What is gender?
Gender refers to how someone acts. There are two types of gender that can be related to both sexes. These two genders are feminine and masculine. Feminine traits would include things like: being emotional, being soft, being sensitive etc. Masculine traits would include things like: being tough, being non-emotional, being aggressive etc.
Initial thoughts:
The clip uses both masculine and feminine characteristics/qualities to explore the way in which gender is shown in the media. This clip changes the characteristics commonly associated with both sex and uses it to illustrate that both sexes (male and female) share different gender characteristics (the man and woman both show masculine and feminine). This clip can be deconstructed through camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene to explore the two types of genders.
Camera shots
A medium shot has been taken during the journey in the taxi to the hospital. The man is seen holding and kissing his wife's hand and being romantic. This can be seen as a feminine characteristic because he is being affectionate/showing affection. This shot allows for the audience to see that although he's a man and the guy in the relationship, he also shows his softer side and lets them know he has feminine traits too as well as masculine.
In this shot, the woman is seen leaning into the taxi while the man stands behind her. The woman is leaning into the taxi to pay for the journey that they went on. This is unusual to not see the man paying instead because he's typically the main money maker/earner so would be seen paying for things. This may indicate that the women has characteristics that are linked to masculinity because she has her own money that she is using so therefore she puts be making some.
In this close-up, the man and women are seen kissing. Kissing is a way of showing affection which is linked with femininity. By seeing this shot, the audience is able to see that the woman is showing off her femininity and that the man, is also showing femininity through the use of affection. This indicates that the man isn't afraid to show how he feels about his wife and is happy enough to show his feelings in public.
A medium close-up is taken of the women as she is talking to the doctor. When she is told the news by the doctor, she begins crying and tears can be seen coming from her eyes. Due to the fact she's crying, this can be linked with showing femininity. This can be linked with femininity because she is showing her emotions and is getting emotional which is commonly linked with that of a feminine women.
Editing:
At 2:31 till 2:38, the shot is shown of the woman as she is told the news by the doctor. Her facial expression indicates that the news she is receiving may possibly be bad. This can also be indicated through the crying. The shot then cuts straight into another shot of the man as he's waiting outside. He is seen smiling as he is looking down as his ring. The shot then goes back to the woman crying. This has been done to show that the women is showing typical feminine characteristics as she is crying and being emotional. It has also been done to show that the man is happy and showing a kind of emotion too. The contrast between the two sexes makes the scene better because they're both the same sex and are showing traits of the same gender (feminine).
Sound:
At 0:07, a sound that can be heard is the sound of the man's lips making a puckering noise because he kisses his wife on her hand. He is kissing his wife's hand because they have presumably just gotten married. So, therefore he is being romantic towards her because he loves her. This can seen as a feminine characteristic because it is not 'manly' to show much emotion because otherwise, you're seen as weak. By showing his emotion, he is proving to his wife that he loves her and is showing emotion (common of women).
At 1:00/1:01, the man is heard 'shhing' his wife as she tries to talk about a touchy subject. Due to the fact he's the man, this is common as he is being defensive and controlling towards his wife. This is a sign of masculinity. He is making her stop talking about the subject he doesn't want to hear - she stops talking because he was controlling her. He also becomes defensive as she tries to go into detail and he doesn't want to hear the news so makes it seem like everything will be okay.
From 4:08 till around 4:16, the man is heard sniffling/starting to cry because he has just witnessed his wife get run over and she is laying on the ground. This type of reaction indicates that the man is being emotional/showing emotion. This therefore indicates that he is capable of being slightly feminine. He is being slightly feminine because it is common for women to be emotional and men to be emotionally detached. Due to the fact he's a man, he isn't demonstrating masculine behaviour so is therefore showing feminine behaviour.
Mise-en-scene
In this shot, the women's outfit can be seen. She is wearing a soft natural colour coat and is showing off her legs. She is also seen to be wearing heels. This can be seen as a feminine way of dressing because she is dressed in a way that is seen as 'sexy' or 'pretty'. By dressing like this, she is allowing for the audience to see her role within the relationship and within the surrounding environment/society.
In this shot, the woman's face can be seen as she comes away from kissing her husband. Through this shot, the audience is able to see that she is wearing makeup - which is seen as a feminine trait. Although, she's used more natural and soft colours, she is still showing/displaying appearance characteristics of femininity. She has used makeup to make her face look more 'appealing' and 'professional' for her husband by putting it around her eyes and on her lips (which are both areas that are quite feminine). In this shot, the man is seen to be wearing a smart shirt, smart trousers, sensible shoes and a overcoat. This outfit can be seen as rather masculine because he gives the impression that he has a decent paid job and that he is earning/making money. This is a masculine characteristic because it is common for the man to go out and earn the money and support his family (in this case, his wife) in which he appears to look dressed for.
Conclusion:
After analysing the clip through camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene, I have concluded that the man shows both masculine and feminine traits but shows more feminine traits due to his constant emotion showing. The woman, also shows both masculine and feminine traits but shows more feminine traits because of her emotions and appearance. This shows that within media, the gender roles between a couple can change and be varied but are not seen as negative but instead positive.
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