Saturday 3 November 2012

Doctor Who G322 Essay - Binary Opposites

     This specific clip is of Doctor Who, we clearly see two characters of the binary opposites which represent gender in two distinctive ways. The female in the clip (known as Martha) illustrates the side of the female, and the master illustrates the male side of the gender. Gender is portrayed through two different characters and in two different ways. In this essay i will explain how each character portrays there role in gender. Binary opposites was created by Levis Strauss and his strategy has been featured in most, not if all films and TV shows to illustrate differences between two characters.

     Once starting the clip we are introduced by a male side to gender, we instantly recognize his costume which consists of a black and white suit. He is well groomed with a clean haircut and shaven, by seeing this we as an audience are able to tell he is very organized and likes to keep things in order such as his appearance. By the dialogue of the male we can tell at that moment in time he has a good amount of power in comparison to the female, this making him more successful then the female. Moreover he is standing on a higher level compared to everyone else in the scene, this reinforcing his power and how each character is below him both metaphorically and physically. Once Martha (female actress) walks through the doors and gradually gets closer to the male he does a hand gesture for her to come over here, a gesture which is commonly used to call a dog over, as the male does this it is implying that the women is a dog and that he has the power to call her over and command here, this gives the male a very arrogant look and makes us as an audience know he has no respect for women. He doesn't begin with small talk such as "Hi, how are you doing?", he immediately begins commanding her and making her give up what's rightfully hers, this is very stereotypical as the male is in command over the woman. Yet again he begins ordering her to kneel and shows no kindness towards her even though she is weaker and younger, then a close up shot is used to frame only the mans head and shoulders, this giving him the importance of that shot and giving him more power and make him more important. Furthermore the camera then uses a low angel mid shot to once again illustrate his power as the women is looking up at him and Martha has no power over him. Due to the tone of voice we are enouraged to think that he has a powerful side to him which makes him seem as if hes full of himself, this is beacuse the tone is very bold clear which sounds as if hes standing his ground.We also notice no one talks when he is talking, this reinforces how the people around him are scared of him. A mid-shot is not just used to illustrate that he is looking at a watch which looks highly expensive but also to portray his personality, we can tell he is married as he is wearing a wedding ring. Overall we can tell he has a lot more compared to Martha who seems very bare and has nothing. Smirks and small jokes are used throughout the clip as he needs to find ways to amuse himself as no one wants to, he is forced to occupy himself. We are enouraged to think that the male is the strongest person in the room which is reinforced with the camera which is going around the room viewings everyone's facial expressions and how they are worried about what's going to happen next.

     Moving on to Martha who is the main female in this scene, she is seem very differently in the scene and is completely opposite to the male, both personality and gender. Also immediately she is introduced with two body guards who are coated in black walking with her, by her side which gives her a tough side as she needs people to hold her down and walk her into the room. Yet again we instantly feel as if she is vulnerable and needs protection of men as she is young and is a female. Whilst she walks in to the new environment she looks around and searchers for help as she is in need of help. This illustrates the  harsh ways Martha is being treated because she is a women and a younger one at that. We understand how scared she is as she directly looks at the man then to a friendly face for guidance. Once the man commands her to give up her belonging she instantly throws it to him and doesn't question him about it either, this highlights that she doesn't want to get into any trouble as she has no power over him. Moreover the male orders her to kneel down and yet again she doesn't complain or argue, this illustrating the complete ownership of the alpha male.  The expression she lets off throughout the whole clip is very blank and once the man begins his speech she does not stop him and she just listens. Then the whole mood changes, she begins to laugh as we think she is going to give in to him. Martha seems as if she begins to attempt to take control by changing the mood.  She completely changes the way she responds to him and now answers with one worded answers, then Martha becomes stronger and stronger with each word, as if she's is gaining power from an unknown source. She then begins doubting his words and him as a person, she also began patronizing him with words such as "A gun?". Martha now has gained the power in the situation but the male is still shocked, he doesn't believe that a women would have the intelligence to override his master plan and ultimately go behind his back and destroy his plans. However Martha was able to break such a plan and we begin to understand how she became the leader of the situation and stands up for the man, not only does it seem as if  she is standing up for herself but also the women population. Martha now begins to be in many close ups and speaks with a deeper and serious tone which overall makes us feel as if she is speaking power. Furthermore the man still doubts her even though she has backed her points up and clearly knows what she is talking about. Martha has stripped the power from the man and has taken it for herself which is unusual and unique.

     Overall I have been able to see how binary opposites are used in this specific clip and how half way through the roles changed. Martha represented the female side and illustrate how they have no power but that's just stereotyping and they can actually have lots of power within. People think women are there to obey orders from men however she turned that around and began ordering the man around and told him what to do for a change. Moreover the male didn't expect the woman to obtain power and therefore defeat him in the end. 

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