Discuss the ways in which the extract of Doctor Who constructs representations of gender

May 7, 2010 Discuss the ways in which the extract of Doctor Who constructs representations of gender

The camera angles used throughout this extract help to depict the male gender as the superior even though the power changes from the antagonist to the ‘Doctor’. It is not only the camera angles that help to illustrate the dominance of the male gender, other factors such as diegetic, non diegetic sound and mise en scene are equally as important.

The non diegetic sound used during the opening creates a portentous sign due to the dark atmosphere that it evokes. This dark and ominous atmosphere helps to represent the antagonist as being more superior to Martha (the protagonist). The non diegetic ambience plays in the background and through the antagonist’s dialogue. This creates a force behind the antagonist making him seem more powerful than Martha. The ‘ticking’ of the clock also adds to the antagonist’s power. It seems as though he is controlling time making him seem more powerful than Martha whose life is also supposedly ‘ticking’ away along with the clock. The diegetic sound seems to stop when the antagonist speaks; this reinforcing the idea that he is controlling time. There is also the diegetic sound of the ‘sonic screwdriver’ which doesn’t construct any representations of gender but adds to the realism. The ‘sonic screwdriver’ and clock are the two main props used throughout the extract. The ‘sonic screwdriver’ is synonymous with Doctor Who.

During the opening there is a lot of fast editing as the audience establishes each character, however, we immediately see the antagonist as being more superior to Martha. As the extract progresses this idea is reinforced, the editing seems to slow down and the duration of each shot is longer when focused on the male gender which sees him as having more power than the female.

The mise en scene also illustrates that the male gender seems to represent being more dominant than the female. The antagonist and the other male figures surrounding him are wearing suits showing them to be powerful; it shows them as being justified authority figures. The guard is also dressed in black helping to evoke power. This juxtaposes Martha and the other females around her. The protagonist is wearing a casual jacket with black jeans, this symbolising an informal dress code. The audience’s attention is drawn immediately to the antagonist. This depicts Martha to be of less importance compared to the male figure. The females seen standing behind the protagonist is wearing a maid’s outfit which sees them as having less authority than the antagonist.

The location is also extremely significant in constructing a representation of gender. A long shot establishes the setting. It depicts a vast room with hardly any furniture. However the stairs, which the antagonist is standing on, elevates him, again to make him seem more superior. Behind the antagonist are several characters spread across the landing which represents a barrier creating a force which isolates Martha. This idea is reinforced when Martha is kneeling. She has no one around her other than three characters in the corner. This makes her seem extremely vulnerable and this systematically dis-empowers her.

The colours on set are simplistic with no particular colour representing a gender. This has been done so that the audience is not manipulated to which gender is the more superior. However the simplistic design with the mixture of pink and blue lights creates a futuristic look. The lighting on set is fully produced artificially. There is no sun light which creates a claustrophobic feeling, this helps to reinforce the idea of a futuristic world.

The camera angles used in this extract are probably the pivotal factors in highlighting that the male gender is the superior gender. A low angle is used often in conjunction with the antagonist. This juxtaposes the high angle used on Martha. This opposition accentuates the difference between the male and female. The close ups used on the antagonist helps for the audience to relate with him making him seem more powerful. Whereas mid shots are used regularly when focusing on the protagonist. We therefore do not feel as close with her and therefore see her as being less powerful. Through the use of dialogue the audience establishes that the antagonist is in charge of a fleet of ‘ships,’ an extreme long shot is used as an establishing shot to introduce the ‘ships’. The amount of ships helps to accentuate the antagonist’s power as we are aware that he is responsible in controlling the ‘mission’. The transition between the shallow focus to deep focus is used in conjunction with an over the shoulder shot. This has been used so that the audience’s attention is focused on both the antagonist and the clock. It also helps to link them together. A pan has been used to focus in on one of the male protagonists. This is to intensify the situation; however, it also shows his importance. The pan helps to represent the male gender as a significant macro element to this extract. An extreme long shot has again been used as an establishing shot of, what the antagonist calls, ‘My Children’. The amount of ‘alien craft’, again, shows the antagonist’s power as he is in charge of them.

The antagonist orders Martha to kneel. Not only does his dialogue represent him as being in charge but the eye line match of Martha makes the audience feel a sense of pathos towards the protagonist. This accentuates the low angle shot used to illustrate the antagonist as being more powerful. The flashbacks show mainly women dressed in an informal manner. An eyeline match has been used which makes the audience feel sympathy towards them. This represents the female figures as being weaker than the male.

Some of the most significant camera techniques illustrate the change in power form the antagonist to the Doctor. As the Doctor forms into a human a high angle changes to an eyeline match and then finally transitions into a low angle, all the while the low angle, originally showing the antagonist as the most powerful, transitions into a high angle. These transitions move the power from the antagonist to the protagonist, although, the power is still seen to be formed in the representation of the male gender being the more dominant.

As one can see the representation of the male gender is significantly more powerful than the representation of the female characters. This has been done most prominently through the use of camera angles however mise en scene, editing and sound has also played a major part in this representation.