Representation of Gender 2016 - Sherlock as an examples

1. Representation of Gender

2. Starter
• Make a list of adjective you would use to
describe males
• Make a list of adjective you would use to
describe females
• For both lists circle the ones that could be
seen a negative.
• You have five mins to complete this – don’t
share you ideas yet….

3. 3
• Males
• Negative
3

4. 4
• Males
• Negative
4

5. 5
5
• Females

6. 6
6
• Females

7. 7
Dominant Ideologies
•Stereotypes are ‘socially constructed’ and exist as
‘myths’ and are neither ‘true’ nor ‘false’ but simply a
reflection of dominant ideologies.
•Stereotypes can be reinforced, challenged or even
constructed by the media through representation
•A counter-stereotype is the reverse of a stereotype.
Counter-stereotypes may eventually become
stereotypes themselves if they are too popular.
•How do we ‘pick up’ on these Dominant Ideologies?
– Encoding and decoding model (Stuart Hall)
• The media encodes the representation
(Camera/MES/Sound/Editing)
• The audience decodes it…

8. Representation Theories
 Laura Mulvey – argues that cinema
positions the audience as male. The
camera gazes at the female object on
screen. It also frames the male character
watching the female.
 We watch the girl; we see the male watching the
girl; we position ourselves within the text as a
male objectively gazing at the female.
 Can be applied to other media forms also.

9. Hegemony (dominant
ideology) – Richard Dyer
A key concern in the study of representation is
with the way in which representations are made
to seem ‘natural’.
All texts, however 'realistic' they may seem to
be, are constructed representations
Richard Dyer posed questions that force people to
challenge or question the dominant ideology
Dyer said: ‘How we are seen determines how we are
treated, how we treat others is based on how we see
them. How we see them comes from representation.’

10. Television Dramas
• How would you use the elements of Camera,
Sound, and Mise en Scene to represent male
and female characters that represent the
stereotypes we have just talked about?
Camera Sound Mise en scene
Male Stereotype 1
Male Stereotype 2
Female
Stereotype 1
Female
Stereotype 2

11. 11
Feminine Representation
•Feminism has been around for over
30 years yet media representations of
women are worryingly the same.
•Representations of women across all
media tend to highlight the following:
– beauty (within narrow conventions)
– size/physique (again, within narrow
conventions)
– sexuality (as expressed by the above)
– emotional (as opposed to intellectual) dealings
– relationships (as opposed to
independence/freedom)

12. 12
Feminine Representation
•Women are often represented as being
part of a context (family, friends,
colleagues) and working/thinking as part of
a team.
•They tend to take the role of helper
(Propp) or object, passive rather than
active.
•They are often victims
•Men are still represented on TV drama
characters up to 3 times more frequently
than women.

13. 13
Feminine Representation
•The representations of women that do
make it onto the screen do tend to be
stereotypical, in terms of conforming to
societal expectations, and characters
who do not fit into the mould tend to be
seen as dangerous and deviant.

14. 14
Masculine Representation
•'Masculinity' is a concept that is made up of
more rigid stereotypes than femininity.
Representations of men across all media tend
to focus on the following:
– Strength - physical and intellectual
– Power
– Sexual attractiveness (which may be based
on the above)
– Physique
– Independence (of thought, action)

15. 15
Masculine Representation
•Male characters are often represented
as isolated, as not needing to rely on
others (the lone hero).
•If they submit to being part of a
family/team, it is often part of the
resolution of a narrative, rather than
an integral factor in the initial
equilibrium.

16. 16
MASCULINE GENRES
•Dominant males
•Subservient females
•Masculine ‘action’
•Lack of emotion
•‘Serious’ storylines
•Romance controlled
•Patriarchal ideology (narrative closure)
•Male heroes
•Sole characters or characters with one/two side kicks

17. 17
FEMININE GENRES
•Female interaction
•Males as ‘partners’
•Relationship issues
•Emotive storylines
•Shared feminine identity
•Narrative openness
•Confirmation of patriarchal ideology
•Female ensemble dramas

18. Sherlock
• Watch the sequence from Sherlock.
• You will see the extract twice. First time
through watch for how stereotypes and
reinforced and challenged.
18
Reinforced Challenged

19. Sherlock
• Second time through – pick 4 ways in which gender has
been represented and find evidence via Camera,
Editing, Sound and Mise en scene
19
Stereotype One Stereotype Two
Stereotype Three Stereotype Four