Camera
There
are lots of different angles and shots used in the clip from 'cutting it'
to show gender stereotypes . They use a close up shot of the mans finger with a
ring on it which contrasts with the ordinary stereotype that men should be the
more romantic one in the relationship and express their love towards their wife
more. They use another close up shot of their hands, of which the female
comforts her husband, this was supported by the power held by the man.
Originally the man was supporting the woman which is the ordinary idea as women
are considered to be less independent and need the power of a man to guide them
through, however by the placement of her hand over his, this shows that she has
independence and thinks in her own way. Another shot that was used to represent
gender was the first shot which was a medium shot showing the
woman lovingly leaning on the man. This shows you the man’s hand drifting
towards his wife’s hand, comforting her. This subverts the feminine idea and it
normally pictured as the woman comforting the man. This shot is then converted
and shows the feminine supporting the traditional view of a woman.
Sound
The sound in this clip mainly focuses
on the dialogue and the music. One sound that shows gender is emotion through
the woman’s character as she is crying coming into the shot, this conforms the
stereotype as woman are frequently pictured as hormonal and weak. In addition
to the sound, music is used as non-diegetic whilst the woman is receiving the
news from her doctor which resembles the news without dialogue. From this, it
also reflects the mood which runs in parallel with the emotion in this clip.
Dialogue in this clip is also important in showing the representation
especially when the woman says in the beginning ‘I’m sorry’. This shows
her feminine side and that she is controlled slightly by husband by giving into
him and apologising for something that isn’t her wrong doing. However, this is
counteracted when the man says ‘forget it, it’s gone’ he then fulfils the women’s
emotions. Moreover, the sounds help the audience understand that the man and
woman have both cheated on each other, showing that the female does have
masculine traits and goes against the traditional idea of being faithful to one
man. Sound is used to show the audience that a car skidded
and the diegetic sound is emphasized to create a large situation and ensure
that the audience is aware of what happened. This then alerts the male showing
that the woman has not been strong enough, allowing him to run over to her.
Mise En Scene
Mise En scene in the clip of
cutting edge shows men and women in many ways. The female in the clip’s costume
conforms the stereotype of a woman as she is wearing a long coat, a skirt with
heels which is what a typical woman would wear. This supports her womanly
personality as she is presented as modestly covered and is wearing the
normality. As well as costumes, in comparison the male is wearing the traditional
business wear for men which is a dark suit. On the other hand, the woman is the
first to exit the car which would usually be the man escorting the woman out,
so this subverts the general stereotype. In addition to this she also pays the
taxi driver which isn’t the normal action as men are always thought to pay for
the women.
Editing
The order of the dialogue persists of an ordinary day being
carried out as the man and woman travel into the city and the man waits for the
woman. However, this ends negatively with the woman being hit by a vehicle. As
well as this, due to this accident throughout the clip the woman does receive
the most screen time as it is her story the clip is most focused on. A fade was
used as the ending of the clip when the screen fades to black after the woman
dies, this represents the end of a narrative, which is the end of her life
initially, however it could resemble the end of their relationship. However,
this could also conform the stereotype of a woman as it could show her being
too dramatic. As well as this whilst the man is sitting on his own on the table
outside looking at his ring, they use a slow motion effect which helps build
the tension of the previous scene, which was when the woman received her news
from the doctor. This is used throughout both cuts to create tension, the woman
is shown as distraught and the man is clueless, conforming the understanding of
man and woman.
