LUTHER GENDER REPRESENTATION

LUTHER- GENDER REPRESENTATION

Camera Work: The start of the short clip of Luther begins with an over-the-shoulder shot, this suggests that he is looking down on the woman, which give the impression that the male gender is more powerful than the female gender. This also gives us the impression that he is the more dominant character. As they enter the woman’s apartment, the man is looked at from an over-the-shoulder shot from behind the woman. However, the eye level is even which could tell us that she sees herself as of equal authority and dominance to him. Near the end of the clip, we are shown a close up of the woman, this shows emotion to tell the audience how she feels without actually saying it.

Editing: During the over-the-shoulder shot looking at the male character, the area of the woman that was still visible was blurred out. This could suggest to us that he is the main focus at this point in time and could also convey his dominance. During the close up shot of the woman near the end, everything in the background is blurred out. This shows us that she is the main focus and that in that moment, she is more dominant. As I was suggesting before, the extreme close up can show emotion to the audience.

Mise En Scene: The woman’s makeup is quite prominent and sharp and almost sexual. The deep, dark red of the lipstick could represent a level of dominance or power that the character has. This level of dominance is also accentuated through her dark suit and sharp facial expression. The close proximity between the two characters when they are in her apartment could portray a level of intimacy being initiated by the female character towards the male character. The colours of the male characters suit are lighter than the woman’s, This could show that he has a higher level of dominance than she does.

Sound: Sound is used throughout TV drama and films to create tension, suggest what is happening or simply just as conversation. There is diegetic sound and non diegetic sound. Diegetic sound is sound that can be heard naturally and by the characters, for example conversation or the sound of traffic. Non dietetic sound is sound that is edited into the piece that the characters won't be able to hear, this could be music to create tension or narration.
Sound is used effectively throughout the clip. As the female announces her cat is now ashes and shows off the vase, there is a sudden noise, a sound of dread perhaps. This wouldn't have been heard by the characters but heard by the audience to create a sense of shock.
As the scene moves on the female begins to describe a black hole. As the explanation continues eerie music begins to play in the background as if to suggest the black hole is significant, even if that is unknown to the male character. This will create a sense of mystery to the audience about what relevance it may have.