Evaluation Task 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In the introduction to the thriller Sicarius gender is represented through the use of camera angles/shots, editing, sound and Mise-en-scene. The husband’s outfit consists of a blue shirt, a yellow tie, a waistcoat and black pants that altogether give the connotations of him being a powerful male character. The character is shown waking up whilst being hangover, and leaving his bedroom to grab liquor from the kitchen. Meanwhile his wife is shown cutting fruit in the kitchen and inquiring whether her husband would appreciate some breakfast. The following adheres to the stereotype that the male in a marriage is the provider of wealth and that the wife’s place, is in the kitchen.

This can be seen through the contrast between the attire that the husband and his wife are wearing. While the husband looks like he is prepared to go to work, the wife is in her robe preparing food for the husband, placing her lower in the ranks of society. Additionally the wife asks her husband if he would like some breakfast in a pleading like manner, whilst the husband is opening a bottle of liquor, which further shows that the husband is the more authoritative character. All of the following represents the stereotype of male supremacy and the objectification of women. This representation of gender through mise-en-scene is contradicted in the last scene. In this scene the husband answers to a covert figure in a way that displays he cannot have his wife find out about what they are speaking about. As the conversation advances, the husband gradually becomes more worried through his actions. Through this the audience can see that the wife has authority in the marriage, and can stand up to her husband about certain matters. This idea of the female gender being commanding is reinforced when the wife shoots her husband and implies about the job that the covert figure was speaking about. The gun held by the wife reinforces the idea even further. This completely subverts the gender roles in the media piece, especially the expectations of a woman in society.

The male gender is once again shown as commanding and powerful through the style of editing, and camera usage in the sequence. For instance there are three shots displaying the wife cutting fruit. This repeated representation of the same task through the use of editing builds upon the stereotype that a woman’s only occupation in a marriage is cooking food and making her husband happy, whilst the husband takes care of all the important matters. An example of an issue that the husband would have to deal with is the covert figure, which appears in front of the house. The way that the camera pans towards the door and reveals the figure builds tension and shows the husband facing a possible dilemma. Also from another point of view it displays the covert male figure as significant and powerful, adding to the stereotype of males being more sinister characters than woman. After the following the wife is once again shown cutting fruit, although this time the frame cuts black and after a period of time reveals a close up of a knife being struck into a table. This type of editing together with the close-up strongly suggests to the audience that the wife may after all be the more sinister character, subverting the before displayed stereotypes. The scene outside of the house continues to display the covert male figure as powerful through the use of close-ups, but it additionally shows the wife as a similarly powerful character when she shoots her husband at the point at which he is shown as a fragile individual. The effects created around the gunshot support this representation. The camera shots and style of editing at first represent the male gender as more powerful, although ultimately show both genders to be equally influential.

The use of sound in the extract connotes gender stereotypes similarly to the way that camera, editing, and mise-en-scene do throughout the opening sequence of the thriller. The first couple of sounds uttered by the husband when he is waking up show the connotations of his character being a drunk, conforming to the stereotype of the typical alcoholic husband. An example of this kind of a sound is the long moan voiced by the husband when he covers his face with his hands during the scene. This although is contradicted for the first time when the wife speaks to her husband and vice versa in a way that it represents the male gender as being the more commanding gender. Although this is once again countered during the wife’s last line of dialogue during which her voice becomes more confident, and after her husbands voice was shown as weaker during his conversation with the covert figure. The pleonastic sound of the knife being struck into the table further builds upon the power of the wife and her gender. The non-diegetic underscore in the thriller does not conform or subvert to any stereotypical views about gender in the extract. That is except for the two builds up which lead to the pleonastic sound of the knife being struck, and the gunshot outside of the house, which both add towards the strength of the female gender.

In conclusion this extract both conforms to and subverts stereotypical views of gender. The mise-en-scene illustrates the female gender as ultimately being the more powerful. The camera angles/shots and editing style together with the sound display both genders as being equally influential. Together the following construct gender roles in this extract as being more or less equal.