Representational issue - gender

2. The establishing shot of the antagonist sets the clip and creates a male dominated
atmosphere. The director used a close-up shot with the background out of focus, this
emphasises the male antagonists importance as well as making the female character
seem inferior with two guards standing behind her, it shows her weakness and
vulnerability.
The director then uses a high angle on the male antagonist and low angle of Martha.
This suggests the Master is superior in comparison to Martha and exaggerates his
importance, this contrasts with the low angle of the female as it makes her seem
vulnerable and unimportant.

3. The use of this long/wide shot shows the mise-en-scene included in the clip as
well as clearly showing the divide in gender. We can see the male antagonist is
standing higher then the female highlighting his power and importance. The
camera shot emphasises the uses of lights; the lights are a metaphor to the
position of men and women. The blue light representing male gender is found on
the ceiling which demonstrates men are powerful and have control of everything
and the pink light represents women being inferior and weak and controlled by
men.
The director then uses a low angle on the Master again emphasising his power however
the low angle is also on the blonde female behind him. This suggests that the
stereotype for blonde is a trophy of the Master and that she is simply there because of
her looks and sexuality. It shows she is just as important as the male. The stereotype of
women being dependent on men and having no say.

4. The low angle shows the males importance but the red lighting shown on his face
connotes danger and clearly shows the audience that he is the antagonist in the clip.
The director uses this long/over the shoulder shot to show everyone in the scene, however
the director zooms into the female. This tells the audience that what she is saying at that
point is important as it makes her the main focus, it will also punctuate her dialogue. This
goes against the stereotype of how women are viewed as we wouldn’t expect her to be the
main focus in a male dominated clip.

5. The director then places the camera on the male antagonist at a straight angle whereas
before it would always be a low angle. This suggests that he is losing his power as the
camera is now at the same angle as when focused on the female.
This director chose to use an over the shoulder shot to show the doctor when he is back
to his normal form. By using this shot we can see his redeemed power and by going
over the Master’s shoulder we are clear that the doctor is attacking him. This is
emphasising the importance and power the men have as the focus is redirected onto
male characters.

6. The directors use of a very high angle and bright lighting shows the audience
something bad is going to happen but for a good reason. The really high angle
shows the male antagonist has completely lost his importance and power, we also
understand this through his facial expression. As the camera looks down at the
antagonist he is now seen as a weak and powerless character and this goes against
the stereotype of how male antagonist are believed to look and act.
This wide shot at a low angle shows the male antagonist characters and the main
female character, the low angle makes the man look powerful and superior to the
women. This is creating a negative representation of women as they are
stereotyped as being inferior to men.