Discuss the way in which the extract constructs the representation of gender

using the following:

- Camera shots, angles, movement and composition

- Editing
- Sound
- Mise en scene
(50 marks)

The extract opens with an establishing shot of a male and a female

character in the midst of an argument, and the tone of the female
characters voice, angry and harsh, indicates to the audience that the
male character is in the wrong here, and that there is a strong sense of
initial tension between gender roles in the story line, and
foreshadowing that the coming extract will be tense and based around
a central theme of conflict.
This scene is soon forgotten, however, as the scene cuts to a shot of
a heavy-duty digger & non-diegetic music is introduced at a relatively
fast tempo, giving us a further sense of tension and also emphasising
the actions and giving them a sense of purpose. Further mid-shots of
the digger reveal to the audience that it is in fact being operated by a
woman who is rather formally and smartly dressed, which instantly
causes the audience to think of the stereotypical idea of a builder
which is that of a large masculine type of man and this representation
of the female character Abbie in the digger gives us the initial
impression that she may in fact, be more of an assertive or
“tomboyish” personality, an idea which is in part backed up by the
leather jacket the audience are now able to see that she is wearing.
The camera does however then cut to a mid-shot of a male figure
digging in a trench with his bare hands and dressed in dirty clothing,
which brings us back to the original stereotype of the male figure being
more accustomed to manual work. The extract then cuts to a close-up
shot of a hand protruding from the earth and the male character yells
the command for everyone else to “stop”, showing that he holds
authority over the other female worker. All of the non-diegetic sound
music is suddenly cut out here in unison with the diegetic sound and
quick reaction-shot close-ups of the characters faces show us that the
atmosphere is once again very tense between the characters, the male
being silent and anticipating danger whilst the female is unaware of
what is happening and so wears a corresponding look of worry. The
loud roar of an animal breaks the silence here and non-diegetic music
is simultaneously once again introduced, however this time at a much
faster tempo to show the danger. A fast side-to-side whip-pan of the
trees in the style of someone frantically looking around indicates panic
and as the tiger is introduced to the scene all of the camera work and
cutting from here on become much faster, with a heavy use of jump-
cuts to close-ups of both the main characters faces. The camera then
uses a long shot of the male figure and the tiger in the frame together
in a comparison which shows the human figure as being much smaller
than the animal and the male figure is here as a result stripped of his
masculinity in the eyes of the audience completely, as he is forced to
cower within the trench in which he was working. This is then
emphasised further in a reversal of roles as the female character in the
digger proceeds to attack the tiger in order to protect the male,
confirming the audiences earlier suspicion of Abbie as being a more
tomboyish and courageous character. This is reinforced by a fast
succession of jump cuts to various close-ups of the digger and the
tiger, the close-up shots serving to make the movements of the two
seem faster and more panicked, which shows Abbie’s control in the
tense situation as opposed to the males panic. The male character is
soon back on his feet however and in a single act of bravery/stupidity
has reasserted his masculine stereotype by attempting to draw the
tiger away unarmed by using himself as live bait.
After the scene with the tiger has come to an end and the action
and tension has been relieved the non-diegetic sound slows down
again and a close up of the male characters face shows his look of
relief and gratitude towards Abbie who has just saved him from the
tiger once again, showing how the balance of power and authority can
quickly change backward and forth between the stereotypical male
character and the less typical female character and does not simply
stay with the male as you might think.
A further representation of gender is that of one of the other
characters who is introduced in the following scene. This character is
another male however is of a smaller build than the first and is dressed
in clean, fancy clothing including a pink top, waistcoat and scarf, which
leads the audience to believe that he may in fact be less masculine
than the other character and more of an intellectual and as such
subverting the stereotypical view of masculine in this extract which
has been built up so far.
The final scene shown in the extract also constructs a very different
representation of gender and opens with a mid-shot of a woman and a
man inside a dimly-lit barn. Mid to close-up shots are used all
throughout this scene to show the focus on the particular character
who is speaking at the time. At first the audience is aware from the
tone of voice of the woman that she is currently in control of the
situation and blackmailing the male character. She is also dressed in
fine expensive clothing including a dress and a long light coloured coat
whereas the male character is dressed in typical dirtied farming gear
and in plainer colours than the female and this reinforces the
impression that she is in charge. This balance of power is son, and
suddenly switched completely as the man, known to the audience as
West, picks up a shotgun and thus conforms to the negative stereotype
of male figures being more violent and having to resort to this to gain
control. This superiority is then further asserted by the use of the
command “Get in!” by West as he throws her into the barn and to the
ground and aims the gun at her. As he prepares to shoot her the
extract cuts dramatically to slow-motion to emphasise the fear on her
face at the sudden loss of control and threatening tone of West.
 In conclusion this extract both conforms to and subverts
stereotypical views of gender through the use of various different
camera angles, editing techniques and sound.

AO1: 16/10
AO2:
16/10
AO3: 7/10

39/50