Homework- Representations of gender

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of gender:

The shot below is a low angle shot, showing the mans authority and dominance. This shot also reconfirms the ladies position of authority as she's also looking up at the man.

 The idea of male dominance over the woman is made even clearer in this next frame as she is then humiliated by everyone by being made to kneel down in front of everyone. This clip then highlights how feeble and powerless she is and how much he's belittling her. This is an example of woman not being seen as equals and an example of how patriarchy and how its accepted in our society as even in this clip there are people on the sides not outraged at the main actors orders including the woman, its as if they know to just accept it.

This frame of a lady in the red dress, emphases many feminists points on the objectification and sexualisation of women in the media as the colour red is usually associated with sex and promiscuity. Moreover, this character doesn't get to speak she's just there as eye candy, something to look at. Bearing the Mise-en-scene in mind- The lady obediently follows his orders, kneeling to the ground and submissively bows her head at his command thus giving him the power he demands. 

Overall this clip portrays the female character to be quite helpless, powerless and quite substandard to men. This is a stereotype that has been played on numerous times before and is evident in even TV commercials. The majority of advertisements that have to do with cooking or household chores feature a woman as the main character, illustrating that woman are the homemakers who stay at home and look after the children and feed and care for there family whereas the men are the breadwinners.

However the screenshot below displays how it all changes:

 This is the section in where the male character lost his authority and Martha gained it as she knew something the rest didn't therefore she had more power. This was also shown in the change of sound as Martha starts laughing, the sound is more upbeat played on a guitar - this highlights the change in position of superiority.

This screen shot shows Martha to be the dominant character as everyone is listening to her, however  she's on the same level as them suggesting that the other characters don't feel inferior to her, they respect her.

This screenshot illustrates the change in status and authority, as the Doctor is now rising which then gives him a higher status thus showing that he has more power in this situation. Moreover the lighting around him suggests he's God like.