Gender Stereotypes in TV Dramas (Males)

Men

Don Draper (portrayed by Jon Hamm) is a character from the drama series 'Mad Men'. He is a stereotypical character due to his surroundings being very male-orientated (considering that the show takes place during the nineteen-sixties) and he has become a product of his society. He has gone through two marriages (one to Betty and the other to Megan) during which he often committed adultery, an act that would be considered highly improper for any of the female characters in the series to commit. He is only driven by his work even though he has a wife and kids at home and can never seem to make time for them. He is seen as an alcoholic and chain smoker compared to contemporary society, however all his male co-workers do the same, as they too are products of their society and upbringings.

Don is often depicted in a suit for both social and work-related events. He is precise and pretentious, even though he ensures a draconian principle - meaning he expects his peers to be polite and truthful - Don thinks of himself as higher than others and does not feel the need to follow his own rule. He has looked down on his female subordinates such as Peggy Olsen and his various secretaries (all of which were women) at the advertising agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, of which he is a founding partner in. The only woman in the office whom he remotely admires seems to be office manager Joan Holloway.

Don always appears very manly and wants to maintain his image as the dominant male even if it meant terminating Salvatore "Sal" Romano's position at the company. Sal was a closeted homosexual and only Don had knowledge of this fact and told him he would keep it a secret; however, when an important client wanted Sal released from employment for not complying with his sexual demands, Don stands by the decision to fire Sal, wanting to appear homophobic like his co-workers so they would not think differently of him. He is tall and serious, and often filmed with a low angle to make him seem stronger, more dominating and commanding. He often shouts when he feels his command is being challenged by his wife or any of his co-workers. Don is also one of the few employees at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce with his own office.

 The character of Walter White (Bryan Cranson) first appears in 'Breaking Bad' as an "everyman" archetype, however this alters drastically throughout the course of the show as the viewers witness Walter's transformation from a passive chemistry teacher into the ruthless drug kingpin known as "Heisenberg".

From his introduction in the show's pilot episode, Walter comes across as a very submissive and introverted character, who slightly resembles the goody two-shoes neighbour Ned Flanders from the animated satirical series 'The Simpsons'. It is not until after he receives the devastating news that he has lung cancer (still in the pilot episode) that Walter decides to "break bad" as it were by adopting a "tough guy" attitude and coming to the conclusion that the only way to resolve his financial worries and support his family is to team up with Jesse Pinkman, a drug dealer and former student of his. Walter blackmails Jesse into helping him cook and distribute methamphetamine - due to Jesse's penchant for drug dealing - or else turning him over to the DEA; Jesse reluctantly agrees.

Regarding his appearance, Walter is often seen in loafers, beige trousers and a dark jacket. When in scenes the camera angle is shot from a low angle to represent dominance much like Don Draper of 'Mad Men'. At the start of the series, Walter is always being talked over and ignored, as he was seen as a push-over. But now that he has had a firm taste of the tough life, Walter finds that he likes it and decides to take on this harsh and powerful character.

Roland Barthes Biography

Roland Barthes was a French literary philosopher best known for influencing structuralism, semiotics and anthropology.

 

 

 Born on November 12, 1915, in Cherbourg, France, French literary philosopher Roland Barthes was educated at the Sorbonne, and went on to help establish structuralism as one of the leading intellectual movements of the 20th century. His work made important advances in the areas of semiotics, anthropology and post-structuralism. Barthes died in Paris in 1980.

 

 

Early Life

 

Roland Gérard Barthes was born on November 12th, 1915, in Cherbourg, France. Barthes' father (Louis) was a naval officer who died at battle in the North Sea, this all happen before his son was one year old. His mother (Henriette),his aunt and grandmother then raised him in the village of Urt and then later in the city of Bayonne. Barthes' grandfather (Louis-Gustave Binger) was an archetypal French colonialist and explorer of the Niger Loop, he was also an author of Du Niger au Golfe de Guinée (1891). He was also the founder of the Côte d’Ivoire colony and was appointed their governor in 1893. Though his grandfather was very wealthy, food  was often scarce the household, as his grandparents rejected  to help them after Henriette gave birth to an illegitimate child. His mother was then forced into working as a bookbinder to keep her family from starvation . When asked to describe his grandfather Barthes' stated "He had nothing to say". At eleven he and his family would then move to Paris. It was in Paris where he would first study at the Lycée Montagne, form 1930 to 1934, he was a student at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. From 1935 to 1939, Barthes studied Sorbonne, where he achieved a license in classical letters. He battled with poor health throughout this period, suffering from tuberculosis or TB, which meant he had to be treated in isolation in a sanatorium. Due to these disturbances his academic career began to decline and his ability to take qualifying examinations also. This also stopped him from being able to join the military service during World War II , and by being kept out of the major French universities this meant that he had to travel to a lot of different teaching positions, Barthes later claimed an intentional avoidance of major degree-awarding universities, and did so throughout his career.

 

Career

  

Between  1939 to 1948 Barthes mainly spent this period trying to get a license in grammar and philology and publishing his first papers, during which he still struggled with his ill health. In 1948, he returned to his academic work, gaining some short-term roles at institutes in France, Romania, and Egypt. During this time he began writing Writing Degree Zero (1953). In 1952, Barthes stayed at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, where he studied lexicology and sociology. It was there where he began to write a successful series of bi-monthly essays for the popular magazine Les Lettres Nouvelles, where he took apart myths of popular culture. Even though only knowing the bare English he lectured at Middlebury College in 1957. This is where he met Richard Howard, poet, literary critic, essayist, teacher, and translator to much of Barthes' work from French to English.

Barthes became known as a leading critic of his time with his 1977 book, A Lover's Discourse, which sold more than 60,000 copies in his native country. The book was translated into other languages to reach audiences throughout Europe and in America. Barthes's works influenced structuralism, semiotics and anthropology.

 

 Barthes' works still conflicted with the traditional academic views of literary criticism into the 1960s. His brutal remarks in his papers  led to a standoff with a well established professor of literature, Raymond Picard, who butchered Barthes and his ideas. Barthes' reply to such accusations  in Criticism and Truth (1966). Here he  documented his discussion and reasoning of the language of literary criticism of a lack of concern with the finer points of language and of careful oblivious towards challenging theories, such as Marxism, which is a method of social analysis that focuses on class relations and social conflict.

In 1970, Barthes produced what many consider to be his most substantial work, critical reading S/Z. In 1975, he wrote an autobiography called Roland Barthes, after which he was later elected to the chair of Sémiologie Littéraire at the Collége de France in 1977. Later in the year his mother to whom he had cherished, died at the age of 85.  After losing his mother Barthes only really had one last major work, Camera Lucida. This was dedicated to his mother with imagery of her and also about the nature of photography.The book contains many reproductions of photographs, though none of them are of Henriette.

Personal Life

Barthes always encountered poor health throughout his life up until his death. Which did not help with him realizing that he was a homosexual, which was highly frond upon at the time, affected his self-esteem and motivation. when journeying through his life he found close friendships along the way with people like Richard Howard and  psychologist and writer Julia Kristeva, of whom he once stated that, "She's the only person I'm really in love with, the only woman who could make me change my sexuality." He was also noted to have a very rich voice to which he took singing lessons. 

 

 On 25th February 1980, Roland Barthes was hit by a laundry van while walking home in Paris. One month later he passed away due to the chest injuries he sustained in that accident on March 25th 1980, aged of 64.

Todorov's Narrative Theory

Todorov’s Narrative Theory by lukejam17

Stereotypes and Clichés in Genres

Action

In action films, the protagonist is mainly a big, muscular guy who can tackle danger and take on anyone. They tend to be invincible and impossible to kill, and are often captured but not killed when the antagonist has the chance. Examples of these protagonists are Jason Bourne from 'The Bourne Identity' and Barney Ross of the 'Expendables' franchise. Bryan Mills from 'Taken' can't be stopped, but he isn't a huge bodybuilder - he's an ex-CIA agent who has the "unique set of skills" so he doesn't need to be the stereotypical clichés of other movies, and is driven by the motivation to find his kidnapped daughter. Because of this, 'Taken' is a much more realistic thriller than something similarly plotted like 'Expendables' for example.

 'Taken' is a great example where this cliché has not been used to the extreme as Bryan Mills is middle-aged, is not built like a bodybuilder and is probably not in the peak of his fitness. This was made clear at the time when he is chasing a suspect to may have information to his daughter's whereabouts. The suspect is a younger male who is clearly fitter and healthier than Mills however Mills uses a car to catch up with him, this becomes more realistic than having Mills running after this man who is clearly no match from him. But this has incidentally become an entire cliché of its own as Byran Mills eventually finds his daughter and brings her kidnappers to his form of justice, single-handedly. An example of this scenario is 'Expendables', with Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross and more notable actors who are part of this elite group of mercenaries called the 'Expendables'. The group starts off in the Gulf of Aden to save hostages on a vessel from Somali pirates. The team consists of leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), blades specialist Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), martial artist expert Yin Yang (Jet Li), the loose cannon Gunner Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), weapons specialist Hale Caesar (Terry Crews), and demolitions expert Toll Road (Randy Couture). Jensen instigates a firefight, causing casualties for the pirates. He then tries to hang a pirate, but Yang stops him when Ross and the team discourage it. Ross reluctantly discharges him from the team. Later, the team is called to do a job in Vilena, an island in the Gulf of Mexico. The antagonist firstly appears to be a dictator called General Garza (David Zayas), both the team and the General realize that they share a common enemy the film's true antagonist is ex-CIA officer James Munroe (Eric Roberts) is keeping General Garza in power as a figurehead for his own profiteering operations. A typical costume for the protagonist in 'Taken' is Bryan Mills' black leather jacket which he wear in almost every scene, very plain and basic. The villains will wear suits and causal clothes depending on the scene, and the women will wear skimpy dresses and very little items of clothing to go with that, very gender-specific clothing to distinguish them as the feminine counterparts of masculine male characters. In this film the males are dominant throughout and the women are helpless in every scene in comparison to the males. In 'Expendables' however the team all wear black but combat gear due to their environment and situation.  Both 'Taken' and 'Expendables' uses fast paces camera shots to quicken the rhythm of the film as they try to follow the audience expectations of a modern action film. The lighting in 'Taken' is usually very dark to create this harsh, brutal atmosphere to fit into the situation the characters find themselves in. 'Expendables' varies as when they are away from the action the lighting is very bright and friendly when they are not being shot at or killed people, however when they inevitably suit up for the action the scenes are usually filmed in the night to show that they do not what to be revealed to either enemies or audience, gives everyone as sense of surprise. The characteristics of both films main protagonists  are very similar as when they are with the people they love and care about they are very calm and relaxed, this is a complete contrast with their other personality when they are thrown into the hot seat and become hard and cold in order to complete their task.

Comedy

In comedy films, the protagonist is stereotypically a person who is dopey and clumsy who can be childish and very unreliable. They are usually outnumber and excluded by others and they may be part of a small group of friends or one sole friend, best friend. Examples of these are Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Riley) from 'Step Brothers' and Ron Burgundy of 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' and 'Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues'. Will Ferrell from both films acts like a man-child in the way that they are dependent of someone else and also do adult acts like drinking and swearing excessively, John C. Riley can be put in the category of both Will Ferrell's characteristics. 

  'Step Brothers' is a very clichéd example that incorporates the stereotypical, comical protagonist as both Ferrell and Riley are two forty year-old men who still live with each others' parent. Ferrell lives with his mother, played by Mary Steenburgen, and Riley lives with his father Richard Jenkins, the two parents both attend a conference in which Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins) is talking about his medical profession and the technology he uses. While making the speech Richard Doback's and Nancy Huff's (Mary Steenburgen) eyes meet and Richard freezes. Eventually the film is sped up to present day to showing a quick insight to their marriage ceremony, where both Brennan and Dale act like children and storm out of the ceremony through different exits. When the film finally comes to present day we find the two step brothers believe that they are two very different people with different views, we, the audience, know this not to be true as only about ten minutes into the film and we can clearly see a connection and similarity between the two. Throughout their first first weeks together they have a burning hatred for the other as they play childish and idiotic pranks on each other which normal ends up in them fighting. This is extremely hilarious to watch and the two purposefully become part of the stereotypical cliché acting in this childish-like behavior that inevitably gets them in trouble with their parents. Eventually as the film progresses the brothers form a stronger bond that is stronger than if they were actual blood brothers from then on the film gets more and more gut-bustingly funny as they continue their ways. Will Ferrell's other outrageous character of Ron Burgundy is also one of Ferrell's best creations with his witty humor, childish acts and typical 1970s macho man look and attitude, however this is alter throughout the length of the film as Burgundy reveals to us that is plays the flute, enjoys poetry and cries like a child when his dog Baxter is thought to have been killed by an angry biker portrayed by Jack Black. Ron Burgundy is the famous anchorman for a local San Diego television station, fictional KVWN channel 4. He works alongside his friends on the news team: lead field reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), sportscaster Champ Kind (David Koechner), and intellectually disabled chief meteorologist Brick Tamland (Steve Carell). Station director Ed Harken (Fred Willard) notifies the team that they have maintained their long-held status as the highest-rated news program in San Diego, leading them to throw a wild party, where Ron unsuccessfully tries to pick up a beautiful, blonde woman (Christina Applegate). Ed later informs the team that they have been forced to hire Veronica Corningstone, the same woman whom Ron tried to pick up. After a series of inept attempts by the team to seduce her, she finally relents and consents to a "professional tour" of the city with Ron, culminating in a sexual relationship. Despite agreeing to keep the relationship discreet, Ron announces it on air. Inevitably the couple breakup due to their differents. During a big part of the film the sexist male roles try to get Corningstone fired as they there common products of their society as they think the woman cannot do a man's job. Ferrell's comical material relishes the film and makes the film an instant laugh out comedy. The costumes in 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' are very typical to the film setting and all the main male characters where suits and the women wear smart dresses, whereas in 'Step Brothers' both Brennan and Dale dress very unconventionally for example they both go for job interviews together wearing tuxedos. The lighting in both films is very bright so represents happiness and joy, this is mainly the type of lighting in comedies. The camera shots are usually relaxed to go with the mood and speed of the film as this is a comedy it is very calm and not rushed.

Horror 

  

In clichéd horror films, there is usually a group of teenagers with one clear protagonist, the film contains the athlete, the flirtatious girl (who usually is the love interest of the athlete), the smart on or the brains, the clumsy and foolish character and the shy protagonist (usually a female but on occasion a male). They are normally Go to a haunted houses or places where something horrific occurred so many years ago. Examples of this are 'The Cabin in the Woods' with Dana Polk (Kristen Connolly) as the main protagonist as the "Virgin", Curt Vaughan (Chris Hemsworth) as the "Athlete", Jules Louden (Anna Hutchison) as the "Whore", as Marty Mikalski (Fran Kranz) as the "Fool" and Holden McCrea (Jesse Williams) as the "Scholar". Also including 'The Conjuring' which is not the stereotypical horror theme film. This film is apparently based on true events that happened in 1971 with the Perrons family house in Harrisville, Rhode Island, US was haunted by a witch who lived in the early 19th century, named Bathsheba Sherman, cursing the land so that whoever moved there somehow died. Ed and Lorraine Warren were the paranormal investigators who investigated this case, in the film adaptation Ed is portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Lorraine played by Vera Farmiga. In the 2013 film, 'The Conjuring', directed by James Wan Lorraine Warren was a consultant to the production and appeared in a cameo role in the film. 

  

  'Cabin in the Woods' starts as an non-clichéd horror film as the audience are first introduced to two man  working from a hidden underground facility, senior technicians Gary Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) and Steve Hadley (Bradley Whitford) discuss plans for a mysterious ritual, reportedly one of several taking place around the world. Specialist Wendy Lin (Amy Acker) discloses that a similar operation undertaken by their Swedish counterparts has just ended in failure. Meanwhile, American college students Dana Polk, Holden McCrea, Marty Mikalski, Jules Louden, and Curt Vaughan are spending their weekend at a seemingly deserted cabin in the forest. It soon becomes clear that Sitterson and Hadley are manipulating this setting from afar, even intoxicating the teenagers with psychotropic drugs that gradually hinder rational thinking while increasing libido. After the door to the cabin's darkened cellar swings open on its own during a tipsy game of Truth or Dare, for example, both technicians coerce their charges into investigating the contents within. This toxic drug they give the students (in the form of gas) makes each individual student to act like the stereotypical horror victims you see in past film relevant to this genre. However, 'The Conjuring' is set in 1971 where Roger Perron (Ron Livingston) and Carolyn Perron (Lil Taylor) move into a dilapidated farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, US with their five daughters Andrea, Nancy, Christine, Cindy, and April. During the first day, their move goes smoothly, though their dog Sadie refuses to enter the house and one of the daughters finds a boarded up entrance to a cellar. The next morning, Carolyn wakes up with a mysterious bruise and Sadie is found lying dead outside the house by April, the youngest daughter, who also finds a strange music box. All the clocks have also stopped at 3:07. Over the next several days, various instances of paranormal disturbance occur, most notably when Christine and Nancy are attacked one night by an unseen figure behind their door; the activity culminates one night while Roger is away in Florida. After hearing various clapping and giggling noises, and seeing the picture frames shattered on the stairs, Carolyn is locked up in the cellar. Later Cindy, one of the daughters, is awakened after sleepwalking into her sister Andrea's room and she sees a spirit on top of a wardrobe in the room that leaps on and attacks Andrea. Carolyn contacts noted paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who agree to take on the case, having recently finished up a case involving a possessed doll called Annabelle (who appears in the sequel). The Warrens conduct an initial investigation and conclude that the house may require an exorcism, but they needed authorization from the Catholic Church and further evidence before they can proceed. The make-up in both films is fantastic, they are well detailed in order make them both terrifying and grotesque. The costumes in 'Cabin in the Woods' are very modern due to the time period being present day but some of the monsters and ghosts dress in their time period, where a family of spirits are dressed in early 19th century clothing and because 'The Conjuring' is set in the 1970s the clothing is very ordinary to then and the spirits that are in the house are clothed in 19th century clothing. The camera angles in both start of slow and casual to set the slow pace atmosphere of peace and tranquility then when the chaos starts the camera angle are faster and more dramatic with dutch camera angle to show the charters stress and strain to fight for their lives.  

Mise en scene in " The Walking Dead"

"The Walking Dead " is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series set in modern day developed by Frank Darabont. It is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. It stars Andrew Lincoln as sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies or "Walkers" as they are referred as in the series. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.

Rick is confronted by the Governor, another character within the series who has been an enemy of Rick and the group of survivors he is in, at the gates of their prison/home where he has assembled a small army with more firepower than Rick to take the prison from him. In this scene Rick tries to argue that they can both live there peacefully together. Props included within this scene are weapons which everyone in the Governor's army has plus a tank and vehicles surrounding the gates with a sentry gun attached in the back of one. All the characters in the scene are wearing dirty, tatty and torn items of clothing as due to the apocalypse they have to scavenge for all they can in order to survive. The atmosphere is bright with the sun creating a calm mood which is attacked by all contrasting props to do with fighting and war. Although Rick is depicted as a dominant character throughout the series he speaks to the crowd pleading them to join him and stay safe in the prison without any violence needed. He constantly uses the word "together" and "peacefully" so they change their minds however the Governor speaks for them all and gives the order for them to take the prison by force. The Governor then becomes the lead and only dominant figure in the scene by giving them no freewill and sends them into do this mindless act.

Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Sound in "Saving Private Ryan"

Diegetic sound is sound that is a natural part of the scene or narrative, such as sound effects. Non-diegetic sound is sound that is not a natural part, for example music. In the opening scene from "Saving Private Ryan", on the morning of June 6th 1944, the troops begin the Normandy Invasion, American soldiers prepare to land on Omaha Beach. They struggle against German infantry, machine gun nests, and artillery fire. Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) survives the initial landing and assembles a group of soldiers to penetrate the German defenses, leading to a breakout from the beach. The first diegetic sound is of calm waves against the shore of Omaha, then the sudden contrast when the waves hit the war ships so brutally. The film's main protagonist (Tom Hanks) is one of the men who is sail on one of these venturing ships. When the ship reaches the beach the soldiers are met with enemy gunfire and shells being unload around them. When the door of the ship eventually opens the first front line of troops is obliterated by the Germans bullets. Captain Miller order the men to abandon ship in a desperate act to survive and join the fight. After being submerged underwater Miller staggers to land immediately taking cover from the war. The opening sequence to the film is where the audience see an American flag flying in the wind which then cuts to show an elderly man walking on a path with his family to a cemetery. Where he is looking for a certain headstone of a fallen soldier. During this sequence the first non-diegetic sound of the film is reveal to be "Hymn to the Fallen".
  

Assessing the Effectiveness of Opening Scenes of Films

Four Weddings and a Funeral

This is an effective opening scene because it is fast-paced and classic britsih comedy. This gets the audience interested for the rest of the film and gives a little insight into what the film entails. A lot of the comedy comes from the juxtaposition of the organised characters with the disorganized characters on the morning of each wedding. The characters use strong language and slang often, which is stereotypical associated with the British and by doing this is automatically shouts that this as a British film, as they are in a rush to get to their intended destinations, in these cases weddings. This scene also tells us Hugh Grant is the main protagonist, even though it is not actually his wedding, as the camera focuses on him and his story.

City of God

This opening scene is very effective as it forces the audience straight into the heart of the action. It establishes the setting as a poor and corrupt town in a derelict area of the country, Brazil, with no sense of freedom and a white dominate policy. It seems to set "Shaggy" up as the main protagonist, so we automatically support him and his cause, which makes his unexpected death more surprising.

Goodfellas

This scene reveals to the audience the way of gangsters, but not at the start of the story however, as it shows three men, casually travelling in a car. It is midway through the story, and sets up how the first part of the film will show how Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) has gone from being a normal kid to reaching this moment in his life. We can tell the characters of Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and James "Jimmy the Gent"Conway (Robert De Niro) are violent and seen as all powerful and dominate, and from the look on Henry's face we believe that he has moral beliefs with this, but doesn't speak up out due to being afraid and also respect to the world he is now in. Opening the film at the beginning of the story would be boring to the viewers, by opening here it makes it very clear and exciting to them that this is a mobster film.



Introduction to Themes

Today in class we looked at the themes which are displayed in opening sequences of: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Juno and Pulp Fiction. Below are some images of our classwork. Opening sequences or credits are a classic part of American and British film making, it has become the model technique of beginning a film. We worked in groups to complete the task which explains why there are 5 post-it notes.

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

This film is both very dark and grim, this action thriller includes a missing girl and rape. The opening scene clearly reveals the mood of the film, with very harsh metallic colours by using CGI with a sequence of images of violence towards women. The music is a heavy metal cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, which creates a gothic and dramatic atmosphere for the film.

Juno

In this opening sequence for Juno which is a Canadian - American comedy drama about a pregnant teenager and trying to cope with their day to day life in high school before the birth of her child, the live-action is combined with animation to reveal to the audience that the character imagines living in her own world, with a lively song to create the mood.

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American black comedy crime film and represents the lives of twelve people who happen to be criminals or caught up in the criminal world. This is proven early on in the very first scene involving a harmless conversation between two people in a diner who use a lot of strong language and slang. Then they bring the conversation to an end by deciding to hold up the diner at gunpoint, the opening titles then begin, and a dynamic, heart pumping soundtrack sets the tone for the rest of the film.