This extract from Doctor Who creates a representation of
gender that mainly supports the general stereotype of the female gender when in
comparison to males. However there are still some sections in the extract which
portray a different representation of the power of genders.
In the first three
sections we see a man trapped inside a cage. This gives the viewer a feeling
that the doctor is vulnerable and powerless to stop what may happen. This
portrays the binary opposite ideas of the typical stereotype of the male gender
and more to the point, the regular stereotype of the doctor who is usually able
to sort out all problems that he may face. After this we see the doctor’s
partner stood below the evil man commencing the final moments of his plan. He
is positioned above the women to give the viewer a sense of power to the man.
This is reinforced in the camera angle used in the shot. It is positioned
slightly below the middle of the women which shows the sign of the power and
strength of the man against the women even more.
However, in this same shot at five seconds we see a women
positioned even higher than the man wearing a bright red dress. Although this
may seem meaningless she has been intentionally placed there to very subtly
give off the impression that maybe the women do have more power than men in
this situation. This goes against the regular stereotype of genders and women
being less powerful than men. Plus, the fact the women is wearing a bright red
dress is important as the colour red usually connotes thoughts of danger and
pain, which may also give the impression that a change in power may occur very
soon. This would surprise the general viewer because a woman overpowering a man
would not be expected because of the typical stereotype of females.
After this we get a close up of the evil man, this camera
angle is usually used to show the emotion on the persons face. However, the
camera is again positioned slightly below central, this is to give the
impression that the shot is taken from the women’s perspective and again
encourages the stereotype that the man is more powerful than the women. Also,
from these early shots we get a good look at the two protagonists clothing. The
female is wearing some overalls which are usually seen to be very cheap but
more important as more of a male clothing choice. This challenges the
stereotype of women and gives the viewer an impression that maybe she isn’t the
typical women and possible is seen as being underestimated by the confident and
cocky male at the moment. Whereas the man is wearing a very neat black suit, this
portrays thoughts of power and wealth and again this in comparison with the
female protagonist gives the man a huge look of power and yet again this
supports the stereotype of genders in the public eye.
Later on in the extract the man commands the women to kneel
and to bow her head, this almost pushing around of the women being made so easy
for the man gives the impression the man is in complete control and reinforces
the gender stereotype that has already been well enforced so far in the
extract. We then get closer ups of the man and women as the conversation
continued and both of these were shot from just of central, this keep the sense
of strength and power with the man. Then, just before a minute into the extract
the position of the camera becomes even lower when shots of the man are shown. This
is best seen in the mid shot of the man as he tells the story of how this will
destroy the world. This gives the viewer a sense that the power of the man is
becoming even larger and gives them a sense of sadness as it looks less and
less likely the doctor and his assistance will be able to get out of this
danger.
However after the minute mark of the extract we get some
close up shots of the doctor and the cameras for these shots was also position
slightly above usual. This gave the impression of weakness and this is
reinforced with the bars of the cage in shot as well. This gives the impression
he is weak and powerless to stop the man trying to destroy the earth. This
challenges the male stereotype that usually portrays feelings of strength, power
and freedom.
However, all these angles change when the main female protagonist
starts to become confident and reveal her plan of how to save the world. Just
over a minute and a half into the extract the girl chuckles and the close up of
the women is now perfectly central on height, this is a huge change to how they
had previously been throughout the rest of the extract and give the viewer a
slight hope of a change in fortune for her. This challenges the stereotype of
females which would usually still portray the women as week and without a hope
of stopping this man.
Then just a little bit further on the plan begins to unravel
and the man’s confidence and belief in his own plot starts to crumble. The
camera angle on his close up shots have been lowered and are now central, this
visually shows how he is slowing starting to lose power and control of the
situation. Then as the plot is finally revealed the shots go back to how they
were, as the man gets more confident while listening to the ridiculous scheme. But
then the full plan is revealed and the camera lowers on the man to a middle
point showing that all that power and confidence is gone. This is also shown by
the women in red appearing in more of the shots again. The red dress connotes
feelings of danger and this tells the viewer that the man’s plan is about to be
ruined.
Then after this there are several shots of hundreds of
people all together trying to save the world. These are all shot at the same
angle, whether it is a man or women in the shot. This portrays a feeling of
everyone being equal and in a huge level community together. This challenges
the stereotype which usually tells us that men are seen to be more powerful and
higher ranked than women, but this section shows a completely different
representation of gender by showing all as one, as equals.
Overall this extract challenges and shows pieces of typical
stereotypes of genders, mainly about how females are usually represented as
weaker and less powerful as men. However the largest representation must be the
challenge of this stereotype at the end of the extract when everyone came
together for the sake of saving the world.
