Exam question for Miss Kirkpatrick on gender

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

• Camera shots, angles, movement and composition
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise en scène

Try to refer to the following:

Camera shots:

establishing shot

close up

mid shot

two shot

Camera angles:

wide angle

high angle

low angle

Camera movement

pan

tilt

Composition

framing

Editing

shot/ reverse shot

long take

short take

Sound

diegetic sound-ambient sound/background noise

non diegetic sound-soundtrack/music

Mise en scene

costume

make up

setting/ location

set/ props

lighting

Camera work:

Camerawork in this extract of Luther is used to present a change in power through out the extract. This can be used in order to highlight that the binary opposites of man or women and that men also conventionally end up having the power. However, as the power switches throughout the extract, it shows that this is challenging the stereotype, causing the audience to find the programme more interesting and mostly enhances uniqueness.

At the start of the extract the camera work is mostly focused on the facial expressions and movements of the female character who is referred too as Alice throughout this extract. Firstly it has a close up of her emotion which connotes that off confidence, this is because she is smirking at the camera, this further shows that she is gaining control as it radiates confidence from the character. Also this may put a more sexual orientation on the original scene because she is connoting to the male character that of a sexual nature, which she may be using to assert her dominance within comparison to Luther himself. An establishing shot of the London building landscape is then shown straight after Luther talks about the killing of her dog. This is used in order to highlight male dominance and also his power over her, this fits the stereotype of male dominance. As the extract moves on in the next scene a tilt shot of Alice is used. It starts at the bottom and works its way up the female character showing the curvature of her body. This is used again to put a sexual orientation on the scene and the male character. Also the use of this shot may connote that the male character is looking upon awe at the females body along with the audience, this again fitting the stereotype that male characters may objectify females for their sex appeal. Plenty of over the shoulder shots, 2 shots and shallow focus is used throughout this extract to highlight conversation and a conflict also maybe a contrast between the characters opinions on the topic of conversation. Luther consistently is shown through the camerawork as looking down on Alice, this is used to portray his power over the female. Also this may show the stereotype of a male being far physically developed and therefore stronger within comparison to a female character. Nearer to the end of the scene as Alice and Luther continue to exchange words, the scenes focus changes to the photo of the “black hole”, A dolly zoom is used in this scene in order to highlight the high levels of intensity on a negative aspect of life, this being the black hole. This fits the stereotype of women as it shows a female character, in this case Alice, showing an uncanny amount of interest on this negative photo meaning that she may be too transfixed on emotions and therefore overly emotional when compared to the male character.

Soundtrack:

Asynchronous sound is used at the beginning of the extract though a low, loud booming noise when the camera focusses on Alice turning to face Luther. This highlights the impact of an antagonist on the plot as this music may connote her to be evil and plotting against the male protagonist. Synchronous sound is used this is through road activity, such as vehicles and transport for commuters this used in order to create a more believable aspect for the audience in order to add to its realism. This realism may also show us that all things that happen in the show are representations of real life aspects and dilemmas, this through the noisy contested traffic. Meaning that if stereotypes of gender are used in the show then they may be taken from reality and not just fictional. The non-dietetic soundtrack that is used as the background sound of most of this extract is a dark dramatic noise that is fairly slow in tempo, until it reaches more intense parts an example of this maybe being when Luther says that Alice is “incapable of feeling love” the tempo then picks up and creates a louder, faster paced noise. This is used to create tension at the start of the extract. Also it may shows that females have mental dominance this is represented through the soundtrack. This also provides connotations of confidence, authority these are both unconventional of a female character in TV drama’s. Diegetic sounds through the conversation between Alice and Luther is used throughout the clip. Alice's voice is very smooth, calm and has a hint of confidence. This can be used to attract Luther, using her voice to gain dominance over him. Luther's voice may be seen as loud and quite frankly abrupt and has a common cockney London accent which shows that he is in his zone as the scene is set in London, this can link to connote the idea that he is in a place he feels most comfortably making him seem authoritative but in a way less powerful as Alice is able to lure him in. Alice's gender is stereotypically represented through her voice as women are commonly used during such means as advertisement and in some stressful situations their voices are more pleasing to the audience's ears, allowing them to control a situation better. and ultimately gain power through this calmness.

Editing:

Editing is very important in laying certain messages in TV drama’s. A cross cut is used when the setting moves from outside to Alice's Apartment together. This editing shows how the storyline is progressing and highlights as they are going back to her place together. This implies that these two chart terms may be interacting positively and on good terms with each other. Also maybe the fact that she is hosting Luther in her apartment may show her dominance and she in on “home turf”. Also the idea of them going back to her house commonly may connote sexual chemistry between both characters. This shows that due to Alice's feminine features Luther can't help but feel some attraction highlighting the fact that her gender creates a control over him. Continuity editing is also used throughout the extract, this is used to allow the audience to take note that the story is moving at a fast pace as they quickly swap scenes and backgrounds. Multiply shot- reverse shots are also commonly used throughout the film clip to show how their conversation is flowing and highlighting many things such as the way they communicate with each other and possibly the emotions that come with their interaction. An example of this is when we have a close up shot in the direction of Alice's face, this is when Luther is tell her that she cannot love, then we see a slight flicker in emotion this editing highlights her weaker reaction. This can show the dominance that Luther has over Alice when she tries to get inside of his head. Also highlighting her emotional weakness compared to Luther who doesn't let it get to him when Alice asks about his recent marriage scandal. This supports the stereotype that women are emotionally weak and men are emotionally stronger meaning male dominance. Fast- pace editing is shown many times throughout out the extract and example of this being when the close up flicks back and forth from Luther to Alice's faces when they talk interact and refer to Luther's marriage or lack off. This is done to capture their reactions to the personal questions because this is rare for a person to ask another in society no matter what gender. This shows that Alice's is strange character highlighting that she fits the stereotype of a type of a crazed and slightly deranged women. This makes the audience scared of Alice as she is odd and potentially dangerous to the protagonist being Luther. This may confuse the audience as she has shown intelligence and her physical attraction is very prominent.

Mise en scene:

clothing in this scene is very different. Alice is seen wearing a purple coat and black trousers and Luther is seen wearing a grey business suit. The clothing within this scene is seen to be formal from both genders. The fact that both characters are wearing very formal outfits may indeed suggest that both characters have a lot of power within their outside lives and within the TV Drama as a whole. This is shown as the expense of the clothes match from male to female and they both come up as high value items of clothing. This is again breaking the stereotypical traits when it comes to gender, as the female would usually be in something slightly less expensive than the male because he would want to be personified as the most dominant in the scene, a very consistent and famous example of this would be found within the James Bond films and books.

Throughout the entire extract lighting appears to be very bright this is shown as the audience members can see it is set in the daytime. The only time the lighting changes to a darker tone, is when the camera emphasises the fact that there are ashes present. maybe that could show that the character Alice has a dark side to her as she is in possession of the only dark object/thing in the whole scene. this may not be discovered straight away as she is a sneaky character.

The scene is taken place on the outskirts of the inner city of London this is shown as they are exchanging conversation in a very lower class area. In the background you can see the big skyscraper business buildings, this may be used to highlight the state of the area that they find themselves and also that the characters are not where they are supposed to be as they are most likely wealthy and intelligent.

The fact that there is only one prop between two characters emphasises again the idea of everything being very run down, as it suggest that objects of high value either don't exist where they are or the fact that if they did have anything of any value it would be in hiding because of the likely high crime rate in that given area at that given time.




WWW: You have provided a comprehensive and full analysis using all four areas of textual analysis here, well done. Great effort.

EBI: How can you add punctuation and change some of the phrasing so this sentence makes sense? "Firstly it has a close up of her emotion which connotes that off confidence as she is smirking at the camera, this shows that she is gaining control as it radiates confidence from the character and also may put a more sexual orientation on the original scene that she is connoting to the male character which she may be using to assert her dominance within comparison to Luther himself."

You say that the flat seems 'run down', when in fact there are a few valuable looking props used in the scene. Revise and change this section and analyse props such as the telescope. How are they used to represent gender?

NOTE: You call the male an "agonist" the word you need is "protagonist".