Representation of Gender - The Wire in the Blood

Representation of Gender

The Wire in the Blood

The clip opens with the two main characters, Alex and Tony, arguing about the case in which they are investigating. A hand held camera is used in this scene to emphasis chaos and tension between the protagonists along with the panning movement that applies to the camera shot to show that the characters are being rushed, to show emphasis of their dispute. This shot is viewed from behind a barred gate. This could represent that the two characters are trapped and imprisoned, linking to their occupation. The lighting is darkened to create an element of mystery and dark activity. The male character (Tony) is clearly viewed as the dominant character in the conversation due to his character arguing with the inferior female character. This applies to the Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory because males are viewed to be more superior over women. Alex is viewed wearing thick clothing and a turtle neck top, which shows that her character is hiding her femininity by covering her female aspects. This allows her to appear more masculine. This contradicts the Male Gaze as women are shown as flirtatious and reveal bodily parts in order to appeal to men.

The following scene shows that after the dispute, the female character and the male character have reversed roles. This scene shows the female character taking the lead role leaving the male character behind. Although a close up of this scene shows that the male character is still superior by positioning him higher up than her, thus adding pressure onto the female character. This shows a power play between the two characters. When Alex discusses an investigative plan with another female officer, Tony turns away, indicating that he does not agree with her decisions. His character is placed in the centre of the frame which indicates that his ideas are separate to Alex’s. Tony’s character walks upwards to express dominance whilst Alex is left below him and undermining herself. She replies to his speech with ‘please’ which expresses weakness and the need for male support. Again this follows the Male Gaze as females are considered to be weaker and inferior to men, thus in need for male support. The scene concludes with a crane shot, capturing Tony continuing onwards expressing higher authority and leaving Alex below and helpless. This conclusion shows that distance between the two characters and how fractious their relationship is.

The next scene continues with an insight into Tony’s house. It contains references to his occupation, such as the red wall colour which represents crime, blood and death and the butterflies hanging on the walls which could represent biological science and intelligence of the character. Additionally, Tony is wearing the same clothes with his sleeves rolled up to express his masculinity. The darkened lighting suggests independence with emphasis on male characters. This links to the Male Gaze as the character is clearly motivated and consumed by his work. Diegetic sound in this scene is the character sharing to the audience the evidence that he has uncovered from the case, which questions the audience to what happened and whether they can solve the case. Non-diegetic sound in this scene is the soundtrack in the background which suggests the character is walking the audience through his though process and links to the concentration and seriousness of the character. The scene concludes with a close up of the character which again focuses primarily on the concentration of the character as well as the thought process. Throughout this scene, illustrates and highlights how much work has been put into investigation as well as working at a brisk pace in an attempt to get the answers needed quickly.

The next scene gives the audience an insight into Alex’s living area. In which the audience can pick out is that it is disorganised as the house is cluttered and her character is clearly rushing to get to an important meeting. A similar theme appears here as red coloured walls appear again here to emphasise masculinity. This is so that she can bring in a feeling of masculinity in the house because she is a single parent who is living in a man’s world so by projecting masculinity her character can exert more dominance. The diegetic sound in this scene is the narrative of the character as the speaking at a faster pace than normal and how she is rushing to achieve something which emphasises how disorganised her character is. As she is on the phone, her son, Ben, is sitting in the corner of the stairs. The character appears neglected and lonely. This character is wearing the same coloured clothes as the walls which show that this character is consumed by this job and is often left alone due to his mother being disorganised and spending very little time with him. As Tony enters the house, the double doors emphasise parts of a woman which indicates that they are inviting men in. This refers to the Male Gaze as women need companionship and one way to help with this is to appeal to men to draw them in. Tony enters the hallway to try and talk about the case with his working partner but realises that she is neglecting her son by not being there for him as her character puts her job in front of her family. Tony asks ‘What happened to the nanny?’ in a confused way as he is unaware of the story behind the babysitter and Alex. The gender stereotype becomes reversed when Alex asks Tony ‘Are you busy tonight? Which shows that the male is the figure that looks after the family at home, thus contradicting the Male Gaze.

The next scene opens with an establishing shot which gives the audience an idea of the setting. An abandoned house and dark lighting creates a dark and eerie atmosphere to the scene. The car that pulls up in the drive way is a modern Mercedes-Benz which indicates that the owner is wealthy and the colour silver emphasises violence. The audience is then introduced to the antagonist of the clip, a bald man dressed in thick, black clothing to exert masculinity. However this masculinity is expressed through violence. The character breaks through the door and storms into the following room. The camera is positioned and follows the antagonist to create a sense of chaos similarly to the beginning of the clip. For this another hand held camera is used again. As the characters in the main room begin the conversation, the audience hear of a character called Danny who has mysteriously disappeared. A flashback showing this Danny character being gagged a red lighting feature indicates blood and fear. The antagonist is positioned as the highest character in the scene to express his dominance and masculinity. Meanwhile the supporting characters look away from the antagonist as they express fear and fright towards the character.

The final scene of this clip creates the opposite atmosphere to the previous scene. The scene shows Tony and Ben playing with popcorn in the kitchen. The stereotype continues here as Tony has no idea how to control the situation. Uplifting music is played in the background for this scene to emphasise to emphasise the enjoyment and fun of the situation. However this only occurs when Tony is around, when Alex is around a feeling of tension between the mother and son. Fast paced editing is used to again place emphasis on the fun and enjoyment between the two character and the activity. The appearance of the kitchen is similar to the rest of the building and inside Tony’s house. Here it clearly shows that Alex is trying to represent herself and her family to be in a man’s world. By conversing, the two characters are bonding far better than the mother. Tony is presented to be higher than Ben as the close up positions Tony’s character in the background and higher than the child. This shows the dominance of the character. Lastly, when a conversation about the nanny occurs, the audience begin to realise that the nanny has spent more time with Ben than his own mother. This shows that there is a very little balance between a male job and a female lifestyle of Alex’s character.