Gender in TV Drama
Stereotype of
Women:
TV dramas are always thought to be a female-viewer-attracted
industry, especially for soap operas. However, the same as other types of
television programs, TV dramas represent and reinforce the majority’s ideology
of modern western culture. The role of a female character is to make the male
characters appear more important to the series.
It
is also interesting to see how female character’s professional achievements
correlate with their physical appearance. In the so-called nerdy sitcom the Big
Bang Theory, the only scientific illiteracy main character is a beautiful
blonde named Penny. On the contrary, another minor female role is Leslie, who
is also a highly educated scientist, and is portrayed as not attractive at all. This stereotype is used in TV
dramas to express that the highly intelligent women are represented as inferior
whereas the more sexualised, and typically blonde, characters are considered to
have a more important role in the drama.
Another
example is the show about advertising industry. Betty, a full-time housewife is
shown as an elegant blonde (blonde again!) with a nice figure; Peggy, an
ambitious secretary who later becomes a copywriter, is much less attractive. Both characters are from The Mad Men.
Here draws the conclusion that female characters in TV dramas
are either represented as pretty or intelligent; successful either in family
life or workplace—there is hardly any way to accomplish both.
Female characters’ professional lives are usually ignored, or
more often, they are portrayed as housewives who takes care of children and
family chores every day, but not ambitious at all in building a career. Even if
women do work, they are often shown on TV in traditional feminine jobs such as
teachers, secretaries and nurses, which kind of professions all require
patience, carefulness, warm-heartedness. For the relatively small amount of
women who try to further their professional lives, in which they do fail a
majority of the time For example Samantha from EastEnders left her husband to
pursue a career in modelling, but was unsuccessful.
In this way, female characters are often punished for
pursuing their own careers at the expense of their boyfriends or husbands. Of
course there are also women in power in TV dramas, though the number is
limited. However, these professional successful women are less favoured than
housewives; furthermore, women in power are usually portrayed to be villainous,
which indicates the discouragement of being such type of female.
Stereotype
of Men:
The first stereotype of men is that they should appear to be
strong and powerful, mentally and physically. Males appear to be the elements
that are the face of TV drama as they are seen as an important role due to
their abilities.
An example
of a strong male character is The Doctor from Doctor Who. His character is
presented as strong due to his vast knowledge of planets, strategies and
monsters to face up against. Although he cannot resist travelling with a female
companion. This makes his character seem more important as he has an inferior
with him which makes him the superior. 
Whereas a countertype to this is Ian Beale from EastEnders. This
is because his character can be perceived as weak due to his vulnerability due
to recent narratives and can easily be manipulated by other characters.
Another stereotype is that men are obsessed with sex. This can
be interpreted due to immaturity of a small majority of the male population. This
stereotype begins with the idea that teenagers become sex crazed and become
obsessed. Whereas when they age, this craze is not so effective.
An example of a sex crazed character is Jay from The Inbetweeners.
The character always talks fantasy with his group of friends that he has do
sexual things with other people that just simply are not true. Eventually, his
act becomes transparent and his friends do not take an interest in what he has
to say a majority of the time. 
The countertype to this is Sheldon Cooper of the Big Bang
Theory. Who has no interest in sexual actions or sexual intercourse. This character
prefers to focus on his scientific career. Additionally, if he was ready to
reproduce with a companion, it will be accomplished clinically and not amorous
and widely.
How Gender
is Represented Through the 4 Areas of Textual Analysis
Camera shots/angles/movements:
Establishing/long
shot – This shot can be perceived as an establishing shot as the scene
is set and the characters are clearly visible. But it is also a long shot as
the audience have a closer insight into the details of the clothing worn, the
way in which the characters behave and details of the expressions from the characters.
The characters appear to be dressed appropriately for their age considering
that a stereotyped teenager is dressed up in hoodies and tracksuit bottoms.
Cross-cutting
– This transition is used when there is a conversation between characters
in a scene. This I used in this scene to ensure that the following scene begins
immediately without any details being lost. The quick reactions of the transitions
allow the audience to capture the expressions of all the characters in the scene.
Sound:
Upbeat
music – This music begins when the characters are just about to pass
the bus stop. This creates a feeling that an action is going to happen in which
was calling the people ‘bus wankers’. Which then ends once the characters have
passed. This creates a sense that the audience have realised that what Jay did
was wrong and will have consequences. Which in this case was being threatened
by two men from the bus stop.
The same track begins once again one the boys try to escape
but fail. This creates another uplifting moment for the audience as they can
interpret that the characters could escape but unfortunately do not. This is a
comical moment for the audience as they realise that an uplifting and exhilarating
opportunity has been open to the characters but does not become reality as they
become boxed in. Once again, the music concludes when the characters realise that
there is nowhere else to go.
Mise-en-Scene:
Clothing – The main characters
in the car are not wearing stereotypical teenage clothing of hoodies and
tracksuit bottoms. Instead they are dressed up appropriately like adults. Furthermore,
the people at the bus stop are wearing thick coats and scarfs which could
indicate that the scene is set around winter time when the temperature becomes
chillier.
Lighting – The scene
clearly shows that it is at night, around 10pm. However the street is lit up
with street lights and shops to create a brighter mood to a darkened city.
How Gender
is Represented with the Other 6 Areas or Representation
Age – The
representation of character’s depend on their age. For example, teenage boys
are obsessed with sex, get drunk a lot and can be law abiding. Compared to
teenage girls who obsess about their physical appearance, talk about boys and hang
out with friends. However, when they turn into adults, the males are portrayed
as strong, powerful and intelligent, whereas adult women can be portrayed as
domestic, vulnerable and unintelligent.
Ethnicity – Both genders
can have different ethnicity. Stereotypically, coloured people prefer to speak
quickly with slang language compared to white people who do not. TV dramas tend
to use characters of different ethnicities to prevent ethnical inequality.
Sexuality –
Gender does not particularly impact sexuality as in modern society as
genders can be attracted to the opposite gender or the same gender. In some TV
dramas, there are at least one homosexual couple to ensure that any homosexual
viewers can compare to the characters. The effects of these are either
positive, negative or neutral.
Class and
Status – In the media, it is portrayed that men support women to keep
a balance and live a healthy lifestyle. Men are represented as being higher
class citizens due to stereotyping and can generate a suitable income to
provide for a family. Lower class characters commonly resemble single mothers,
who struggle to provide for their families. Thus showing that women are of
lower class than men in the media.
Physical
Ability/ Disability – Out of the two genders, men are viewed as more able
than women in the media. Stereotypically, since men are considered to be stronger,
it is unlikely for them to be disabled. Becoming disabled in the media can be
caused due to simple tasks, but become over exaggerated leaving a character
disabled.
Regional Identity
– Since men are considered to be upper class they are more likely to speak
in the certain accent related to the area living in or speak posh to show high
authority. Whereas women tend to be judged by the way in which they speak by society
as to some people it may not seem natural compared to the male’s speech.
