Primeval extract: representation of gender

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

Mise en scene constructs the representation of gender through clothing. The man near the start of the extract who is targeted by the sabre-toothed tiger is wearing a dirty shirt and looks like he doesn't take much care in the way he is dressed. The women however who is controlling the digger seems to take care in her appearance and she is wearing clean clothes which is completely different to the man. This representation of gender is stereotypical as it suggests that women care more then men about their image. The clothing of men and women further into the film where the women is looking to blame the man for keeping the tiger is shown to appear as though he doesn't take care about his appearance compared to the women who looks appears to be wealthy and she clearly isn't dressed suitably for the the place she is at. This suggests that women are wealthier then men which isn't necessarily true. The farm setting in the extract is stereotypical for the man to be there as most farmers are men and he is dressed appropriately however it isn't stereotypical for the women wearing expensive clothing to be in the setting as she is not dressed appropriately and is more likely to be seen in a posh setting. This also suggests that men are more hard working then women which is possibly stereotypical. In the beginning of the clip the women is controlling the digger while the man is walking around searching for things which challenges the stereotype that women are more useless then men and also because women are stereotypically meant to do office jobs. Women in the extract are shown to be more in control and intelligent.



Camera shots also construct the representation of gender through using a whip pan at the appearance of the sabre-toothed tiger.This suggests that the character is constantly in alert and this represents gender by showing that men are the ones that are usually in dangerous situations which is stereotypical of men. A high angle shot is used where the man who owns the dogs gets a shotgun and the women is lying on the floor.  This suggests that the character is vulnerable and that she is being viewed by a more powerful person in this case the man. This however contrasts with the women earlier in the extract who appeared to be the more powerful one as she was bossing the man around and telling the man that she is going to say about him using dogs for fighting if he doesn't say he has been keeping the tiger. Women stereotypically appear to be the sly and bossy ones which is represented in this extract and men appear to be the more controlling ones which again is shown in this extract. Over the shoulder shots are also used between the man who owns the dogs and the women who he is talking to and this shows who's speech is most important. It changes between the man and women however mainly focuses on the women  and her facial expressions which suggests womens speech is more important then mens. Steadicam is used which follows the man who is escaping the sabre-toothed tiger while maintaining a clear image. This allows viewers to follow the character which allows them to see actions and emotions. As the man is this one running from the sabre-toothed tiger and the women is in fact trying to save him this challenges the stereotype of men as they usually seen as the ones to save women and the man is also shown to be a lot less intelligent then the women which again challenges the stereotype as some men are seen as intelligent.