Django Unchained

Django Unchained

Representation of gender

Discuss the ways in which the extract construct the representations of gender using camera shot,angle, movement and composition and also editing techniques, sound and mise en scene:

This clip is taken from the programme Luther and shows how he is having a tense conversation with a lady (Alice) and shows lots of stereotypes that are used by each gender and it also shows how each gender tries to gain power over one another. We can also see how items are placed and how each shot provides a different feeling for the audience so that they feel more attracted to watching the programme and so they do not get bored.

Mise en scene

The mise en scene in this clip plays a big role on who has the power. We see that Alice is wearing bright red lipstick which means that the red stands out on her face and in the scene as the background is fairly plain. The colour red represents Love and death which shows she could be dangerous and that she may lure him in by seducing him, This is called the semic code and this means the audience know about a object or item is meant to create suspicion or a general idea of the actor it is applying to so in this clip the audience will see that Alice's lipstick suggests that she is dangerous and the audience will now see this . There are several items in the back ground from1 second to 25 seconds that shows that they are in a busy city as there is roads in the background with traffic on and also tall buildings . We then move into Alice's house which has several items such as posters about black holes which shows she is scientific and also a globe of the world and a telescope looking into the sky and lots of books which all symbolises that she is intelligent.

Her house/apartment is very modern as she has lots of big windows that overlook the city which shows that she is very wealthy.  Although some of her house is modern some of it is vintage such as the draws we see and her green chair. We can see that her room is very dull though as her wall paper is grey and the only bright thing in the room is her red chair.


The lighting complies with this back ground as that is also very dark and boring which could represent her as simplistic and boring. We can see by the clothes that she is wearing that she is very formal and that she could be a business women. She also stands with her hands behind her back which shows she could be a bossy lady which means she may own a company or is high up in a company. She is wearing very dull colours which shows she could have just been at work and that the work she may do requires the staff to look formal which could represent her as a posh lady.

Camera shots, angles and movements

The first shot we see in this extract is the establishing to show that they are in a busy city this shows the audience the most important part of her and so they can create a stereotype in there head about her as we see she has red lipstick which symbolises love, death and lust. This is enough to create a stereotype that she is dangerous.


The focus in the background is blurred which shows that Luther and Alice are the main subjects of this scene and that the director wants the audience to concentrate on them and so there are no distractions in the background. We then see an over the shoulder shot which is over Lucifer's shoulder which shows that Alice in encroaching in Lucifer's personal space which shows the audience that she is trying to gain power over him. We see a close up later on in the scene when they are in Alice's apartment and it has been put in place here as Alice is getting closer to Lucifer to try and kiss him and it makes the audience feel as if they are being drawn in with Lucifer. They also use a zoom movements here to draw the tension in Alice and Lucifer and to make the audience come into the shot so they feel like they are there.



We see a high angle shot when the camera looks into the bag to show to dogs ashes and the other contents within the bag. The reason the director has done this is because the audience now know what happened to her dog and what is in the bag its self. We see a mid shot of Alice when she is praying over the black hole image on the wall and this shows lots of representations of her such as what she is wearing and it shows the Mise en' scene in the background. This shows the audience some of her lifestyle as it shows what clothing she has  on with could show the audience what job she has and how wealthy she is.  We see a two shot in the middle of the clip when we see her trying to kiss him and this shows that she is drawing him in to like her instead of hate her so that she can get out of this case or this situation which is happening. We also see the two shot to show which character has power over the other. We see a wide angle shot near the end of the clip to signal the end of the conversation and to show the body language of each character which also gives the audience a sense of who is in power.



Editing

We see continuity early on when we see the dogs ashes in the bag as they all of a sudden go into this bag then we cut straight back out of it but we do not notice that we have changed back to the conversation as it is natural. The camera does this so it seems as if the person who is watching is looking into the bag and it is not the camera looking which makes it as realistic as possible and so it makes the audience feel engaged at all times.


 The director uses jump cuts when they are editing to show what both characters are doing and what there body language is like it also used to speed up the scene and what is going on. We see lots of  angle reverse angle shots so that they can swap the focus from each character or what is in the back ground so that they can change the mise en' scene. We see a transition early on when they change from being in the city to being in the apartment. This shows we have a fresh new scene.



Sound

We here background noise when they are in the city which is cars and traffic which shows what time of day it is as it is busy so it could be rush hour and it makes the audience feel as f they know that nothing dangerous or violent is going to happen as it is in pure daylight. We hear the wind in the background which could show that it is cold and which leads them into Alice's apartment which links the shots realistically.


We hear a gentle noise in the background which is there to create tension between the characters and to make the audience feel engaged within the scene so they do not get bored and as if they feel as if something is going to happen. We hear a heavier bass sound to signal that the tension has been broken and that Lucifer has gained power over Alice. It also leaves the scene on a cliff hanger and to show that the scene has a significance within the series.

Mise en scene

The walking dead - Rick enters Atlanta 

Mise en scene-

The arrangement of everything that appears in the framing such as acting, lighting, décor, props and costume. It is a French term that means the placing on stage. The director has control over the placing of everything on the screen such as what, when and where. Using it effectively can help create a representation of a character. Production design is the location, studio, set design, costume, make up and properties. the other section to this is lighting which shows the colour and design.

This scene shows how a busy highway that provides and entrance to a main city in America (Atlanta) is completely empty how Rick can roll in to the city on a horse without worrying about cars behind him. It also show that all the cars on the left side of the road have ben destroyed or have stopped because of this apocalypse and emphasises how empty the world is now. It also shows how the train track have been ruined and how there is no trains going to the city. The background shows how the world is coming to an end due to this apocalypse and the affect it has had on traffic for example an dhow everyday tasks have been affected.

The background also shows how small Rick is in this world and shows he is very lonely as he is the only one around that is still alive. The clouds in the top left corner show how the city is now dark and gloomy. The cars and traffic and also trains are dirty with dust and shows that this apocalypse has been going on a while. The dirt shows how everything has become infected with this disease and how it has had a wear and tear on everything in the world.

Rick is being made to be the main character in this scene and shows how he can do what he wants now as he has no one to tell him he cant as there is no laws. He is seen to be wearing a sheriff costume and this could be to show how he is the only one with authority now as there is no government to protect the public so now he could be seen as a leader.

There is hundreds of cars trying to get out of the city which shows how desperate they were to break away from this apocalypse which gets the audience thinking about how the city is now a danger as before the apocalypse the city was safe as there was lots of people who would protect you where as now there is lots of people that could harm you or kill you which is trying to get the audience to think about what is going on.

This shot is an over the shoulder shot but is also a extreme long shot which has been made like this so that the viewer can get a full view of what is going on in the world and city and shows the viewer of how deserted the city is now. It also shows the time of year as the sun is shining which shows it could be summer and warm.

Mad men "Scarlett you're fired"

This video is taken from the programme mad men and it is set in a busy office in America the time it was set in is around about the 1960s we can tell this by the way that the characters are dressed and how the office is set out as the technology such as the phone is old fashioned as it is not cordless also she has a typewriter at her desk.

The lady in the blue dress clearly thinks she has authority over the lady at the desk as she speaks to her and she immediately comes off of the phone to speak to her. Which could show that she is a powerful women. When the lady in the blue dress is speaking to the lady sitting down, the lady sitting down is very formal with the way she is sitting and also her body language. Also the lady in the blue dress is also standing up which shows that the lady at the desk may not have as much power and also the lady in the dress is almost talking at her and not to her which shows she has more power.

All of the members of staff talk really politely to her such as the women on the stairs as she shows good body language towards her and smiles when she speaks to her. She just turns around and says "Scarlet you're fired" which shows that she has the power to just sack her without doing any paperwork.

At the start the lady in the blue dress has her hands on her hip which shows that she could be very bossy towards her staff and very strict and she almost shows no emotion in her face when she is talking down on her. The way the director has set out this scene is with lots of old fashioned clothing such as the orange cardigan and also the accessories such as the doors as they are very boring and bold.

The male gaze

Kayne West - Gold digger

The reason I chose this video is because the song its self is about women taking the men's money because they are considered 'hot' and the men do not want to leave the women as they are seen as attractive so the men will let them take money.

The women in the video are not in control of the way they are portraying their body so they may be felt as if they being degraded and that they are objectified as a sexual image that is used to please men who are watching the video.

This scene is found 30 seconds with in the video gold digger and shows how a lady is posing with very little on and is advertising the fact that she is wearing very little on her legs so that it will appeal to the men watching the video. She is looking away from the camera to advertise her facial expression and her hair. She is biting her finger which could show that she is feeling flirty in the video. This may make women feel degraded as it shows that you have to be a model on a magazine who is wearing very little to appeal to men.










This scene is found 34 seconds within the video and shows off a female who is clearly showing off her breasts as you can see she is not wearing a lot of clothing which is aimed to attract males to carry on watching the video. The grey background is dark except for around her silhouette where there is light to show she is the main attraction within this scene. Her facial expressions make her look like she is being seduced. I do not believe that this women is in control of this shot and that she has been told to pose in this position which could be a good thing as it shows that women should not be embarrassed by their body and physique.

This scene is found 1 minute in the video and shows that the model on the magazine is showing off her legs and the lighting in the video is reflecting on her leg so that her legs stand out to the viewers. She does this so that people watching the video will still be interested in watching the video. The way that the lighting is set shows of the centre of her body as the blue screen in the background is lightest on the centre of the body. They are using a long shot to show off all of her body and the features and also so they can get the lady's body language across. The name of the magazine is called fantasy which shows that she is in a fantasy or fantasising.








This scene is found at 1 minute 34 seconds into the video and shows a lady who is showing off her legs and her bum as once again the light is projected around her body on the background. Her facial expressions show that she is smiling which could show she is trying to attract men. This scene could make women feel degraded as they may feel as if they have to make a weird pose to be attractive and that they have to show off there body assets to attract men.










This scene is found 2 minutes and 19 seconds in the video and shows a lady posing on the front of a magazine that says 18 years old magazine which shows how this magazine only applies men as the photos within could show nude women which could be degrading for women as they may feel as if they have to comply with how these models look to be attractive. The lady is portraying a facial expression which trying to seduce the person watching the video or reading the magazine so it would try to draw the reader in if it was a real magazine.

This scene is found at 2 minutes 40 seconds shows a lady wearing very little clothing (bikini) and is showing that she is trying to show off her body features and curves. She is almost biting her lip which shows that she is trying to flirt with the audience. This could be degrading for women as they may feel as if they are have to show off there features to get attention. This lady is not in control of what she is doing as she has had her body features positioned to relate to the camera and audience.