glossary:

DENOTATION

A denotation is what the thing actually IS.

&
CONNOTATION(S)
A connotation is what the thing REPRESENTS,
SYMBOLISES, SUGGESTS, SHOWS, INDICATES

Mise-en-scene

Location - Fitting with dominant or submissive

character?
Costume - How does it reflect the power
balance? Dominant character's costume show
strength?
Colours - How do they show feelings of
characters?
Props - Do they provide insight into the strong
and weak characters
Lighting (High/Low Key) - Is one character
negated to the shadows? What does this say?
Performance - Is does one character's
performance show more power?
Hair & Make-up - How does it reflect the
personalities/strength of characters? e.g. a
pale faced character might imply weakness
Remember! These can change throughout an
extract!

Cinematography
Camera angles (High angle/low angle/dutch
angle) - How does it reflect the power/
personality/mind of the characters?
Shot size (CU/ECU/LS/ELS/MS) - How does
the shot size display the character? Does it
make them large or small in the frame?
Camera Movement - How does it reflect the
emotions or personalities of the characters?
Framing - How has the character been
framed in relation to other characters and
their surroundings?
Depth of field - Which characters are in/out
of focus? How does this reflect the power?

Diegetic sounds are those from inside the world

of the text (that the characters can hear).
Diegetic Music - How does this demonstrate the
character's personalities
Dialogue (Loud/Soft) - How does this represent the
character?

Non-diegetic sounds are sounds that the actors

cannot hear.
Narration - Whose perspective is this coming from?
Soundtrack music - Whose personality is it reflecting?

Remember! Silence can say a lot about

a character's position with in an extract!

Remember! The pace of the editing and

the amount of time a character is given
between cuts is extremely significant!
P.S. Does the pace of edit match the
sound?

Stereotype:
A stereotype is a popular
belief about specific social
groups or types of
individuals.
Stereotypes are simplified
thoughts on
groups/individuals based on
prior assumptions.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOZd11Mcej4>

Blondes
are....

White
skinheads
are....

Muslims
are....

Complete this mind map!

Depressed

Repressed

Middle-Aged
Grumpy
Wise

Elderly

Age

Class/
Status

White-British
Racist

Regional
Identity

Ethnicity
Common Stereotypes

Devout

Bi
Gender

Ability/
Disability

Arab/Muslim
Terrorists

Sexuality

Hetero

Homo

Class and Status

Class and Status

Arab/Muslim
Asian

Afro-Caribbean
British

Age

Sexuality

Slideshare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLB4IJk5ZFI

 Revision:
Watch lots of Bri.sh TV dramas. As many as you can, of dierent sub-genres. Don't passively watch them, ac#vely
look for stereotypes. Create a checklist of the groups you may be asked to write about; remember, they are:

Gender: male and female

Age: young and old
Ethnicity: white, black, Asian, or any other racial stereotype
Sexuality: straight or gay, bisexual?
Class and status: upper, middle, or working class
Physical ability/disability: characters who may be deaf, blind, physically or mentally disabled.
Regional iden+ty: northerners, southerners, Scots, Welsh, Irish. Locals vs foreigners etc

See how many are shown in the programme you are watching. For each one, it is the simplest ques=on in the world: is
this character being shown as a stereotype?
Test Your Vocabulary/Terminology!

Here is an example of how to start an essay about the representa5on of gender in the Dr Who clip (Summer 2009)

"In this clip from Dr Who gender is represented along mostly very stereotypical lines, despite there being
one or two moments where the expected power rela<onships are subverted. The main conict between
Martha Jones and the Master is very much that of dominant male vs subordinate female . In fact, all the
female characters in the scene - whether they are 'evil' like the Master's wife on the balcony or 'good' like
Martha's mother - are largely passive. When the <de turns and good begins to triumph, it becomes a
baFle between two alpha males - the Doctor and the Master, and the female characters are pushed to the
sidelines as expectant bystanders. In all, then, this clip conrms males as gures of power, and females, at
best, as suppor<ve sidekicks".

The rest of the essay is about proving what you've just said. You prove it by wri'ng the next four paragraphs
about:
camera , angle and movement
edi0ng
soundtrack
mise-en-scene

area of representation mentioned

text introduced

confident but cautious statement

(not b/w)

"In this clip from Dr Who gender is represented along mostly very
stereotypical lines, despite there being one or two moments where the
expected power rela<onships are subverted.
power/dominance introduced

key terminology relating to

representation

Candidate gives a summary or overview of how gender is represented in the clip.

The candidate notes that there are exceptions, WITHOUT contradicting him/herself (like many of
you did!)

characters clearly introduced - BY NAME!

The main conict between Martha Jones and the Master is very much that of
dominant male vs subordinate female.

?
Conflict highlighted with a clear example, allows the introduction of binary
opposition

EAA, Binary opposition evident through gender, and dominant/subordinate

character types (vs.)

Focusing on one gender to back up "subordinate female" point in previous sentence

In fact, all the female characters in the scene - whether they are 'evil' like
the Master's wife on the balcony or 'good' like Martha's mother - are
largely passive.
confident but cautious (not b/w)
Simple binary opposition! With appropriate example
(EG)

further illustration of conflict

When the <de turns and good begins to triumph, it becomes a baFle
between two alpha males - the Doctor and the Master, and the female
characters are pushed to the sidelines as expectant bystanders.
Mentioning that the clip progresses - and as a result representation of
gender progresses!
focus now on the other gender, a stereotype (term of representation)
and a link to the characters in question

reference back to opposite gender

Non-assuming, does not try to guess or blindly state/generalise the

whole text, just the clip!

In all, then, this clip conrms males as gures of power, and females,
at best, as suppor<ve sidekicks".
power/dominance etc

conclusion (even though it is paragraph 1)

also clearly backs up opening statement of paragraph 1 with EAA

The use of high and low angle shots for different characters are used
frequently in the sequence to demonstrate representations of class
and status...

An example of this during the duel with Merlin and the royal character where
the camera shoots each character from different angles to show their position
in the duel, in terms of who is winning. A final low angle shot is used of the
royal character as he knocks Merlin to the ground, thus winning the duel.

This usage of low angle shots gives the royal character clear superiority to
Merlin, who is repeatedly shot with a high angle shot to reinforce his
inferiority.

This usage of camera angles is important in juxtaposing the two characters and
their two clearly different statuses. However throughout the duration of the
sequence this power balance often shifts to portray Merlin as the superior one.
LINKIN
G
TO NE SENTENCE
XT PAR
A

The use of the editing technique shot reverse shot is used to display this
juxtaposing character representation as it enables us to see clear differences in
the positioning and status of the two characters, as it switches back and forth.
This technique also emphasises the shift in representation and positioning as
one character gains status towards another.

"There can be no Drama without

conflict!"
These conflicts are usually shown through binary
oppositions (BINARY = two things).
So ask yourself:
"Which characters in the extract seem to be the main
participants in this conflict?"
"What are the binary opposites in the area of
representation in the question?"

Remember! The conflict of power will

often shift throughout the extract or at
least show a range of representations
with the same area.

Remember this example!

The Doctor

The Master

The Master's Wife

Martha

Lastly...
Cinematography is great for representing power and
status in an extract, but Mise-en-scene is the easiest
way to show stereotypical representations!
Remember to think about how the following can reflect the character's
class/age/gender/sexuality/ethnicity/regional identity and ability/
disability;
Location - council estates could reflect class or ethnicity or region
Costume - e.g. trackies could reflect class, age, ethnicity or regional
identity
Props - e.g. a briefcase could reflect class, ethnicity, age or regional
identity
Hair & Make-up - e.g. fake tan/heavy foundation could reflect class,
ethnicity or regional identity
Performance - e.g. an aggressive performance could reflect class/age,
gender, sexuality, ethnicity or regional identity
Colours - e.g. Pinks could reflect gender or sexuality
Lighting - e.g. use of shadows could represent a submissive character or
a minority within any of the areas