In What Ways Does The Extract Represent Gender?

This extract, from the BBC's Doctor Who, Series 3, Volume 4 represents gender using many different ways. Firstly it uses camera angles to represent different genders and the power they have on the opposing character. WE see Character 1 kneeling down at the bottom of the steps, this then gives us a high angle shot from the point of view of the male Character 2, as if he is looking down on the female Character 1. The use of this angle aims to show the audience that the male is the most powerful as he is looking down at the female. The shot is then reversed leaving the female Character 1 looking up at the opposing man, this reiterates the point that the male is the more powerful of the two, connoting that the male gender is more dominant than the female gender. This also links onto the mise en scene used to represent these two characters in the same way.

As we can see the man (Character 2) is dressed smartly in a suit and tie, he looks professional. Whereas the female (Character 1) is dressed in a more casual manner and looks somewhat domestic. These two ideas that are used represent the stereotypes we have regarding male and female genders that the male gender is more professional and tends to earn the money within the relationship or family. Then the females are more domestic and sometimes seen as child bearing compared to a man. This is a stereotype that cannot be brought up without being subtle as it can offend people and will make the program as a whole controversial.

The sound used in this extract from Doctor Who also creates a representation of gender. When the more dominant male asks the apparently weaker female to 'KNEEL!' before him, his voice bellows out over all the other noises in the shot, this reinstates his authority and power of the female character. This high intensity and loudness of his voice is used to intimidate the audience and therefore make them feel the threat of this male character just like the female is, it puts the audience in perspective of the struggling female character. This is also accompanied by sad and atmospheric slow music, this non-deictic sound makes the females character seem even more vulnerable and it aims to pull the audience in to her position to make us feel sorry for her. This makes the situation more engaging as we feel emotionally attached to this character.

The position of the female character at the start of the clip as a whole also ties in to the representation the extract is trying to imply upon gender. Since she is being forced to kneel before the more dominant man, it backs up the stereotype that the male gender is more powerful and forceful than the female gender. We see character 2, the man, smiling in a way that makes him seem pleased of himself. The close up camera shot used helps the audience determine exactly how he feels with his actions. Whereas when the camera switches back to character 1, the female, we see her with a look of terror and sadness, this is used to convince the audience that she is the one in pain, she is the weak one in this situation. This technique is again used to make the audience feel sorry for this female character and get us on her side, for when she ends up coming out on top against the man, we are happy for her and will her on to succeed. It gets us more interested in the storyline and draws us in to the climax of the episode which will make the show as a whole feel better and more pleasing to watch to the audience.