Representation of gender in TV drama

Gender in TV drama

 

Gender is a wide subject and is represented in a number of ways, especially in TV drama.

 

Throughout TV drama both men and women are stereotyped in a number of ways that are similar to one and other. However, as well as these common stereotypes, there are in some cases there are countertypes.

 

Female stereotypes:

• One common stereotype of females in TV drama is the women is aesthetically pleasing but lacks a high level of knowledge. Theses type of characters are found throughout all of TV drama and are mainly used as an method of attracting a wider male audience to the show. However this form of female often appears offensive to fellow female viewers since it can easily be seen as undermining women and presenting them in a negative light. A clear example of this type of character is Penny from The Big Bang Theory. She is an attractive young woman who is a waiter at a local restaurant. However does not appear to be too intelligent, especially due to the fact that scientists surround her. It is clear that Penny is in the show for one purpose, to act as a sex symbol for the show. On the contrary, Leslie is another female character in the show but is presented as much more intellectual than Penny, but also a lot less sexually appealing than Penny. This is another example of the stereotype that in the media that is a smart woman isn’t an attractive woman.
• Another widely seen stereotype of women seen in TV drama is the domestic wife who may or may not work, is married and has children. This is easily one of the most common stereotypes seen throughout TV drama and may be more relatable for women viewers. An example of this is Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) from Eastenders. She is married to her husband Mick (Danny Dyer), has three children: Johnny, Nancy and Lee. She also runs the local pub, The Queen Victoria, with her family. A countertype to this is simply any adult woman who I single with no children. This type of character is found across all over TV drama.
• A third stereotyped female is known as a ‘girly girl’ who is interested in what is generally associated with females, mostly young females. These types of female characters are interested in subjects such as clothes, their hair and anything associated with the colour pink. An example of this type of character is Sansa Stark. She is around the age of 14-16 and is focused largely upon her looks and continuously attempting to attract the king, Joffery. However the opposite to this type of character is actually Sansa’s sister, Arya. She is what is known as a ‘tomboy’. It appears that she could not be less bothered about her appearance and more focused on learning how to fight using a sword or blending in with rest of the boys.

 

Male Stereotypes:

• One common stereotype of males in TV drama is the ‘hard man’ character. This is the type of male who is perceived as intimidating and deadly serious. These type of characters often also have a sketchy background which often involves some form of crime. Another feature of this type of character is they are usually successful at attracting women due to their straight edged appearance and personality. An example of this type of character is Mick Carter from Eastenders.
• A countertype to the ‘hard-man’ character is what is often referred to as a ‘nerd’ or ‘geek’. These are the type of characters who are highly intellectual but are not very popular with their peers. This type of character is often disliked by many due to their dull personality and lack of interest in what others are interested in.  Two examples of this type of character are Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory and Tamwar from Eastenders.
• A third type of male character across TV dram is the ‘lad’ character. This character is usually around the age of 17-25.  They are normally a popular person who has interests in things such as Sport, Drinking and Girls. This type of character is not usually the most intellectual of people and don’t take a great interest in following the rules set by society. A very good example of this stereotype is Jay from the Imbertweeners.

 

 

Gender presented in TV drama through the 4 areas of textual analysis:

• Camera shots, angles, movements and composition: These are generally used to establish power between characters that are on screen. This sense of power is mainly created by camera angles such as a low angle shot, which gifts a character with a higher level of power. This often used to highlight the fact that men, stereotypically, have more power over women.
• Editing: Using a number of different types of cuts and transitions, editors can use this to create different scenes with different atmospheres. For example, by using a series of quick cuts in one scene creates a much more intense atmosphere. This can be used to show how a male character may intimidate a woman.
• Sound: Sound affects and music can be very effective in creating different atmospheres. For example, is a sexual assault between a man and a woman, there often is a use of very little sound to create a much more intense and dark atmosphere.
• Mise-en-Scène: Production design and lighting are used to create atmosphere in TV drama. For example, the colour design of the bedroom of a ‘girly-girl’ would most likely be bright and consist of colours such as pink and purple.

 

 

Gender represented with the 6 areas of representation:

• Age: Age is a large part of any character. For example, two males’ characters may be very different to each other due to their age. An example of this is and adult male may be more responsible with money than a teenage boy.
• Ethnicity: Both men and women are represented with a variation of ethnicities throughout TV drama. Shows such as Coronation Street and Eastenders contain a number of ethnicities of either gender.
• Sexuality: This is not really impacted by the characters gender. In many TV dramas there are male or female characters that attracted to the opposite sex, same sex and in some cases, both. The use of homosexual characters allows even more people to relate to the characters to the show.
• Class and Status: gender is represented at all levels of social class and status. The often scenario is that the man is hardworking man who has to provide most for his family and the wife is in charge of all of the domestic duties such as cleaning the house. However on the contrary to this is Downton Abbey in which most of the women who appear in the show are wealthy members of the upper class and are waited upon by male butlers who are of lower status.
• Physical ability/disability: Even though there is no real stereotype of men or women’s physical ability/disability, in the media it is commonly seen that men are presented as more psychically able than women.
• Regional identity: There is no real clear stereotype of men and women about their regional identity. However it seems that in today’s media, a man would not be judged as much for their accent of social habits than a woman would. In most TV dramas there is a mixture of regional identities that are presented through both male and female characters.