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.
