Representation of Gender

Gender is represented in media as masculinity or femininity, both males and females can be represented as either. Masculinity can be described as: strong, tough and muscular whereas femininity is described as: gracious, delicate and beauty.

How camera shots are used to show gender:

About fourteen seconds in there is a woman asking how much a dress is and a man telling her the price, as this is happening the camera shoot is shown over the shoulder of man (over the shoulder shot) looking down at the woman. The way the camera angle is tilted down towards the woman suggests that the shot was placed there to show that the man has more authority then the woman. When continuing watching the viewer finds out that the woman can’t afford the dress which also shows that the man has a higher status then the woman because he is wealthier. This links to the fact that men usually earn more money than women. 

As the woman walks out the shop there is a close up of another woman’s hand to show a very expensive ring on her finger. This tells the viewer that she is married to a wealthy man and the fact that she is shopping in an expensive shop also shows this. After this there is a close up of her face to show her feminine beauty. When the man, who is the shop owner, see’s the woman his face shows that he knows that she has enough money to buy something in this shop so he walks to assist her.  When the woman is trying on the dress, a tilt shot is used to show her wearing the dress. This shot is used to show her beauty and for the masculine viewers.

After this there is an establishing shot of two men in a bar which shows there masculinity because there wealthy, are drinking and are smoking which are all seen as being masculine things to be doing.

Back in the shop the shop owner is looking for the woman lost ring on the floor two feet come in the close up shot of the man’s face. There is a tilt shot of the man as the shop owner looks up at him from the floor, this suggest that the man has a higher status then the shop owner. Also the tilt shot is used to show the clothing of the man, to show the viewers that he is wealthy because of the things he is wearing.  There is another shot (over the shoulder) over the shoulder of the man looking down at the man on the floor this also shows the man’s higher status in this situation.  

How editing is used to show gender:

When the woman and the shop owner are talking prices there is the use of the eye line match shows that the woman is looking up at the shop owner and the shop owner looking down at her. This correlates with the idea that the shop owner has a higher status then the woman because of her wealth and because of their gender.

When the woman is looking for her ring the different shots are quickly changed to another to show her panic about losing the ring. The quick changes in the editing correlate with her being in such distress.

How sound is used to show gender:

The use of diegetic sound is used when the shop owner is talking to the woman who wants to buy a dress. The shop owner is very dismissive to the woman because she is feminine and can’t afford the dress. The tone in his voice and the long sigh, tells the viewer that he is not interested in what the woman wants and wants to put the woman off the shop because he believer’s that she isn’t in the right class to be shopping there.

The woman wants to please people with the way she looks because she wants to buy a new dress for her daughters wedding, the is a feminine thing to want to do and the use of diegetic sound gets this across to the viewers. This also links to the other woman because she also wants to look nice and she wants to please her husband with not losing her ring and buying a new dress.

The woman, that loses the ring, has a very seductive voice that she uses to help her get what she wants. Her voice is very feminine and in this situation she has a higher status then the masculine man because of her wealth.

In the shop there is non-diegetic music playing throughout and its quit upbeat music, however when there’s the scene of the two men talking links to the fact that masculine people don’t listen to that type of music and its just them talking in the scene. However right at the end of then scene some Jazz sounding music starts to play to lead into the next scene and to add to the atmosphere that there in a masculine setting and there doing masculine things (drinking and smoking) in a men’s club.

As the woman losses her ring the music picks up the pace to correlate with her rushing around and to show he femininity that she is worried about what her husband will think and getting emotional about the situation. The non-diegetic sound also links to the quick cutting of the shots because they’re both fast and shows the panic. Also there’s a scene with a man doing some electrical work and when something goes wrong he seems calmer then the woman because the masculine thing to do is to keep calm.

When the two men drinking seem to have to much to drink the music is upbeat to fit with there moods and they don’t seem to care about what time of day it is and just seem calm which links to the masculine representation. As the man in the shop is walking to meet the woman there asynchronous sound of a man asserting his authority on the other man, telling him what to do. 

Mise-en-scène is used to show gender:

The arrangement of scenery shows that there is only feminine clothing in the shop and this suggest that shopping is a feminine thing to do. The fact that the shop owner is a man suggests that he could be a bit feminine to be working in a clothing shop. However the clothing that he is wearing suggest otherwise. The women in the shop is wearing very feminine clothing for example the red nail polish which suggest romance and the skirt suit is fitted to show her figure which links to the fact that feminine people care for what they are wearing. The dress that the woman tries on is feminine because it’s backless and fitted and stays with the idea that feminine people want to look nice for other people.

The props in the scene with the two men correlate with the fact that there masculine because they have cigarettes and glasses of alcohol. Also the arrangement of the scenery shows that the men are in a living room setting so there probably at a men’s club and it’s an expensive club to be in. The old-fashioned decor and the smart suits the men are wearing shows masculinity.

Everything in the scene, in the shop, shows that it’s expensive because of the lack of clothing, well presented and the fact that there’s not a lot of people in there shows that only wealthy people come in.

In conclusion The Hustle clip shows gender in: shot types, sound, mise-en-scène and editing. Some of the uses of these were more visible to find then others but there all there to create an entertaining clip that viewers don’t notice the shot types, sound, editing and the mise-en-scène.