"The Perfect Essay"- Primeval

Throughout the extract representations of gender are illustrated through various elements such as editing, camera and sound. A mix of dominance and equality is produced through the extract however overall it is conveyed that women are physically subordinate compared to physically strong and stereotypically hegemonic male.

Representations of gender have been clearly illustrated through editing. For example a mix of pivot/ panorama shots  as well as fast tracking shots have been incorporated when the girl is trying to save and protect the male character. The editing switches from invisible editing to many jump cuts, showing the increase in activity. Thus, the fast pace shots have been used, making both male and female characters appear in the action and support their heroic characters. This illustrates the fast movements and action of the cut however it may also signify a chaotic environment where women struggle to take maintain power. Another example of a tracking shot is portrayed when the male character is travelling down the rope. This editing however demonstrates to the audience the thought and power the character has from making a quick rational decision which is a stereotype of male behaviour.

The next element which produces representations of gender is sound. In one cut once the female had saved the male from the life threatening situation from the dialogue such as, "Come on" with a high intensity, provoking the animal, connotes bravery and a strong masculinity. this dialogue may have been said as an attempt to regain status as he's just been saved by a girl. Strong music  is used throughout, making all characters appear heroic and strong. Abbie is represented as having a sensitive side illustrated through dialogue. Abbie asks Jenny " Are you okay?" The use of diegetic sound creates Jenny stereotypical character, she says after nearly being killed, "My best coat!", seemingly caring more about the coat than being killed. Also creates a representation of women such as obsession of appearance and vanity. The diegetic sound of the dogs barking emphasise the bad situation of the women conveying the women's vulnerability further. This is also emphasised by the harsh sound effects which build and sustain tension creating a climax.

The next factor which displays representations is through mise en scene. Expressions play a key role, for example when the blonde male is approached by the sabre toothed tiger his expression conveys fear leading to a sympathetic response from the audience however this contrasts greatly to the calm and collective expression of the girl, which suggests a swap in the roles involving dominance. The women is dressed in a leather coat which is done up, emphasising her power, whereas the man is dressed in a scruffy t-shirt and jeans, showing him to be inferior to her. This is further backed up due to her being the one driving the vehicle an activity stereotypically believed for men. The props such as the heavy machinery emit connotations such as manual masculine feelings. However the female is in charge of the stereotypical male vehicle. Even though the women within the extract portray dominance through props, the male characters continually illustrate dominance. For example, the males usage of the guns.

A final way in which representations of gender have been displayed is through camera work. For example the low angle looking down on the male in the whole illustrates vulnerability and helpless position. however a different low angle in conveying the tiger illustrates dominance of man and a hierarchy with the animal being lower. There are two main close ups, one was when the man saw the large animal, and the other was when the  lady was knocked to the floor. Both of these showed the expressions on their face which was both scared and they were frightful. This represents gender because it shows that you do have to a female to be scared, even men are.

"The Big Bang Theory" - Gender representations & Stereotypes:

The Big Bang Theory is America’s highest rated comedy. It is regularly E4’s most watched show and can definitely be said to divide opinion.The programme bases itself entirely on stereotypes in a huge number of ways and given its subject matter, a lot of these are drawn from those typically found in the Sci-Fi/fantasy genre.

A world in which historically the men are the heroes and the woman are skimpily-clothed and more than slightly helpless. Leonard, Sheldon, Raj and Howard submerge themselves in comic books and films as a method of escapism from a society which labels them ‘uncool’
Stereotypically the women of the show are constantly sexualised, a major issue in sci-fi and fantasy.Particularly in the earlier seasons, Penny seems to be portrayed as the archetypal “helpless blonde bimbo” needing to be saved from her pedestrian life by our oh-so-intelligent lead characters. For quite a while she has virtually no character besides being attractive and not very academic when compared to the hoards of scientists that populate the show. Penny is the clearest example of the programme objectifying women, though in no way is the practise limited to her.
Stereotypically women who are scientists are portrayed as being ugly and wear glasses and are not blond and are socially maladjusted and don't care about their appearance.
Another stereotype follows, which is seen both in older sci-fi/fantasy and the households of the 1950s: the idea of women as automatic home-makers or at least stay at home girlfriends. It is Howard who becomes an astronaut and Bernadette who stays at home and frets.
All the women on the show have careers, and in general very successful ones, but they are shown as performing the expressive role in the relationship despite this. The expectations for all genders are socially constructed, and one specific expectation for males is to be the main breadwinner in a romantic relationship. Bernadette and Howard are in a relationship, and in contradiction to the previously mentioned gender stereotypes, Howard married into money because Bernadette earns much more and controls their spending.

Intelligence is gendered masculine, and in popular thinking intelligent people often are male. Television representations of intelligence reinforce this gendering, and they reduce these intelligent characters to traits such as possessing multiple degrees,  pursuing scientific interests, announcing their intellect, overusing logic, avoiding empathy, and overall acting socially awkward.
Penny’s character is an example of enlightened sexism because one may believe she represents independence and confidence as a woman by living on her own and befriending the “geeks” next door, Furthermore, Leonard’s character encompasses gender scripts by constantly trying to be “manly” and wanting to show off his beautiful blonde girlfriend. He strives to attain the image of the dominant male which is the normative ideal image of a man in our society.The Big Bang Theory uses humour to both reinforce and challenge gender stereotypes. The relationship between Leonard and Penny often juxtaposes typical gender scripts, however their characters exemplify the gender binary. These stereotypes are challenged because, stereotypically the "geek" wouldn't have the blonde attractive women as his girlfriend.

First impressions of the film "La Haine"

Opinions of the film: 

I thought it was interesting, because the film highlights the all too common growing problem within failed inner city housing projects. The director succeeds in creating a black and white film of sophisticated structure.

Characters:

Said: 

Seems to be a "bounce-off" as Vinz said. 

His friends are his adopted family.

He seems to be more at ease and more adapted to his surroundings. 

He is almost a conduit for what is happening on the estate between Vinz and Hubert.

Vinz:

The antihero; an angry, embittered man, living with his mother and siblings

Appears devoid of purpose and directing, lacking in self-esteem

Wannabe gangster

Craving the respect of his peers and apparently willing to go to the extra mile in order to be worshipped as "urban folk hero"

Hubert:

Responsible

Most mature one out of all of them, this is juxtaposed to the ending because he is involved with the shooting at the end 

Respectful towards his family 

Amateur boxer 

More worldly and reflective 

Understands discipline

Has a good understanding of the system and the sources of oppression he faces on a daily basis 

He longs for a life of meaning 

He seeks purpose 

 

Analysis of "La Haine"

Falling Metaphor:(00:50)


Society is a free-fall, its crumbling, it is being destroyed by the riots. There is racism fence in society. The opening credits and the footage of real life rioting are accompanied by Bob Marley and  the Wailers song. This song is very significant because it has a connection to the historical context to the Jamaica riots.


Said's and Vinz's introduction:(5:12)

The camera movement throughout this film is consistently slow. This suggests that life and society is slow in Paris. There are close up shots to show the characters facial introduction. There is slow tracking shot of the police to establish how many "pig's" there are. In Vinz's room there is a close up on his ring and there is a pan around his room, which shows that he shares with his sister. This suggests that there is no space as stereotypically a brother and sister wouldn't normally share a room when they are at the age. There are many American references in these scenes. For example, posters of famous American shows and films are mentioned, "Rambo" and "WWE". There is also intertextual reference to taxi driver. In this scene we learn about two characters and their background. Firstly, both characters are Jewish and that they're a religious family. There is a generational opposition between the old and new. Secondly, the conversation that Vinz has with his family tells us that there is opposition with his grandma. they also talk about a "school that has burnt down" the tone that this said shows this a daily occurrence and has become the "norm" of society and that there is no hope since everything has been destroyed. 


Hubert's introduction: (10:35)


During Hubert's introduction we find out that Hubert wants to start a gym, this shows that Hubert seems to have a dream and hope which is juxtaposed with society where there seems to be none. The characters introduce us by talking to him. Hubert seems to be more respectful towards his family then Vinz. They talk about "education" this shows that they're trying to get through the situation.

Film Narrative

Film narrative:

Todorov:

Equilibrium: Is the precarious balance between the anger of youths and the repressive power of the police. The balance is only maintained through an element of self-control in each case.

Disruption to the equilibrium: Is the shooting of Abdel, the riot which ensues or the loss of the pistol which is found by Vinz. The riot is the most significant but for Hubert, Said and Vinz the pistol is more important.

Attempt to repair the equilibrium: Main part of film is certainly concerned with the escalating conflict between the youths and the police. We only see the 3 friends for most of the time and their conflict is with a range of forces representing a threat to their safety, including fascist skinheads.

New equilibrium: The shooting of Vinz and the "Mexican Standoff" between Hubert. Lack of traditional resolution- "The open ending" makes "La Haine" a progressive narrative in the scene that it draws back from a conservative resolution.

Propp:

Hero: The 3 youths
Villain: Police
Princess: The quest is to secure the honour of the wounded Abdel

Strauss:

Hope VS Fear
Dreams VS Reality
Youth VS Maturity
Discipline VS Ignorance

Barthes:
Enigma Codes
Enigma codes ask questions to the demographic which a soon answered after or later on in the film. For instance, who are they? Where are they going? Why are they going? These questions enables the audience to get intrigued and wanting to find out the answers to the questions. They also help to move on the narrative.
Action Codes
Action codes are significant events which helps move the narrative on in a particular direction. For example, a phone ringing or a knock at the door. Both actions are used to change the scene/narrative for specific reason but to also keep the narrative alive. They teach the audience new things, for example, something new about a character or possibly the plot itself. They give the audience needed information.

Enigma codes:
• Who are the youths?
• Why does Vinz have a pistol?
• Why is Abdul killed?
• Why is there so much conflict between the police and the society?
• Why has society crumbled so much?
Action codes:
• Abdul is critical in hospital
• Society is crumbling
• Relationships in society have crumbled
• There is no hope left in society
• Vinz has the pistol

Tabloid and broadsheet comparison

Tabloid and Broadsheet: Jeremy Clarkson 

Tabloid (Daily Mirror): "Reverse gear"

"Reverse Gear" relates to Clarkson's job, also connotes negativity. "Reverse" is going backwards which therefore is further from positive. Thus,  his career is going downhill (in reverse) because he has upset the nation.

The Daily Mirror is opposite to the Guardian. There is only tiny parts of two articles on its cover, the rest is pictures and the gist of an article further into newspapers.

The cover story of Clarkson is more "in your face"style with a picture of him scratching the back of his head. The pun makes it look unprofessional and informal, unlike the Guardian which had no puns at all .("Reverse gear")_

There is a large amount of celebrity and pop culture related things scattered around the cover, such as "Gary may quit the X-Factor" this confirms what type of demographic the Daily mirror is aimed at,as the topics displayed interests a younger target audience.

Broadsheet ( The Guardian)

Unlike the Daily Mirror, the Guardian has small font and is neatly laid out in the columns with very little eye-catching material; the title of the newspaper is not obeying the rule of thirds where things are put in the top left corner as that is the area that our eye's are drawn to mostly. It is obvious that the Guardian knows it has an audience.

 The big picture of Jeremy Clarkson does not have any puns or quirky comments, it is straight to the point, unlike the Daily Mirror.

These stories use sophisticated language rather than slang and simplistic sentences. It is straight to the point. There is no smaller stories scattered around the front cover.

It has highlighted its "Film&Music" section at the top of the cover which seems to stay away from the pop genre of music and film.

"Clarkson v the union" makes this article sound more political.

Comparison:

In the Guardian Clarkson looks quite normal, not really an expression, possibly some annoyance at the paparazzi. However, the Mirror shows his image to look ashamed or guilty, with him touching the back of his head.

The Mirror also has a large "45p", to make sure potential buyers could see how cheap it is. Although, The Guardian has a quite small price tag which could be because they don't want to put people buying it when it is placed next to cheaper alternatives.