sexuality

The way that sexuality is shown to people in the world is a different way to the way it is shown in tv dramas and films. Sometimes in a tv dramas or films, you can never identify which one is gay, lesbian or bi-sexual. Theorist Andy Medhurst (1998) claims that sexuality disrupt representation claims, like those made by Dyer ("How we are seen determines in part how we are treated; how we treat others on how we see them; such seeing come from representation" Dyer, 1993) because in the REAL world you cannot 'see' sexuality. Unless someone tells you they are homosexual you have no way of knowing it. 

However, in the media stereotypes are used to explore ideological positions about sexuality. “Films and television comedies are full of images of gay men as effeminate screaming queens…It chooses that aspect of gay male behaviour (SELECTION), inflates it into the defining male characteristic of male homosexuality (MAGNIFICATION), then establish it as the most easily recognizable image (REDUCTION).”

“This is why stereotypes of sexuality strive so vigorously to create two, polarized sexualities, hetro and straight, and to insist with such obsessive reductiveness that people who belong to those poles are easily identifiable – hence the recurring presence across media texts of the screaming queen and his female equivalent the butch dyke.”

In real life, if there is a son or a daughter who knows they are a different sexuality to others, they want to tell their family members such as moms and dads. Sometimes the parents are not proud and don't respect their childs sexuality unlike when you notice in a tv drama their moms and dads have different perspectives. Here is an example from the tv drama Glee, where santana 

Hustle Genders

How is gender portrayed in the extract of Hustle through:

Camera work

Mise-en-scene

Sound

& Editing?

In the extract of Hustle the theories of Mulvey (1975), Mackillon (2002) and Gauntlett (2002) are both supported and distrupted through the media language present in the clip. I will now explore this in more detail with reference to how; camera work, mise-en-scene, sound and editing contributes to constructions of gender representation.

The opening shot is a low angle medium close up of middle aged male wearing an expensive suit. The camera angle gives him masculine status as it makes him powerful which could fit Gauntlet’s 2002 theory however, the way he is standing is not a masculine pose which means his character also fits Mackillon’s theory as he is looking more feminine. In the background there is a younger female character shown coming up the stairs to the clothing shop, the positioning seems to support traditonal gender roles as she appears lower down, and therefore less important, than the lead male character. The opening scene is accompanied by non-diegetic music that changes when the women comes into shot, it is quite feminine and it contributes to sexaulising the female character in a way that fits Mulvey’s 1975 theory. Furthermore, it contributes to de-masculinising the male character to a point where he almost appears camp which also fits with the dress shop setting and his job. The shots are linked together with a sound bridge and continuity editing is used to not distract the viewer.

The next shot is a high angle over the shoulder when the not so wealthy lady walks off and the male character notice there is another lady in shop browsing around, but it shows that he spots the expensive engagement ring first which she is clearly trying to show off.  Straight away he is interested in what she wants, and quickly jogs off to get the dress he told her about. This shows me that people who doesn’t have quite a lot of money gets treated disrespectfully like the middle aged women in the shop unlike the young lady who was approved more when she is shown with quite a lot of money. The middle aged women is shown as a house wife who stays at home who cooks and cleans for her children. When she says “I’ll come back later”, it shows us that she is not very affluent and doesn’t want to show the man that she cant afford it, so she says that so it takes his mind off how much money she has. The screen fades to black and shows the scene of the wealthy women with the dress on. This shot is called a tilt, with the camera moving up the women’s body of how gorgeous she looks in it. When the camera travels up the young women’s body, it is shown as a sexualised action. This supports Mulvey’s theory about women be sexualised. The sound bridge from the previous scene carries on but has diegetic sound of them discussing what the dress is like. When the male character tells the lady about how much money the dress is, there is some kind of drum role towards her deciding if she will buy it for that much.

genders

Laura Mulvey, 1975

"As erotic objects of desire for the characters within the story, and as erotic objects of desire the spectator."

David Gauntlett 2002 

"Images of the conventionally rugged, super-independant, extra-strong macho man still circulate in popular culture."

Mackillion 2002

In 2002 mackillion said males are now used in the similar way as women, in so far as they being presented as sex objects and are seen to be more image conscious and sensitive.


Women. 

• Sex objects 
• Should be in the kitchen 
• Can't protect themselves 
• Depression 
• Intelligent 
• Powerless 
• Skinny / large boobs 
• Victim 

Men. 

• Violent - abuse 
• Dumb 
• Creepy - smiling 
• Heroic 
• Attractive - muscles 
• Strong 
• Brave 
• Powerless

Sexism in magazines.... 

GQ magazines are sexist towards women due to the fact that men are shown in suits or full clothes where as women are shown with hardly any clothes on to attract the target audience to read it more. 

 

Sound

Diegetic Sound and Non-Diegetic Sound

Diegetic sound is 'realistic sound' where the source is visible on screen or where the source is implied to be present in the action even if the sound source is out of shot (e.g. a door slamming in another room or sirens in the distance) common examples of diegetic sound include: 

- Dialogue (characters voices)

- Sounds made by objects 

- music coming from instruments shown on screen

- ambient sound (background noise that would be present)

Non-diegetic sound is sound where the source is not present in the action nor looks like it is meant to be; common examples include:

- Mood music

- Dramatic sound effects that do not match the sound anything on screen would make.

- Narrators commentary.

Sound Terminology

Inside these two categories there are a number of specific terms for different types of sounds that you must be able to use in the examination when you analysis, make note on and write about the extract in terms of representation they are as follows:

Non-diegetic

Title music: theme tunes (connote genre/represent TV drama).

Score/incidental music: orchestral music used to connote tone/atmosphere.

Sound motifs: sounds associated with certain character (often a villain like the shark in Jaws) that connote something good/bad is about to happen.

Sound effects: used to connote atmosphere.

Voice over: often used to give the viewer an insight into the thoughts of a character (creating a bond between the audience and character), set the scene or progress the narrative.  

Diegetic

Synchronous sound: sounds that match what you see on screen.

Sound effects: realistic sounds that match the action on screen creating realism and/or connoting atmosphere e.g. gun shots, door opening/closing.

Dialogue: characters speaking (dialogue progresses the narrative and reveals the character's personality/views to the viewer). 

Ambient sound: natural background noise you would hear if the scene on screen were real - this is vital when creating realism.