How stereotypical are the
representations of gender in your chosen texts?
Within the three texts I have studied there are
representations of gender that support and challenge gender stereotypes.
In the film ‘Brick’ by Rian Johnson the representation of gender
is a result of its hybrid of the teen and noir genres. The women in Brick are
reminiscent of the femme fatale character as seen in the film noir genre. There
are arguably three femme fatale’s in Brick. The main being the character
‘Laura’ who the audience first see dressed in red, and again at the ‘Haloween
in January’ party. Her red clothing has connotations of danger, love and
passion, and it is the dangerous sexuality of the femme fatale that allows them
to have the influence of the main male protagonist. The femme fatale character itself was created post-war when men had returned from war to strong independent women, a stark contrast
to the obedient housewife gender role that was previously considered
acceptable.
Another one of Brick’s femme fatales ‘Kara’ clearly displays
the sexual aspects of the character role not only through her provocative
dressing but also through the power levels displayed between her and the
mise-en-scene. In the theatre scene when the main protagonist ‘Brendan’ asks
for her help she is on a higher power level to a male character who is on his
knees in front of her and referred to diegetically as ‘lapdog’. This role reversal is what was most unsettling to
the original noir audience. Another convention of the noir genre is a character
score and this is also displayed through Lara’s character, developing to be
jazzy to support the hypersexual aspects of the character that are suggested by
her clothes. This also is an example of the male gaze theory as described in Laura
Mulvey’s ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ where they are objects of male
desire.
‘Em’ is also arguably a femme fatale who manipulates
‘Brendan’ to help her despite being dead or absent for much of the non-linear
narrative. The audience first meet ‘Em’ at the foot of a sewerage pipe where
the camera slowly uses close-ups of her clothes which are stereotypically noir
except the plastic blue bangles and bleach blonde hair. It could be said that
‘Em’ embodies the teen/noir hybrid and the mix of old and new which make her such
an interesting character. The mix or updated version of the femme fatale
provides an interesting challenge for the historical representation of women
bringing a more contemporary exploration of the role that females play within noir
narratives.
The men in ‘Brick’ also have a relation to both the teen and
noir genre. ‘Brendan’ whilst being a representation of a hardboiled noir lone
private eye also is a classic example of a high school outcast. He is framed
alone in the centre of the shot, for example on the high school playing field
and is very intelligent. However, ‘Brendan’ seeks help from another male
character referred to as ‘The Brain’. He is an example of the teenage geek and
also could be referred to the ‘helper’ function of Props 32 Narrative Character
Functions Theory. Similar to the characters of ‘Tug’ the classic high school
bully and the Kinpin who intertwines aspects of both the high school bad guy
and dangerous drug dealer. This is represented through the mise-en-scene of the
‘Pins’ house, in the basement the Pins lair is displayed through low key
lighting and chiaroscuro, yet upstairs it is a normal house and the presence of
the Pin’s mum making orange juice reminds the audience they are just teenagers.
In ‘Children of Men’ the character of ‘Theo’ is clearly
represented as an anti-hero with responsibility thrust upon him. He smokes,
drinks and takes drugs which all suggest he is an anti-hero.
His friend ‘Jasper’ clearly acts as his helper as according
to Propps narrative character theory and the characters sympathise with him and
his tortured wife as he offers a humorous distraction from the decaying,
violent dystopian society of the outside world. ‘Children of Men’ itself is
usually placed in the sci-fi genre for its depiction of a not-so-far-off future
dystopian society where all women are infertile. However it is clear that the
film does not adhere to the stereotypical conventions of a science fiction film
and appears more postmodern through its homage and intertextuality towards the
bible. ‘Ki’ could be described as playing the part of Mary in Children of Men’s
usurped telling of the bible story She is unconventionally black, a refugee and
an angry young woman, which is not the stereotypical representation of Mary in
modern culture. The would-be Jesus is also a girl, which is ironic, linking
back to the films postmodern narrative.
‘Control’ by Anton Cobjin is entirely different in
characterisation than ‘Children of Men’ or ‘Brick’. Due to ‘Control’ being a moden
re-working of a kitchen sink drama the narrative is not a constructed fictional
tale but has a close sense to reality as it pays homage to a music icons life.
In this case Ian Curtis from Joy Division. Sam Riley who plays Ian Curtis lived
close to where Ian lived and effectively represents the realistic
representation of a young working class male suffering from epilepsy. It is
hard to apply the word ‘stereotypical’ to a real individual and even harder in
Ian Curtis’ case dues to his battle between home life as a father and husband
and a rock star. Deborah his wife, whose novel is the basis of the film,
co-produced the film. Her representation is that of a stereotypical housewife
living in urban Nottingham. In contrast is the representation of Anik, his mistress, who
supports the rock star life style. The binary opposition between these two
characters clearly portrays the contrasting nature of female representation and
provides the dramatic core for Ian’s fate.
Modern films therefore re-work conventional genres and
therefore attempt to challenge typical representations of gender by updating
traditional roles. They take into account changes in society and adapt their
representations for more contemporary audiences by exploring more complex
emotional characterisations.
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