Gender

One of areas below will appear in the exam. We will need
to prepare for ALL areas.

 Gender
 Age
 Ethnicity
 Sexuality
 Class and status
 Physical ability/disability
 Regional identity

Your marks for this question are broken down into three
categories.
Explanation/analysis/argument (20 marks)

Use of examples (20 marks)

Use of terminology (10 marks)

We will look at two types of representation

1.Representing as Re-presenting

1.Who does the re-presenting? (Richard Dyer
1985)

 Mimetic theory of representation
 Reflects reality
 Window to the world
 Transparent
 Unmediated What does this term mean?
What does this term mean?

1. Why are some interpretations (re-
presentations) of the world made over
others?
2. What are the ranges of representation in
Western cultures?

1. How the re-presentations of reality are
never innocent/neutral.
2. How representations are political
3. How they always reflect the producer’s
beliefs and values (those doing the re-
presenting)

Predominantly white, middle
aged, middle class men
 Mark Thompson Dir Gen BBC –
2004 (replaced Greg Dyke)
 Adam Crozier – Chief Exec ITV -
2010 (replaced Michael Grade)
 David Abraham – Chief Exec CH4 -
Jan 2010- (replaced Andy Duncan)
 Dawn Airey Chair and Chief Exec
of CH5 sanding down in 2010.

 Women still under represented in the audio-
visual industry
 38%
 ‘ethnic minorities’
 7% total audio-visual workforce
Broadcast TV 9.1%
24% cinema cleaners

 What is the definition of a stereotype?

 What stereotypes of women
do you see represented in the
media?

 What stereotypes of men do
you see represented in the
media?

 Gender
 Femininity
 Masculinity

 Dominant males
 Subservient females
 Masculine ‘action’
 Lack of emotion
 ‘Serious’ storylines
 Romance controlled
 Patriarchal ideology
(narrative closure)
 Male heroes

 Female interaction
 Males as ‘partners’
 Relationship issues
 Emotive storylines
 Shared feminine
identity
 Narrative openness
 Confirmation of
patriarchial ideology

 Female ensemble dramas
 Widows
 Band of Gold
 Sex and the City
 Desperate Housewives
 Fat Friends
 Bad Girls

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NVaYcM4V2Qk&feature=related

 Female friendship
 Issues that effect
women
 Sex/sexuality
 Career women
 Female point of view

Representations of Masculinity
in The Sopranos

 Created by David
Chase

 HBO 1999-2007

 Frequently hailed the
‘Best ever drama’

 Who has seen it?

 Explore the representations of masculinity in The
Sopranos
 How is representations in The Sopranos similar or
different to previous representations of masculinity in
traditional masculine gangster films/ crime dramas?
 How does The Sopranos draw on the conventions of
traditional feminine texts?
 Here is a clip to get you started. Use Youtube to find
more if you need to http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=h347Cr7UkU8

 The Sopranos can be seen as
drawing on the generic
conventions and history of the
GANGSTER FILM of cinema –such
as The Godfather etc
 Gangster Film
 The Godfather (Coppola 1972)
 Scarface (De Palma 1983)
 Goodfellas (Scorsese 1990)
 Casino (Scorsese 1995)

 Indeed like previous constructions
of masculinity within the gangster
film the mob boss of Tony Soprano
is represented as a violent, macho,
aggressive man

 Sopranos follows the
typical representation of
the masculine within the
‘male-centred’ gangster
film but also male crime
series of TV
 Dominant males
 Subservient females
 Physical action
 Lack of emotion
 Romance controlled
 Male heroes

 Lack of respect/security
 Shifts to mob fathers way
of being as head of the
‘family’ business
 Shifts to fathers
positioning in relation to
his own personal family

Across his PUBLIC and PRIVATE life Tony feels the MOVEMENT AWAY from
TRADITIONAL RULES and NORMS that govern his life and SECURED his POSITION as
HEAD of both FAMILIES
The old rules of DUTY, HONOUR and RESPECT for those in positions of authority have
eroded at work
The tradition of respecting your FATHER & HUSBAND as BREADWINNER have also been
eroded with women

Laura Mulvey – Male Gaze
Influenced by Freud & Jacques Lucan,
Mulvey sees the representation of woman
in film & literature (and therefore society in
general) as being dominated by a male
point of view. Her belief is that the world is
a patriarchy and that men have the
‘active’ roles and woman ‘passive’ (told
what to do)

 To look is seen as active
 She believed the camera acted as a male and
everything we see is from a male point of view

 Men play active roles
which drive the narrative
 Women play passive
roles and are seen as
erotic objects which slow
the narrative
 Men far outnumber
women
 Female roles are
sidelined
 Lead roles for women
scarce

 Bimbo
 Female’s physical
attractions such as
figure and breasts to
overpower the male
 Easy
 House wife
 Mother
 Intelligent yet willing
to settle down
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=J0J9FdN8oqA

 Two distinct modes of the male gaze of this era:
voyeuristic and fetishistic
 Mulvey argued that women where given two
characters types - sexually active female or the
powerless female
 Films presented images of women that were
produced simply for the gratification of male
viewers
 Various studies in the 1970s found men to be
the dominant characters and decision makers in
film and TV production
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfL09c4cw2I

 Fetish meaning: Something, such as a
material object or a nonsexual part of the
body, that arouses sexual desire and may
become necessary for sexual gratification.
 Voyeurism meaning: A person who derives
sexual gratification from observing the naked
bodies or sexual acts of others, especially
from a secret vantage point.

 Where women had important roles they
were far more likely to be shown as…
 frightened
 in need of protection and direction
 offering support to the male lead character(s)
 not independent or self driven
 generally weaker
 still objectified sexually
“Women, in any fully human form, have almost
completely been left out of film….”
L Mulvey

 As women's roles change in society so does media
representation.
 Women are still objectified but also likely to be…
 Career driven
 Intelligent
 Confident
 Empowered
 Able (violent)
Remember changes may be made cynically and in
order to make money rather than change ideologies
 How many female action stars who are not
attractive?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-czwy-aVbbU

 Uma Thurman represented as powerful
and dominant and independent
 Sword stands in for and castrates phallus
 Adopts male characteristics of aggression
 Not masculinised yet in masculine roles
 Use of low angles, and a masculine
performance

 The job of seeking revenge family is given to the
female character thus conforming to stereotypes
where women are seen to be possessed with
family and emotional
 Tight outfit allows objectification
 Voyeuristic pleasures by watching Thurman on
her killing rampage
 Remember male director/industry may still
mean male ideologies

Vs
Vs

Evidence of the
female gaze?

 Gene Hunt (TV
Detective from
Life on Mars,
set in 1970’s
Britain) talking
about politics:

'THERE WILL NEVER BE A WOMAN PRIME MINISTER AS LONG AS I
HAVE A HOLE UP MY A**E.'

Patronising?
Women are
needed.

Women are
no longer a
piece of
meat.
Treated
equally.

 How would you define the term misogyny based
on what you have just seen?

 Can you think of any other examples of
misogyny that you may have seen in any media
text or simply experienced in everyday life?

 Misogyny – the contempt or hatred of women
and girls

 Find examples of both male and female characters in TV
Dramas that follow stereotypes and ones that challenge
stereotypes. Using images to support and discuss how they
have been represented through clothing, location, narrative,
dialogue, camera angle etc.

 Present this in your blog, on a powerpoint or in a short movie
like the bond example you saw.

 Link you answers to Mulvey’s Theory
 Sex and the city- main focus is women, men are seen as
inferior to the women in this series. Would you watch it
because of the women? Or because you like he programme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oU-
dMaQMNU

The TV drama 90120 features
a character named Naomi.
She is a typical materialistic
girl who bases her life around
clothing, fashion and sex. She
is career drive n also, she
aspires to achieve her goals.
She contains a lot of
confidence also, this helps
her to host stereotypical
house parties. She has to
have the latest trends and
items as she aims for more
popularity. She is very
independent and can be seen

A stereotypical male would be
Liam from 90210. He is
represented at first to be to
himself and enjoy his own
company. He is very muscular
from attending the gym and
working out. He is a typical high
school student as he enjoys
drinking alcohol, partying and
having sex. However throughout
the series we learn that he can be
very easily peer pressured into
doing this and can be gullible at
times. He also has a ‘don’t care’
https://www.youtube.com/watc attitude, he likes to be chased by
h?v=6I5QtpIJnfA
women and is seen as a ladies
man.

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