Thursday, 13 October 2011

How is representation of gender constructed in primevil?

In the opening scene a woman is angry at a male subject, he tries to follow her but she doesn't respond well. This shows she is dominating the relationship and the male has done something wrong, this is quite a typical representation of a relationship.
A wide shot is used to show the location at which the characters are and to show a crane that is moving. A crane shot is used to follow and to zoom into the crane, where it is revealed that it is a female driving the crane. This connotes the idea that this female breaks the typical representation that only males do that kind of job. A close up is used to show the reaction of the male who finds an arm within the side of a ditch wall. This is also known as a reaction shot. It shows his emediate reaction and response. A high action shot is used to show the presence of the tiger who is above the male. This shows that he is defenceless and the tiger has authority over the male. Another high action shot it used, this time  the male is above, this shows that he has finally gained some sort of controll and dominance over the tiger, showing the first sign of his masculinity. Tracking is used to show four characters walking to a new location and being able to follow the converstation.
A sound bridge is used to relate one scene to another. The sound bridge is the beginning of a sound track, it has a low tone to it with bass, which is significant to the action and violence invloved in the scene, as it wouldn't involve soft, string instruments. When the male is in danger, the female shouts out to get the tigers attention. The gender role has changed from the typical represention as it is normally the male protecting the female from the danger. There are non-diegetic sound effects used like the tigers grawling and crane which gives effect to a chaotic scene. During a converstation between the characters involved in the action and new introduced characters, the sound track changes to high pitched string instruments, this helps build suspense as the characters discuss details and reveal shocking news. The diologe of a female dressed smartly is different to the man who is dressed in dark, typical farmers clothes. These are the only two characters who have a disagreement and it's typical that they don't see eye to eye. When there are many shots fired, dogs start to bark, this creates the hectic action that is going on.
The costumes the chartacters wear are significant to gender representation. The female who is controlling the crane is wearing black clothes and a jacket for warmth, however a male who is setting a trap, is wearing a pink top accessorized with a hat ans scarf. The gender role has changed as it appears that the male cares more for his apperance than the female. The fact that the female is controlling a crane and  holds and uses a gun on numerous occasions, also suggests that the gender roles have changed and it has become socially accepting for females to carry out such jobs. A different female however catagorises herself as a typical female, as she has her make up and hair in tact and she does not appear happy when she is forced to the floor in her 'favorite coat' this shows she cares about her apperance. There are many male domminated objects in the last scene, such as many guns and weapons.
The scene that involves the tiger has many edits. The shots are short and quick, this helps emphasize the amont of action that is happening and at a fast pace. Through out a conversation the 180 degree rule is used so that the audience can keep see a converstaion and see the reaction of each character. When the farmer aims a gun at the female on the floor and guns are fired, slow motion is used to capture the reaction of the female and to give effect to what has just took place, is also gives the audience time to think what is going to happen next.