Cutting It -Representations of Gender

How are different genders represented in this clip using camera, editing, sound and mise en scene?

In the clip from ‘Cutting It’, both males and females are represented and some stereotypes are challenged but some are also conformed to.

Camera is used in order to portray both the male and female character in a certain way. When the woman is talking to the doctor in the doctor’s office, a high angle shot is used. This makes the woman seem smaller and more vulnerable. The audience are looking down at her like she is weak and powerless. This conforms to the common stereotype that women are unable to look after themselves and lack strength. The director may have done this to make the audience feel empathy for the character.

High and low angle shots are also used later on in the clip; when the woman is hit by the car and the man is towering over her. The camera looks up to the man but down to the woman. This clearly states to the audience who has the power. The man is higher up and therefore is more powerful than the woman and this is the same in male and female stereotypes. Men are often seen as being more strong and powerful. However, this shot could have been used to show how men care for women and protect them rather than being more powerful in a negative way and dominating them. This would therefore be representing men in a more positive way to the audience but women would still be seen negatively because they are still unable to look after themselves and need a man’s help.

When the man is sitting at the table outside the coffee shop, a close-up of his ring is shown. Focusing on the ring is focusing on the joining of two people- in this case a woman and a man. To some people this could be showing the two genders as equal however, traditionally a man is seen as being in control when in a marriage. This could also be used to challenge a common negative stereotype of men which is that they do not value marriage and often cheat on their wives. By showing a close-up of him touching the ring on his finger, it could be showing the audience how much he values his relationship and therefore be challenging stereotypes.

A point of view shot is also used in the clip when the woman is hit by the car and the man rushes over to her. This shot is in the point of view of the man and the audience is once again looking down at the woman who is now lying on the ground. This shot shows the man as being more powerful than the woman but also allows the audience to empathise more with the man because we are able to see this tragic situation from his perspective, as if we were him. This allows the audience to feel more connected to the male character at this moment which is unusual in terms of stereotypes as it is often the women that people connect to more as they are often seen and portrayed as being much more emotional and therefore easier to connect with on an emotional level.

The editing in this clip also allows genders to be represented in a certain way. The order of narrative shows that the woman has more power at the start of the clip and this decreases dramatically as the clip goes on until she has minimal power at the end. I believe that she never has no power, even as she is unconscious at the end, because the male character is emotionally effected by her and therefore she must have some power over him to have this effect. The man in the clip increases in power as the narrative progresses. This power shift in the narrative could have been used by the editor to show how a man’s power is constantly increasing but also shows how a woman’s can be so easily taken from her.

A reverse shot is used when the man and woman are talking to each other as they get out of the taxi-cab. The use of the reverse shot here allows both of the characters to be at the same level as each other. This is representing the genders as being equal. This is a positive thing for woman as stereotypically they are not equal to men and do not have as much power. This counter-type therefore represents women as being everything and anything that a man is.

When the woman is hit by the car at the end of the clip, the editor gives the man more screen time. Allowing the man to have more of the audience’s attention at this point shows them who the most important character in the scene is. Even after the woman has been knocked down and should have all of the attention, the editor uses this as another opportunity to allow the audience to connect with the male character. We had previously seen him playing with the ring on his finger and now we are seeing what could potentially be the end of his marriage. This allows the audience to develop their relationship with the character and build up the empathy they have for him. This is representing males in a positive way as it is challenging the stereotype that they are not ‘in touch with their emotions’.

Throughout the clip, various aspects of sound are used to represent the genders. Near the start of the clip, when they are in the taxi, the man makes a ‘shh’ sound at the woman in an attempt to get her to stop talking. This conforms to the stereotype that men can be dominating towards woman and often see themselves as more powerful and able to control them. However, in this case the woman does not stop talking and the dialogue continues. This shows a countertype of woman as she clearly has power as she just continues to talk and ignores the fact that she has tried to silence her. This challenges male and female stereotypes that men are in control of women.

When the woman is sitting in the doctor’s office sad music begins to play that runs parallel with the narrative in the clip at the time.  This music could be representing the feeling of the female character at the time. If this is true, the music could be representing the woman as an emotional person which is conforming to the stereotype that women are emotional and hormonal.

When the car accident occurs there is a loud diegetic smashing sound that has been greatly exaggerated, possibly through foley. This smashing sound could be signifying the woman being broken by the accident as well at the vases on the side of the road. The sound emphasises the effect of the accident that occurred. It represents women as being weak as it is a sound of something breaking that is very fragile, suggesting that women are also fragile as she was also knocked down and ‘broken’ by the vehicle.

Finally, mise en scene is also used as a way to represent men and women. When the couple are sitting in the car, the lighting is used to provide a little bit of obstruction to the view of the woman’s face. This provides a barrier between the woman and the audience as they are unable to see her face clearly- as if she has a veil over her face. This provides an emotional distance between them. This could be suggesting that woman can sometimes be closed off emotionally and this is a countertype as they are usually described as being over emotional. This could also be foreshadowing later events as it looks like a white haze that surrounds angels and so could be suggesting her death.  Or it could be representing women as being angelic.

When the woman is run over, there are many smashed vases on the floor and destroyed flowers. Flowers are often associated with women and seeing them destroyed on the pavement could be a way of showing how the woman has been destroyed and how easy it is to bring a woman down. This is conforming to the negative stereotype that women are weak and vulnerable- like the flowers and vases are easily broken.

In the clip the woman’s costume consists of very light colours and the man’s, dark. This represents how men and women are seen by the audience. The woman could be wearing light colours to show her innocence and suggest that she has a light personality. Whereas the man is wearing dark, bold colours that signify power and make him seem much more in control than the woman does. This conforms to the negative stereotypes towards women and the positive ones towards men.

Before, and immediately after, the woman has been run over, large traffic vehicles are seen driving down the road between the two characters. This is emphasising the divide between men and women. The physical distance between the characters could be symbolising the distances between men and women in reality.