7 Areas of Representation

Gender: Arrow

Males are represented as the dominant gender in this clip as we see the villain is standing higher above Laurel (the girl in the chair) at 0:20 seconds, looking directly down at her. He is obviously in power and in control of her. High shots of Laurel are from a male POV.  Mulvey would say that this sequence is largely oriented for the male gender, but in this case, the "male gaze" is to show dominance and power without any sexual connotation. In the long shot at 0:40 seconds, we see another woman in the shot. This could show how this woman, obviously in team with the man, is under control of the man, yet is not under any threat from him. This shows that if a female submits to a male, and comes under his authority, then she is allowed to be a part of what he is a part of and is able to share in his power- but is ultimately subject to his power. When Ollie comes to save Laurel, we see that he is on a lower level to the man, proportionally in shot (1m 56s), as well as in the story, as he is out of weapons to defend himself. We see that the villain has outsmarted the hero and now the villain, the male villain, is dominant to both female and male victims. However, when two male heroes are present (2m 20s), the villain is overpowered. This shows that males are technically on the same level, however their power and position determines who is more dominant.

Age: The Hunger Games

The dominance and control possessed by the older aged is shown clearly here by the use of camera shots and mise en scene. The older lady on stage (Efie) wears a purple dress (0:01), representing power and royalty. However, Katniss, Primrose and the rest of the children wear greys, browns, and blues (0:37-0:42). Primrose wears grey, representing neutrality and little to no emotion; which is ironic as we see that she shows a lot of emotion in this clip. Katniss wears a grey-blue dress like costume, representing sadness, nearly depression, and a lack of control as this was the colour commonly worn by slaves in captivity. This is ironic again, because these children are posed and treated as slaves in captivity, being held and controlled by the government, caged in by soldiers with guns. Anyone who steps the wrong way or breaks the rules is shot immediately. Age dominance is also represented by camera shots and angles as Effie is high up on the stage, looking down on the children, whereas the children are in a mob on the floor. Katniss is only allowed up on Effie's level if invited, and the reason she is up there is to fight in a war for her amusement. The lighting is dull on the children's mood and helplessness, whereas it is slightly lighter on Effie showing the contrast in ability between the ages. The non-diegetic sound of suspenseful and tragic music shows how the children are helpless and scared against the power of the government, and there is nothing they can do to stop it because they simply don't have the power because they are so young. The diegetic sound of screaming and crying of the children also represents this same consequence.

Ethnicity: The Help

The white race is obviously shown as the dominant race in this movie as the black woman, Abel, is literally a servant. Abel is on a lower level to the white woman as she is physically lower down than her (0:17). However, this represents the status of the white woman being higher than Abel's. This is shown by the low angle camera shot of the white woman looking down at the floor, sowing her looking down at the maid conversing with the whole child. The fact that the black woman put herself down on the level of the white woman shows how she just wants racial equality and to be treated at least as well as a child if not a woman of society herself. The non-diegetic sound of tragic music as the voice over of the maid is played shows how depressing and heartbreaking this scene is. The white child is crying and screaming out to the maid for her to come back as she obviously loves her, while the mother is crying not because of the loss of the black woman, but the loss of a maid and hearing her child upset. This represents the selfishness of the white race in those days compared to the servant nature of the blacks. Also, the white women are represented as higher because of their eloquence of speech. The black woman doesn't speak as fluently as the white woman (as shown in an earlier scene) and this again represents the superiority of the white race.

Relationships/Love: The Notebook

The couple in this movie are obviously in love, shown by the way they are romantically paddling through the lake, surrounded by white birds, laughing through the storm and enjoying each others company. The rain at this point as seen as refreshing rather than stormy, however, only about 15-20 seconds later we see that now the rain is starting to look stormy. This is a pathetic fallacy as when Ellie "storms" off, we can see the tension build as she confronts him on not writing her. As she stand further away (1:26), creating distance between them, we see him draw nearer to her, representing him wanting to resolve this conflict and wanting to be with her. The rain pours harder and again is ow nourishing as we see their relationship heal and seal with an intense and emotional kiss. Non-diegetic music is introduced just seconds before this kiss to signify the importance of an event about to take place, and when they kiss, the music is louder and more intense to solidify in the audiences mind the significance of this. The lighting in this clip is quite dull and murky, yet lighter n the couple. It has a blue tinge to it; which represents cold, yet here again it means refreshing and life giving. During the kiss, the lighting becomes brighter and has a warmer tinge to it than the rest of the clip. This represents the couple's relationship "heating up" but also them healing and comforting each other.

Class/Status: 12 Years A Slave

The white people are obviously superior in this film as they are treating the blacks as slaves. The use of mise en scene in this clip is important in costume as the white people are dressed well and in light colours such as white and grey coats. Whereas the salves are dressed in ripped rags and dull colours (0:03). When they wash, they are treated like animals. They have no privacy and scrub with whatever is available, male and female wash together, and children are seen as little toys (1:03). Women are something to be admired, as mentioned before Laura Mulvey's "male gaze" testifies to this, and men are work horses. Different camera angles are also important as we see the directors use higher angled shots when looking at the slaves to show the white people are literally and metaphorically "looking down their nose" at them. The slaves are treated like ornaments in museums. They stand in position to be marvelled upon and purchased for a fair price, and touched and moved at the buyers leisure (2:04). This is shown by the way they stand naked in line, while men in white costumes and top hats gaze at them. This mise en scene is effective because it clearly shows the audience what it was like to be a slave in the days of William Ford. Also, the non-deigetic sound of Platt playing the violin adds to the sense of "selling people" being an ordinary, everyday thing for people, because in those days, it was. This is effective because it nearly makes it humorous how this man is showing people around to literally buy people as if they are merely machines.

Physical Ability:Hunchback of Notre Dame

The non-diegetic sound of music in this clip is significant of the intense and emotional event about to take place. Quasimodo is a hunchback and physically is shorter and lower than the rest of the characters in this cartoon. The low camera angle shots used in this film represent his lack of ability and inability to stand straight and at times portray him as "cowering over" because of his physical disability. Dramatic and escalating music is played as a non-diegetic sound accentuating the atmosphere and the mood of the scene; tragic and suspenseful. However, when Quasimodo changes his dull, defeated attitude to a determined and set attitude to save Esmeralda (1:27), it changes to a more accelerating and triumphant anthem, with the introduction of trumpets and a "twinkling" sound. Also, we see that though Quasimodo has a physical disability, when he decides to save his lover and friend, he overcomes this and swoops down majestically and determinedly; despite not having the physical ability to do so in some peoples eyes. Camera angles are also important here as we see a low angle shot of Quasimodo when he is chained up, showing his inability to escape, yet when he breaks them, we get a high angle shot of him showing his power and dominance over the situation. 

Identity: The Bourne Identity

The camera is titling and changing angles throughout the whole sequence. This physically shows that Bourne and the crew are, indeed, on a boat. However, it also shows the disorientation of Bourne as he in the struggle to find his identity and who he is as a person. This camera movement demonstrates how he is off balance; physically and mentally. Bourne, in the beginning of the sequence, is talking in two different languages (0:08-0:28). First, French. Bourne is speaking fluently in this foreign language, then suddenly and subtly changes to German; you wouldn't notice it unless you listened carefully. This, in  addition with Bourne's actual dialogue, shows him questioning his identity and trying to figure out who he is and where he is from. This voice over is happening while we see Bourne interacting in other activities, such as exercising (0:15), and then we cut to the scene of him talking. And he is talking into a mirror (0:26). Bourne is talking to himself as though he is a different person. This shows how Bourne is so unaware of himself, he dissent even know if he is himself. The right side of his face is slightly lit up, the rest of him is completely in shadow. This creates mystery as Bourne isn't physically visible for the viewer and we are too questioning his identity. This gives a literal representation to what is going on in Bourne's mind. Bourne never makes eye contact with the camera,  though he stands directly in front of it (1:07). This is effective because he never directly confronts the audience, as if he is leaving us in suspense, waiting for the moment where he looks at the camera and it all "clicks", because we haven't had this ,moment it emphasizes the effect that Bourne is still searching inside of himself, and outside of himself, to find who he is. This sequence is a pathetic fallacy as there is a storm taking place during this "storm" in Bourne's life, his mind "clouded" and his sight "unclear" as he is "storming" around to find his own rainbow, his answer, his identity. The dramatic music used in this clip also adds to the suspense of Bourne by creating a tense and mysterious atmosphere.