Cutting it: Gender

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.