How Gender is represented in Wire in The Blood
Within the first few seconds of the clip from the TV drama ‘Wire
in The Blood’ we are introduced to the two main characters Alex, a woman, and
Tony, a man. These two characters both differ and conform to the hegemonic view
of gender stereotypes.
The character of Alex is shown to be authoritative and in
control which is a subverted stereotype of a typical woman. Evidence of her
showing her authoritative side is when she is talking to what appear to be her
staff and we are shown a medium close up of her instructing them to “talk to
the neighbors... I want to know what they’ve been doing the past three days”. The
use of the imperatives whilst being prominently shown her face and upper body
from the camera angle is evidence of her superiority and strong head. Further
proving Alex’s dominance is seen in the mise en scene as the character’s hair
is very minimalistically styled and plain; it is less than shoulder length and
is a dark brown color. This straight hair has been used for this character to show
her sternness and non-conforming style as well as, breaking away from the
hegemonic gender roles for women. On top of this the lack of non-diegetic sound
that has not been added during editing while she is speaking further shows her
importance and how high her character is on the hierarchy within her job
because the focus is solely on her and what she is saying and the audience is
not being distracted by any sounds other than the ones occurring within the
scene, thus proving the importance of her instructions. Her dominance is
clearly displayed as when she is talking the camera moves very little showing how
the focus should be entirely on her and therefore keeping her in the center of audience
attention.
Similar to Alex’s non-conformist character, Tony also goes
against the standard ideologies of how a man should behave. This is seen after
he is left with Alex’s son, Ben, to babysit and is very nurturing and
comforting towards him. When the two are sat on the sofa there proxemics show
how close together they are, their heads tilting towards one another and sat
side by side, which shows how instantly comfortable Ben felt around Tony and
how Tony was equally as restful. This differs from Tony’s gender stereotype as
a male as the media presents them to be hands off when it comes to being around
children and being nurturing, however, Tony’s character clearly defies this. Further
evidence of this is again when they are sat on the sofa and Ben confides in
Tony when talking about his mum saying “Mum’s always lonely. She always angry
and she’s always tired.” His dialogue shows how at ease he feels with Tony and
the unease he feels towards his mother. But according to the hegemonic stereotypes
of men and women, women are supposed to be loving and nurturing towards their
children and be very motherly whereas men are more hands off when it comes to
caring for children. Women are often considered to be the best parents out of
the two sexes, however both characters do not conform to this at all and Tony
is presented as the more loving and caring gender, displaying how ‘Wire in the
Blood’ reverses stereotypes.
However, there is evidence of Tony conforming to the
stereotype of his gender. He is unorganized. This is clearly evident in the
scene where Tony and Alex are making popcorn in the kitchen and it is a bit of
a disaster. The shots used are mostly medium close ups, big close ups and long
shots. The use of many different types of camera angles in such a short amount
of time highlights the quick paced action and proves the point of Tony being
chaotic in nature . The editing of the quick paced shot changes helps confirm
the disorganization of Tony by confusing and disorientating the audience as
they cannot get a proper view of what is going on and the action becomes dislocated
for the audience. This discombobulated nature of Tony is further proved by the
non-diegetic sound that has been added in editing as it is very fast pace and
lacks a steady pace. This parallel sound causes the mood of confusion and
rapidness to increase as it enhances the uncoordinated feel of the scene, which
proves the stereotype of Tony being disorganized and unable to control the situation,
because it is a domestic situation; making food and looking after a child. So
despite his caring attitude towards Ben and his fatherly figure for Alex’s son,
he is still an inept parent.
