Representation of Gender in Cutting It

Representation of Gender in Cutting It

Within the clip from the TV Drama Cutting It, gender representations are shown through the man and woman in a romantic relationship. These representations of gender are shown displayed to the audience through the uses of editing, camera, Mise en Scen and sound.

Through the use of editing, women and men’s relationships are represented as fast pace, moving swiftly through modern day life. This perception is created with the use fast and multiple cuts in the first scene of the couple in the taxi. In the second third of this scene, there are 21 cuts between the couple during their conversation. Therefore, this demonstrates modern day relationships between male and females as being fast pace and hectic – due to their own stereotypical gender roles.
Secondly, the editing in this clip shows men as sensitive and emotional. This demonstration is shown after the man’s fiancé is hit by the bus subsequent to her hospital consultation of her health. The male’s facial expression is shown through a close-up shot of his face which has been slowed down after the filming process through editing. The slow-motion effect creates extra screen time for the man, emphasising his emotions during this scene. His facial expression is predominantly concerned and upset – showing that men are as emotional and sensitive as women, defying most representations of men in the media.

Thirdly, this clip represents women as being in command and taking the superior role in society. This representation is created through the use of pace, seen in the contrast of slow pace in the taxi scene, switching to fast pace once the couple get out the taxi and the woman takes charge of the conversation and narrative. The editing presents the woman as therefore being in charge through this power switch from being shared, to being held completely by the woman alone.

Lastly, the editing in this clip of Cutting It presents women as most important in the hierarchical scale of men and women. This representation is evident throughout the whole clip - the woman has the most screen time out of anything else in the clip, including her husband. This disobeys most media conventions - mostly showing the woman role as the weakest and least important.

The use of camera in this clip of Cutting It presents women’s problems as insignificant. This is seen in the obscured shot of cars passing in front of the woman upon leaving her hospital consultation and walking towards her fiancé. The cars obscuring the shot of the woman whilst she shouts the long-awaited news across the road makes her problems and important events of her life seem not worth paying attention to. Reflected onto society, this representation creates a perception of women as being less important than other events and people in the world.

Secondly, this clip provides the representations of men having the higher employment than women – being higher in the social hierarchy. This is shown in through the camera’s birds eye view shot of the doctor’s consultation room in the consultation scene. This shot shows the contrast of the male and female roles in the confined room – the male is the doctor, dressed in a suit and tie and has the knowledge. The woman’s role is seen as vulnerable – she is sat alone opposite the doctor in a different environment in every day clothes, not showing any skill.

Furthermore, the camera presents women as being capable of taking charge over a male in a relationship. This is shown in the close up shot of the woman moving her hand on top of the male’s in the taxi scene – asserting her authority above the male gender. The woman’s hand could represent which gender has the most control – in this instance, the female has the most control over the male.

Lastly, camera shows a representation of men having the most authority and importance. This is seen by the camera keeping the man’s head/ body centre shot throughout the whole clip. This use of camera makes reflects the societal norms of men being the top of the hierarchy in society – creating the audience to subliminally agree that the male figure is the most important in this clip, despite the narrative.

The use of Mise en Scen in this clip from the TV Drama, Cutting It, presents woman as innocent and angelic. This perception is created through the use of lighting upon departure from the taxi – the sunlight is directly on the woman’s face, whilst the man’s face is in the shadows. The light effect gives the woman a likable quality which additionally allows the audience to see the woman’s facial expressions with higher clarity – making her seem the more genuine and believable gender out both of male and female characters.

Secondly, the clothing use of Mise en Scen shows clear societal gender roles through the use of costume This is notable throughout the whole clip, the woman is dressed in a light-coloured dress and jacket, whilst the man is dressed in a suit of dark colours. Both of these outfits assigned to the characters allocate stereotypes of modern genders: women being feminine and men being authoritative and intelligent.

Furthermore, Mise en Scen in this clip shows women as having the most authority in a relationship. This is evident when the couple leave the taxi, the woman leaves the taxi before the man does – she is seen to be asserting her authority over her partner. This simple departure from the vehicle leads the audience to see the woman as having the most control over the audience. As the woman is taking charge, she is ‘reversing roles’ – roles which society has set.

Lastly Mise en Scen shows women as being associated with femininity at all times. This is evident in the last scene of the clip, showing the woman laying lifelessly on the floor, post being hit by the bus with a bird’s eye view shot. This shot shows the woman lying next to light pink tulips sprawled on the floor next to her own sprawled body. Even when almost dead, women are associated with femininity. The audience makes an association and connection between the woman and the flowers from this shot and use of Mise en Scen.

Representations of gender in this clip from Cutting it are shown through the use of sound. Sound create a perception of men being more emotionally attached to women than most media shows. This is evident in the clip of the woman being hit by the bus, upon the husband’s realisation, a dramatic, slow piano plays (non-diegetic). This music makes the audience empathize with the man – he is represented as emotional and attached.

Furthermore, both men and women’s lives are represented as unimportant and insignificant in comparison to modern day life. This is shown through sound in the taxi and all outdoor clips, the street sound and background noise level is seemed to be exaggerated through foley, instead of editing it out completely to focus on the dialogue (most TV Dramas and Films do this). This sound does not allow the audience to completely focus on the man and woman’s relationship, forcing them to believe that they are not the main focus – they are unimportant.

 Thirdly, woman’s lives are presented as highly important. This is evident in the scene of the crash where foley is used to emphasize the sound of the crash against the woman’s body. This emphasis causes the audience to pay their full attention to the woman and have concern of her life. She is presented as precious, reflecting all other women’s lives, through this use of sound.

Lastly, women are represented to have independence over men. This is evident in the dialogue after the couple leave the taxi, before the Doctor’s consultation where the woman says to the man “No, no, no, don’t come with me.” At this point, she is asserting her authority over the man and additionally proving her independence of assuring him she desires and can indeed go alone. This makes the audience believe that women’s traditional roles are changing and almost swapping with men’s as the most independent and authority.