Essay question

Compare the way these two TV dramas construct representations of gender using the following:

 

1.                Camera shots, angles, movement and composition

2.                Mise-en-scene

 

I have chosen to compare Hustle and The Killing for this question and I will be comparing the ways that they construct the representations of gender through camera shots, angles, movement and composition and mise-en-scene. Both of these dramas do this through many different types of ways such as full body shots of the characters to represent how gender is constructed.

In the scene from Hustle, gender is represented in many different ways. This has been done through technical codes such as lighting, the use of camera shots, angles, movement and composition and mise-en-scene. For example, lighting is used in the Hustle to represent gender in a very flirtatious and sexy way Dexter Gold finds his dream girl ‘Emma’ and then fantasizes about her with his passion around her, which is gold. The way lighting is used in this scene to represent gender is when the Dexter is fantasizing about her, Emma the ‘dream’ character looks like a sort of dream and heavenly type of girl, which would be ironic as he thinks she is his perfect dream character. This is done through a brighter, purer lighting which brings out more features of the female character and makes her look like the stereotypical dream flirtatious girl.

Lighting also constructs the representations of gender in the gripping scene where the Sarah Lund who is the Deputy Superintendent, is chasing after what seems a criminal she has been trying to catch. At the beginning of the scene, the lighting is foggy, unclear but isn’t dark and isn’t too nerve wrecking as the light is still visible which makes you feel less worried for Sarah. As the scene progresses and the chase happens, Sarah Lund’s vision becomes less clear because the lighting turns darker as she loses the criminal which is suspected to be male. This could show gender representation because Sarah Lund is seen to be more vulnerable, being a female character by herself in a dark big building unaware of the whereabouts of a male criminal who as we see in the scene, is able to cause harm and has the usual stereotypical male characteristic as he is represented as being more powerful and strong than Sarah who is a ‘weaker’ and less powerful character, maybe because she is a female.

The relationship between the two characters in The Killing (Sarah Lund and the criminal) is unknown as there is possibility Sarah has been face-to-face with the criminal before, but they have no positive connection whatsoever as Sarah is trying to capture him, and possibly imprison him, whereas the criminal is willing to do anything even if it means hurting Sarah, to get away from her and escape the possible outcome consequences. There is no romance or friendship between these two characters.

Whereas in Hustle, the relationship and connection between the two characters (Dexter and Emma), is completely the opposite, as the whole scene is about Dexter fantasizing about Emma in a ‘sexy’ way as she is laying in barely any clothes, licking her lips, winking which is a very flirtatious and alluring towards Dexter which is making his attraction to her grow very rapidly. This represents both Dexter and Emma very stereotypically, as being a female; Emma is shown as being very feminine, sexy, the every man’s dream type (long blonde hair, blue eyes, feminine figure) and a sex icon which is a very stereotypical way to represent gender. Whereas Dexter is also shown in a very male stereotypical way because he is pretty much falling at Emma’s feet because she is this ideal perfect flirtatious stereotypical women.

Mise-en-scene plays a big role in the construction of gender in Hustle, because in Dexter’s ‘fantasy’ where he sees Emma being very flirtatious, the stuff put in the scene such as the bed covered in his favourite thing which is gold, her clothing which is a gold outfit and every prep in his fantasy is gold. This shows a sense of power for the male character as gold is seen to be as a very powerful, successful colour which could hint at the fact that Emma who is less powerful and a woman could possibly only want Dexter for his success and money, not because she is attracted to him.

The camera editing and how it is used plays a big role in how gender is represented in both Hustle and The Killing. For example, in The Killing, when Sarah is trying to find the criminal and is acting very cautious, the camera is used mainly for close up and mid shots of her, showing that she is scared and she isn’t shown as being very powerful due to the fact that when the camera is close up to her, we can see her facial expression showing her fear.