construct a representation. 
• Clear logical deconstruction of text linking directly to the question.

Use of examples: 

• Good range of examples and appropriate sequences analysed to reveal a representation. There are some other examples that could have been referred to but this does not deter from the overall quality of the essay.
• The key focus has been on camera shots, angles, movement, composition, mise-en-scene and sound with some reference to editing, which perhaps could have been developed a little more.

Use of Terminology: 

• Sophisticated use of media language and technical terminology.

QWC (Quality of Written Communication)

Complex issues expressed clearly and fluently, sentences and paragraphs consistently relevant and well structured with few, if any, errors of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Mark: 46/50 (A Grade equivalent)

Representation

Representation is a specific media concept that you have to understand and be able to apply.

Representation is how media texts deal with and present gender, age, ethnicity, national and regional identity, social issues and events to an audience. 

Media texts have the power to shape an audience’s knowledge and understanding about these important topics.

This makes them very powerful in terms of influencing ideas and attitudes.

In order to analyse media texts to determine how they've represented ideas and issues, it's important to be familiar with some of the key terms.

Key terms in Representation

Construction

This is the way a media text is put together. In a film or television programme this includes the editing and choice of camera angles, in a magazine or newspaper it includes the layout and writing as well as the choice of images.

Mediation

This is the process everything goes through before it reaches an audience.
This can be how a film script is written and re-written before it makes it to production, how newspaper or magazine photographs are cropped and captioned, or how real life events - like a protest or a speech by a politician - are portrayed in a news report.

Selection

This refers to what has been selected to include in a media text.
This can be particularly important in newspaper articles, where selecting certain facts over others can change the angle of a story; what is omitted is sometimes as important as what is included.

Stereotypes

These are a simplified representation of a person, groups of people or a place, through basic or obvious characteristics - which are often exaggerated.For example, Vicky Pollard from Little Britain is a stereotypical example of a working class teenage girl.

They can be used to describe characters quickly, relying on existing audience recognition.
Stereotypes are dangerous as they can lead audiences to generalise about people or places.

Ideology

These are ideas and beliefs, held by media producers, which are often represented in their media texts.

In a newspaper, the ideology of the owner or senior editors could influence the way certain stories are represented, such as lending support to a particular political party.


In a documentary about asylum seekers, the representation of their story could be influenced by the ideology of the filmmaker or producer.

Exam Question 

In the exam your question will be as follows:

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of x using the following:

camera shots, angles, movement and composition

editing

sound

mise-en-scene

If you get confused by the wording of the question think of it this way instead:


How is X re-presented to the audience by using the following:

• camera shots, angles, movement and composition
• editing
• sound
• mise-en-scene

The 7 Areas Of Representation

The 7 social groups which could be the focus of the questions are as follows:

Age

Gender

Ethnicity

Sexuality

Social Class and Status

Regional Identity

Physical Ability and Disability

G322 Exam

The Basics

There are two sections to this paper:

Section A: Textual Analysis and Representation (50 marks) 

Section B: Institutions and Audiences (50 marks)

The purpose of the 2 sections of the exam is:

Section A

to assess your media textual analysis skills and your understanding of the concept of representation using a short unseen moving image extract (AO1, AO2); 

Section B

to assess your knowledge and understanding of media institutions and their production processes, distribution strategies, use of technologies and related issues concerning audience reception and consumption of media texts (AO1, AO2):

The examination is two hours (including 30 minutes for viewing and making notes on the moving image extract) and you will be required to answer two compulsory questions. 

The unit is marked out of a total of 100, with each question marked out of 50.

Section A

In the first part of the exam you will be shown an ‘unseen’ moving image extract with one compulsory question dealing with textual analysis of various technical aspects of the languages and conventions of moving image media. 

You will be asked to link this analysis with a discussion of some aspect of representation within the sequence.

The unseen moving image extract will be four to five minutes long and will be from a television drama.

The sequence will be taken from a contemporary one-off drama or series or serial drama programme scheduled on British television stations including some sourced from other countries.

You will be prepared for this part of the examination using a range of examples from texts from the genre stated above.

You will be expected to analyse the extract through an exploration of how the 4 codes below are used

• Camerawork (Camera Angle, Shot, Movement and Composition)
• Mise-en-Scène
• Editing
• Sound

Media Terminology

In order to be able to analyse the extract effectively you must have a clear understanding of what the following terms mean in relation to each of the codes:

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition

Aerial Shot 

A camera shot taken from an overhead position. Often used as an establishing shot.


Close Up 

A head and shoulders shot often used to show expressions/emotions of a character. Also can be a shot of an object, filmed from close to the object or zoomed in to it, that reveals detail.


Extreme Close Up 

A shot where a part of a face or body of a character fills the whole frame/dominates the frame. Also can be a shot of an object where only a small part of it dominates the frame.


Establishing Shot 

A shot that establishes a scene, often giving ther viewer information about where the scene is set. Can be a close up shot (of a sign etc) but is often a wide/long shot and usually appears at the beginning of a scene.


Medium Shot 

The framing of a subject from waist up.


Two Shot 

A shot of two characters, possible engaging in conversation. Usually to signify/establish some sort of relationship


Point-Of-View Shot (POV) 

Shows a view from the subject’s perspective. This shot is usually edited so that the viewer is aware who’s point of view it is.


Over the Shoulder Shot 

Looking from behind a character’s shoulder, at a subject. The character facing the subject usually occupies 1/3 of the frame but it depends on what meaning the director wants to create (for example, if the subject is an inferior character, the character facing them may take up more of the frame to emphaise this)


Reaction Shot 

A shot that shows the reaction of a character either to another character or an event within the sequence.


Camera Angle 

The position of the camera in relation to the subject of a shot. The camera might be at a high angle, a low angle or at eye level with what is being filmed.


High Angle 

A camera angle that looks down upon a subject or object. Often used to make the subject or object appear small or vulnerable.

Low Angle 

A camera angle that looks up at a subject or object. Often used to make the subject/object appear powerful/dominant.


Canted Angle (or oblique) 

Camera angle that makes what is shot appear to be skewed or tilted.


Pan 


Where the camera pivots horizontally, either from right to left or left to right to reveal a set or setting. This can be used to give the viewer a panoramic view. Sometimes used to establish a scene.


Track 

A shot whjere the camera follows a subject/object. The tracking shot can include smooth movements forward, backward, along the side of the subject, or on a curve but cannot include complex movement around a subject. ‘Track’ refers to rails in which a wheeled platform (which has the camera on it) sits on in order to carry out smooth movement.


Crane 

A crane shot is sometimes used to signify the end of a scene/ programme /film. The effect is achieved by the camera being put onto a crane that can move upward.


Steadicam 


A steadicam is a stabilising mount for a camera which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface. Informally, the word may also be used to refer to the combination of the mount and camera.


Tilt 

Where a camera scans a set or setting vertically (otherwise similar to a pan).


Zoom 

Using a zoom lens to appear to be moving closer to (zoom in) or further away from (zoom out) a subject/object when in fact the camera may not move (so, strictly not camera movement). Can be used for dramatic effect.

Editing 

The stage in the film-making process in which sound and images are organised into an overall narrative.


Continuity Editing 

The most common type of editing, which aims to create a sense of reality and time moving forward. Also nick named invisible editing referring to how the technique does not draw attention to the editing process.


Jump Cut 

An abrupt, disorientating transitional device in the middle of a continuous shot in which the action is noticeably advanced in time and/or cut between two similar shots, usually done to create discontinuity for artistic effect.


Cross Cutting 

The editing technique of alternating, interweaving, or interspersing one narrative action (scene, sequence or event) with another – usually in different locations or places, thus combining the two: this editing technique usually suggests Parallel action (that takes place simultaneously). Often used to dramatically build tension and/or suspense in chase scenes or to compare two different scenes. Also known as inter-cutting or parallel editing


Cutaways 

A brief shot that momentarily interrupts continuous action by briefly inserting another related action. Object, or person (sometimes not part of the principle scene or main action), followed by a cutback to the original shot.


Freeze Frame 

The effect of seemingly stopping a film in order to focus in on one event or element.


Eye-line Match 

A type of edit which cuts from one character to what that character has been looking at.


Flashback 

A scene or moment in a film in which the audience is shown an event that happened earlier in the film’s narrative.


Graphic Match 

An edit effect in which two different objects of the same shape are dissolved from one into the other.


Linear Narrative 

A style of storytelling in which events happen chronologically.


Montage Editing 

The juxtaposition of seemingly unconnected images in order to create meaning.


Parallel Editing 

A type of editing in which events in two locations are cut together, in order to imply a connection between the two sets of events.


Visual Effects 

Visual effects are usually used to alter previously-filmed elements by adding, removing or enhancing objects within the scene. (see Cross Cutting)


Match on Action 

A shot that emphasises continuity of space and time by matching the action of the preceding shot with the continuation of the action. (For example a shot of a door opening after a shot of a close up of a character’s hand turning a door handle)

Sound

Diegetic Sound 

Sound that can be heard by the characters within a scene/ sound part of the imaginary world.


Non-diegetic Sound 

Sound that the characters cannot hear and is not part of the imaginary world of the story. This includes a musical soundtrack or a voiceover (however this excludes a narration by a character within the story – referred to as an internal monologue and is diegetic).


Score 

The musical component of a programme’s soundtrack, usually composed specifically for the scene.


Sound Effects 

Sounds that are added to a film during the post-production stage.

Mise-en-scene 

All of the elements placed in front of the camera to be photographed; the settings and props, lighting, costume, make-up and figure behaviour.


Location 

The particular place and time created in the frame. 


Set 

The surroundings where the action will unfold; usually the stage, including integral design features.


Studio/set design 

The overall design concept present in the frame, relating to the set. 


Costume 

A style or fashion of dress, especially that of a particular place, time or class. Also hair and make-up.


Properties - (props)

Movable objects used in the construction of the mise-en-scene.


Positioning 

Of characters and objects within the frame.


Body language 

How characters behave physically including their facial expressions.


Production Design

Utilised to create characteristics within a mise-en-scene reflective of a certain historical period.


Colour design 

The style and combination of colours used in generating the mise-en-scene.


Lighting 

High key lighting: illumination that creates comparatively little contrast between the light and dark areas of the shot. Shadows are fairly transparent and brightened by fill light. 

Low key lighting: illumination that creates strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot, with deep shadows and little fill light.